U.S. Vice Presidency candidate - Everything except Donald
Double-Donald for President – it's a bit ridiculous, but that could have been a battle cry for the Republicans in the current US election campaign. Especially if J. D. Vance, the vice presidential candidate, had a different relationship with his father or mother. At least one thing is clear – Donald should not have come from him, as shown in his transformations.
The Three Names of J. D. Vance
The explainer of rural "America" ("Hillbilly Elegy") in his life has worn three names. Somehow not surprising for a man who has made many turns in his life: Born as "James Donald Bowman," named after his father Donald Bowman, the marriage failed and his mother Beverly married a certain Bob Hamel, who adopted the little James Donald. To demonstrate familial connection (and cut off the old one), Beverly renamed the son "James David." More precisely: in James David Hamel.
Everything but Donald is fine
This marriage lasted longer, but not forever. And the divorce made the chronicle of family names even more complicated. "My mother just took the last names of every man she married," writes Vance in his book.
Somewhere J. D. was old enough to take care of his own affairs. In 2014, he married his college classmate Usha Chilukuri. According to his birth certificate, he was still named after his biological father. But Donald meant nothing to him anymore. In a nutshell, they took the name Vance for themselves – the surname of his mother.
Want to know everything about the US election?
The stern-Team on site informs you every Saturday in the free newsletter "Inside America" about the most important developments and gives insights into how American women and men really look at their country. After entering your email address, you will receive a confirmation email. We always handle your data confidentially. The only constant in Vance's life is J. D. – he was already called that as a child. When Beverly wanted to erase the traces of his biological father, it was important to her to keep J. D. – no matter how, as Vance writes: "Any name with a D would have been fine, as long as it wasn't Donald."
In the context of the US election, some Republicans might have rallied behind the slogan "Double-Donald for President," considering J. D. Vance's father was not a favorable figure in his life, as shown in Vance's transformation and perspective presented in his book "Hillbilly Elegy." Despite changing his name multiple times, J. D. Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate, has consistently maintained the name with a 'D' to distance himself from his biological father.
