J.D. Vance said Trump might be 'America's Hitler' in 2016 text message


J.D. Vance's former roommate on Monday released a purported screenshot of a 2016 conversation between him and Vance in which the now pro-Trump Senate candidate wrote that the former president might be "America's Hitler."
Josh McLaurin, who attended Yale Law School with Vance and has served in the Georgia House of Representatives since 2019, previously alluded to the conversation with Vance in a tweet posted Thursday.
In the message, Vance wrote that Republicans had neglected "lower-income, lower-education white people," leaving an opening for a "demagogue" like Trump. "I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical a--hole like Nixon who wouldn't be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he's America's Hitler," Vance wrote.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"The public deserves to know the magnitude of this guy's bad faith," McLaurin tweeted alongside the screenshot.
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Vance in Ohio's competitive GOP Senate primary on Friday, writing that although Vance "said some not-so-great things about me in the past," he "gets it now."
In 2016, Vance called himself a "Never Trump guy" and referred to Trump as an "idiot," Politico reported.
In a 2021 interview with Time magazine, Vance explained how he came around to Trump. "I sort of got Trump's issues from the beginning," Vance said. "I just thought that this guy was not serious."
Trump, Vance continued, "is the leader of this movement, and if I actually care about these people and the things I say I care about, I need to just suck it up and support him."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
How will the new tax deductions on auto loans work?
the explainer Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act introduced a tax deduction on auto loan interest — but eligibility for the tax break is limited
-
Is Trump actually going to prosecute Obama for 'treason'?
Today's Big Question Or is this just a distraction from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal?
-
5 best movie sequels of all time
The Week Recommends The second time is only sometimes as good as the first
-
'Spending is what card issuers are hoping you will do'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump executive order targets homeless
Speed Read It will now be easier for states and cities to remove homeless people from the streets
-
Columbia pays $200M to settle with White House
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the school of failing to protect its Jewish students amid pro-Palestinian protests
-
Florida judge and DOJ make Epstein trouble for Trump
Speed Read The Trump administration's request to release grand jury transcripts from the Epstein investigation was denied
-
Trump attacks Obama as Epstein furor mounts
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the Obama administration of 'treasonous' behavior during the 2016 election
-
Deportations: The growing backlash
Feature New poll numbers show declining support for Trump's deportation crackdown
-
Is Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' cancellation an omen of something worse?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION CBS said its decision to end the talk show was strictly business. But the timing and nature of the announcement has some observers wondering if there's more at play behind the scenes.
-
Trump administration releases MLK files
Speed Read Newly released documents on the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not hold any new revelations, King historians said