J.D. Vance

J.D. Vance's Interest in Huey Long Should Be a Red Flag for Conservatives

Long's motto, "every man a king," was not a call for individual sovereignty. It was a populist pitch for wealth taxes and a more powerful government.

Eric Boehm | 8.25.2026 11:45 AM

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(Illustration: Samuel Corum/Sipa USA/Newscom/United States Library of Congress)

As a governor and senator, Huey Long is best remembered for his radical proposals to redistribute wealth by force and for criticizing President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "New Deal" as not expansive or progressive enough.

So when Vice President J.D. Vance says out loud that he finds Long "great" and "interesting," that's worth keeping in mind.

While speaking in Ohio last week, Vance invoked Long's famous "Every Man A King" slogan and hailed Long as a "great Southern populist" who was "an interesting guy; kind of a crazy guy."

"But no man is a king if their castle is under siege by criminals," Vance continued, "No man is a king if they can't take their family out to dinner without being mugged or having their car jacked."

The moment is illustrative both because of Vance's choice to invoke Long by name—this was a deliberate choice made in a prewritten speech, not........

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