Tristan Hernandez, Contributing Photographer

On Monday, former President Donald Trump announced junior Ohio Senator J.D. Vance LAW ’13 as his vice president for the 2024 presidential election. Vance’s selection has sparked varied opinions within the Yale community.

Trump announced Vance as his running mate on his social media platform Truth Social during the first day of the Republican National Convention — or RNC — in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On Wednesday, the third day of the RNC, Vance officially accepted the nomination, delivering a speech that touched on his Midwest upbringing, his tenure at Yale Law School and his perspectives on economic policy and border security.

The News spoke with seven members of the Yale community — two from Yale College and five from Yale Law School — who shared a diverse array of opinions on Vance’s selection. Some expressed concerns about Vance’s shifting position on Trump and his firm conservative stance, while others commended his journey from a low-income family in Ohio to U.S. Senator, noting his capacity to resonate with working Americans and younger voters because of his background and age.

“It’s a smart choice by the Trump campaign that will make it even harder for the Democrats in November,” Sage Mason LAW ’24 wrote to the News. “It’s difficult to predict what kind of Vice President (or President) J.D. would be, because his views have changed so much over the last few years.”

In his 2016 memoir and New York Times bestseller “Hillbilly Elegy,” Vance discusses his background where he focuses on his upbringing in Middletown, Ohio, amidst a backdrop of poverty, family dysfunction and the cultural challenges of Appalachia. 

Through personal stories and reflections, Vance explores themes of personal responsibility, the impact of “hillbilly” culture and the resilience needed to transcend his circumstances, culminating in his journey from a troubled upbringing to his academic career as an undergraduate at the Ohio State University and later Yale Law School.

Jake McDonald LAW ’25 told the News that Vance’s memoir “spoke to the soul of America in a way few others have.”  

“His unique background – coming from a working class family in a working class community – will provide a much-needed voice to those problems and help to develop solutions,” McDonald said.

He added that Vance has been a “stellar representative and alumnus of YLS.”

After graduating high school, Vance served in the Marine Corps for four years as a Combat Correspondent, including deployment to Iraq. His military service enabled him to attend Ohio State with the support of the G.I. Bill, which provides school funding for veterans. 

With his assumption as Trump’s VP, Vance becomes the first military veteran on a major presidential ticket since former Senator John McCain in 2008.

Devin Froseth LAW ’25 told the News that Vance “understands everyday Americans in a way that most national politicians don’t.” Froseth highlighted aspects of Vance’s background — from economic insecurity to a challenging family life — that resonates deeply with many Americans. 

As a veteran himself, Froseth emphasized that despite Vance’s difficult upbringing, he chose to serve the nation in the Marine Corps, describing him as “the rare politician who never forgot his roots.”

“Trump chose Vance in spite of him attending an Ivy League school,” Forseth said. “Vance understands the millions of Americans who feel unrepresented by our government. Vance is a voice for the millions of hard working Americans from communities dealing with poverty, crime, a lack of jobs, and other tough situations.”

Vance is married to Usha Vance ’07 LAW ’13, whom he met at Yale Law School. Vance, the daughter of Indian immigrants, is from San Diego, California. She studied history at Yale College and later pursued her legal education at Yale Law School, where she served as the Executive Development Editor of the Yale Law Journal. 

Following law school, she clerked for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh ’87 LAW ’90, who at the time was still a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and later for Chief Justice John Roberts. She has since established herself as a practicing attorney. 

On the third day of the RNC, Usha Vance also spoke, emphasizing her husband’s impoverished upbringing and the dynamic of opposites attracting, underscoring their diverse backgrounds.

“J.D., Usha, and their three young kids are a model American family and example of the American Dream, and Usha will bring intelligence, grace, and presence as Second Lady,” Froseth said.

Trevor MacKay ’25 told the News that it is “refreshing” to have a relatively young candidate. Vance, 39, would be one of the youngest vice presidents in American history if Trump were to win the presidency. 

MacKay said that for too long, he felt like the political system has been dominated by people several generations removed and that Vance will be a key player in decades to come. He said that Trump’s pick made sense since Vance is “intelligent, articulate, and far enough removed from the Washington, D.C. status quo to energize the base and attract new voters interested in new ideas.”  

MacKay added that he is especially looking forward to his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris since it will give him a chance to introduce himself to people who only know him through “the filtered lens” of the news or social media.

However, others who spoke with the News voiced concerns about Trump’s selection of Vance.

Yash Chauhan ’26 wrote to the News that through his selection of Vance as his running mate, Trump has shown that political gain and loyalty take precedence for him over real qualifications. He said that Vance, once a harsh critic of Trump, could have offered a new vision for the Republican Party with his education and unique upbringing. Vance has since become a staunch Trump ally. 

In office, Vance has maintained a consistently conservative stance, opposing abortion and foreign aid to Ukraine, while championing an “America First” political agenda.

“Moments like this remind us that while a Yale education is indeed a great privilege and honor, it by no means guarantees that its recipients will stand by the principles of ‘light and truth,’” Chauhan said.

Vance’s team did not respond to a request for comment.

Duncan Hosie LAW ’21, an appellate lawyer and former fellow at the ACLU, said that Vance is a “chameleonic charlatan” and that Vance’s change from Trump critic to ally is “a case study in cynical opportunism.”

MacKay said that Vance’s shifting views do not reflect dishonesty but rather reflect an individual who is “methodical” in the way he conducts himself, which he said can be seen in his nonpolitical conversion to Catholicism. MacKay said that he places a lot of value on not only what a candidate thinks, but how they have arrived at those ideas.

“While his politics have changed significantly since he authored ‘Hillbilly Elegy’, I do not think the way he arrives at his ideas has,” MacKay said.

Gevin Reynolds LAW ’26 said that in selecting Vance as his running-mate, Trump has rejected conventional wisdom, which would say to choose someone who can bring balance to the ticket, like a woman or person of color. 

Instead, Reynolds said, Trump doubled down on “the election denialism, America First-ism, and MAGA extremism that his base so craves.”

Reynolds — who is an official surrogate for the Biden-Harris campaign — added that Trump has anointed Vance as “heir apparent to the [Make America Great Again] Movement.” 

“Long term, I’m interested to see how the selection of J.D. Vance impacts what some have termed the ‘realignment’ playing out in politics today,” Reynolds told the News. “If Trump and Vance govern as champions for the working class, they have the potential to attract a significant chunk of non-college-educated voters — especially men — of all races to their Republican Party.”

MacKay – who identifies as “traditionally conservative”  –  told the News that while he does not agree with everything Vance says or believes, he views Vance’s ideas and selection as the VP candidate as indicative of a substantial shift in the priorities of the Republican Party, possibly unmatched since Reagan. While a newcomer to politics, Mackay believes Vance’s background lends him a lot of credibility and reliability to a wide variety of the population.

“I am sure that Yale and the professors here helped inculcate that intellectual aggressiveness in Senator Vance. There is a reason so many politicians have been graduates of Yale,” MacKay told the News. “Without Yale, I am sure there would have been no Senator Vance.” 

Vance was elected to the Senate in 2022.