The elitists are running scared of JD Vance

Recently, there was an article in Politico magazine that got a great deal of attention from the left, about Vice President JD Vance and why he “Befuddles the World.” But it’s really not so befuddling after all.

Because so many on the left live in elite-entrenched bubbles floating high above the working classes they purport to lead and lecture, they have absolutely no idea what actually resonates with the people. Should there be an upcoming presidential campaign for Vance as we approach 2028, I suspect those in his “kitchen Cabinet” will be thrilled to bookmark this “hit piece” as a way to demonstrate to the Republican base, independents and Democratic voters that Vance is fighting for precisely what is best for them and their children. 

To understand the siloed mindset of the anonymous diplomats being quoted in the piece, we need only look at a recent criticism of far-left New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), by none other than the vice president. While on Fox News, Vance was asked to comment on the now widely ridiculed appearance of Ocasio Cortez at the Munich Security Conference, where she flubbed a softball question regarding Taiwan’s security.       

“Well, I think it’s a person who doesn’t know what she actually thinks,” he said. “I’ve seen this way too much in Washington with politicians where they’re given lines, and when you ask them to go outside the lines they were given, they completely fall apart.” 

Vance could not be more correct. Too many “experts” and “leaders” are a mile wide and less than an inch deep when it comes to the critically important policy initiatives that affect the quality of life of the world’s population.  

For many on the left, it is about spouting the bumper-sticker talking points given to them by staff or by special interest groups operating in the deepest of shadows. Once they run out of script, they sputter incoherently, exposing themselves as ignorant puppets. 

Vance went on: “Does anyone really believe that AOC has thoughtful ideas about the global world order, or about what the United States should do with our policy in Asia or our policy in Europe? No. This is a person who is mouthing the slogans that somebody else gave her. And it shows how thin the Democrats’ policy actually is on all these very, very important questions.”

Going back to the Politico piece, the main thrust was that Vance is “unnerving officials in many capitals. They worry he’s too willing to put ideology above reality.” Really? These elitists dare to bring up the “reality” of the world? 

I would point out to these unnamed “diplomats” that, collectively, millions of people in the United States and around the world hope and pray that Vance does “unnerve” these far-left officials, who know nothing of the “reality” of the socialist and anarchist policies crushing their quality of life.  

In-between their cocktail receptions and taxpayer-funded junkets, I suggest they take a moment to at least skim Vance’s bestselling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.” If they do, they will discover a man who lived, survived and rose above a highly dysfunctional and often poverty-stricken childhood before volunteering to serve his nation in uniform, and a man who truly understands the “reality” of working-class citizens the world over. 

It is for that reason that the criticisms of Vance in the piece are laughably tone deaf.

First, we learn that they were offended because Vance dared to remind Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky during an Oval Office visit that he should be grateful and say “thank you” for more than $200 billion in U.S. taxpayer money along with billions in U.S. armaments.  

Next, we find that they were upset with Vance for speaking the truth that Europe was relying too much on U.S. defense and not doing — or spending — nearly enough to defend themselves.  

And last, they were outraged that Vance raised the subject of the unchecked immigration in Europe that was not only threatening the quality of life — and personal security of Europeans — but erasing the national identity of many nations in Europe.

Note to these anonymous elitist “diplomats” who continually preach “do as I say, not as I do” from their bubbles of luxury: Tens of millions of Americans and hundreds of millions of citizens in Europe and around the world who deal with “reality” every single day of their lives strongly agree with Vance on all of those issues, and more. 

Should Vance run for president in 2028, they will no doubt thank these “diplomats” for ticking off elitist criticisms of the vice president, which are making Vance increasingly relatable. Bravo. 

Douglas MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official.

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