J.D. Vance Is Really Happening

This piece first appeared in our weekly newsletter, The Fallout.

Now that Donald Trump has announced Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) as his running mate, the Republican presidential ticket is complete. Choosing Vance as the vice presidential candidate says many things to voters, with one message perhaps loudest of all: The conservative backlash against bodily autonomy is going full speed ahead.

Vance is not only a faux-populist political grifter—he’s also a die-hard pro-natalist who believes in using the power of the state to restrict and redirect reproductive autonomy to serve conservative economic policy interests. In addition to vocal support of a national abortion ban and voting against protections for in vitro fertilization, Vance is on the record as opposing no-fault divorce, child-care subsidies, and the idea of women working outside the home in general. They’re positions that align conveniently with big-money conservative donors like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, and the stated policy goals of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.

As I said last week in this newsletter, despite media headlines to the contrary, there’s no evidence Republicans are moderating on anything, let alone abortion.

It gets worse.

Vance is only 39 years old and poised to become the face—and future leader of—the conservative movement and Republican Party. Nominating Vance is their succession planning, and his lack of political experience an asset, not a liability. With Vance, there’s no risk he’ll stand up to Trump in any capacity the way former Vice President Mike Pence did.

Once again, it is a straight line connecting reproductive oppression and autocracy.

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