In 2012, JD Vance managed to persuade a previous educator to remove an entry penned by him, criticizing the Republican Party's aggressive stance against immigration.
Four years past, as Vance pondered a political career in the GOP, he solicited a past college instructor to expunge an essay. The professor, Brad Nelson, tutored Vance at Ohio State while he was an undergrad. Following Vance's graduation, Nelson requested his assistance on a non-partisan blog administered by the Center for World Conflict and Peace.
Nelson revealed to CNN that in the 2016 Republican primary, he agreed to delete the essay at Vance's behest, to aid Vance in forging a footing in Republican politics. However, the piece, titled "A Framework for the GOP," can still be accessed through the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.
"A substantial chunk of Republican immigration policy revolves around the idea of deporting or 'self-deporting' 12 million people," Vance penned. "Reflecting on this: conservatives distrust the government to manage business loans and regulate our food supply effectively. Yet they suppose the government can deport millions of unregistered immigrants. The notion is unrealistic. Similarly, numerous aspects of the party's platform are unsound."
Conversely, twelve years later, as former President Trump's running mate, Vance promotes comparable anti-immigrant sentiments that he denounced back in 2012 as a 28-year-old law school student. In recent days, Vance has bolstered baseless allegations against Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio.
Probed on his prior criticisms of Trump's immigration stance, Vance asserted that Trump's immigration rhetoric procured his turn from antagonist to supporter.
"The reasons I shifted my stance on Trump are evident in what's transpiring in Springfield," Vance said. "Media and the Kamala Harris campaign have tagged Springfield residents as racist, have lied about them. They dismiss the public health quandary occuring in Springfield right now. No one except Donald Trump acknowledges it."
Martin, a spokesperson for Vance, told CNN that Vance has long advocated for strong border security measures, including deportations, and now exhibits one of the most conservative voting records in the Senate. He claimed that Vance's perceptions on deportations have evolved since the time of the blog post.
"There's absolutely nothing remarkable about the fact that, like millions of citizens, Senator Vance's perspectives on specific matters have changed since his twenties," Martin informed CNN in an email.
Vance's former anti-Trump manifestos are widely known, given his vocal opposition to the former president during much of Trump's initial term in office. Vance defended his supporters on Facebook in 2016, stating, "Unquestionably, vile racists drive the core of Trump's movement."
Nelson, who spoke highly of Vance to CNN, labeling him one of his brightest students, mentioned that Vance's post had incited discontent among some campaigns Vance was considering joining.
"I was a bit taken aback by the hostility he apparently faced from the GOP, as I believed his post was essentially harmless," Nelson told CNN. "Regardless, I liked Vance and wanted to help him out, consequently, I eliminated his post."
"He didn't recommend that his thoughts on the topics he addressed in his post had altered," Nelson added in messages to CNN.
CNN uncovered the essay through Y, where it was cited by the think tank in 2012.
'Attracting only White voters'
Vance debuted his article by launching into a biting censure of the GOP's strategies and nominees, blaming their blunders for the party's failures in the 2008 and 2012 presidential races.
"When Obama's election was verified in 2008, I mused: perhaps this will educate my party some very vital lessons," Vance penned. "You can't nominate people, like Sarah Palin, who deter swing voters. You can't actively repel every expanding segment of the American electorate—Blacks, Latinos, the youth—and you cannot rely solely on the diminishing segment of the electorate—Whites. Yet, four years later, I am obliged to ruminate on a party that nominated the most inappropriate kind of individuals, like Richard Mourdock, and strove to win an election by appealing solely to White people."
Mourdock's Senate campaign stumbled that year following his comment that pregnancies resulting from rape were "God's intention." Throughout his own Senate run in 2022, Vance made his own controversial remarks about rape and pregnancy, which have resurfaced after he earned the Republican nomination for vice president.
In the essay he requested Nelson to delete, Vance argued that the Republican Party would face difficulties if it failed to adapt to the evolving demographics of the country. He rebuked the GOP's adherence to supply-side economics, likening it to supporting defunct policies such as Soviet containment. He stated that during the Bush era, this economic approach led to wage stagnation and uneven growth, which alienated minority voters drawn to Democratic policies.
"Republicans lose minority voters for obvious and straightforward reasons: their policy propositions are outdated, uninspiring, or hostile to non-Whites," Vance wrote.
In light of his past criticisms, Nelson shared that Vance's political essay had caused unrest among some potential campaign teams he was considering joining, due to its perceived harmlessness. After Vance entered politics, his views on immigration and border security shifted significantly, prompting him to advocate for strong measures, including deportations.
Reflecting on his political evolution, Vance explained that his change of heart regarding Trump's immigration stance was influenced by the media and political climate in Springfield, Ohio, where he perceived a lack of recognition and addressing of public health concerns.
