Changed name and professions. 5 facts about JD Vance who defeated the Europeans in Munich

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, who is now receiving special attention after his powerful speech criticizing Europe at the Munich Conference, is the embodiment of the "American dream". He grew up in a poor family in an abandoned industrial town in Ohio, but that hasn't stopped him from building a successful political career. At the recent Munich Security Conference, held from February 14 to 16, Vance's speech caused a serious resonance among representatives of the European Union: in his speech he outlined Washington's new position, according to which the U.S. intends to distance itself from full solidarity with European NATO partners. What is known about the second person in the new Trump administration - in the material "Izvestia".

Fact 1: A difficult childhood

- James David Vance, who is more often called by the initials J. D. (J. D.), was born on August 2, 1984 in the state of Ohio. His parents divorced when he was six years old. Vance's mother worked as a nurse and had access to prescription drugs, which caused her to develop a drug addiction. When Vance was 12, the woman was arrested and he was placed in the custody of his maternal grandparents.

- Despite the hardships, he maintained a good relationship with his mother. In his first speech as a U.S. vice presidential candidate, he said he was proud of her and proposed celebrating a decade of her sobriety in 2025 at the White House.

- Vance's father briefly reconnected with his son when he was a teenager. He criticized his son's musical tastes and advised him to listen to Christian rock instead of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton. Vance later came to the Catholic faith, being baptized in 2019 at the age of 35.

- In 2016, Vance published a memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy. One Family's Life Story in Crisis" (Hillbill Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis) about his childhood and growing up in poverty. The book created a sensation in the United States and became a bestseller. In 2020, the movie "Hillbilly Elegy" starring Glenn Close and Amy Adams was made.

Fact 2: He has changed many professions

- In 2003, Vance graduated from high school and joined the U.S. Marine Corps. He himself admitted that he did it partly because he was not ready for adult life. The service taught him to give his best for the greater good.

- After completing the recruit training course, Vance was assigned to the position of a military journalist. In late 2005, Cpl. Vance was deployed to Iraq for six months as a military correspondent and public affairs specialist. His photos from that period are still in one of the Pentagon's media portals.

- After leaving the service, Vance enrolled at Ohio State University and graduated with honors, earning a bachelor's degree in philosophy and political science. During his studies, Vance began working on the staff of Ohio Republican Senator Bob Shuler before moving on to work on the staff of Senator John Cornyn. In 2013, Vance graduated from Yale University and earned another academic degree, a Juris Doctor.

Munich correction: US ready for talks with Russia on Ukraine

How J.D. Vance ended up attending a security conference in Germany

- In July 2021, at a Republican Party convention, Vance announced plans to run for the U.S. Senate from Ohio. His candidacy was supported by Donald Trump, and the main sponsor of the election campaign was Vance's former boss, investor Peter Thiel, who allocated $10 million for this purpose. In November 2022, Vance won the election with 53% of the vote. It was the first time in 50 years that a senator from Ohio was a man who had not previously worked in government.

- At the time of the presidential election in November, he was 40 years old, and Vance became the third youngest vice president of the United States, behind John Breckinridge, who took the position at 36 years old, and Richard Nixon - became vice president at 40 years and 11 days.

Fact 3: Has changed his name three times

- The politician is often referred to as JD Vance because "JD" (JD) is the first letters of his first name, James David.

- At birth, the boy was given the name James Donald Bowman. His father, Donald Bowman, left his mother Bev Vance and started a new family. After their divorce from the name of the future Vice President of the United States, the word Donald was taken out of the name, replacing it with David. Then his mother married a second time and he got his stepfather's surname - Hamel.

You were warned: Munich returns to discussing security in Europe

But they will talk about it in different realities - under the new U.S. president, Moscow and Washington have started a dialog

- He later took his mother's maiden name. This was due to the fact that he was brought up by his maternal grandmother rather than his mother and stepfather, and this is how he wanted to thank her.

Fact 4- Criticized Trump but changed his views

- In 2016, Vance opposed Donald Trump - the senator compared the politician to Adolf Hitler and publicly called him an idiot. True, then the situation changed and Vance, for reasons unknown to everyone, became his ardent supporter.

- His position as a netrumpist (NoTrumper and NeverTrumper) was so firmly entrenched that even the director of the movie based on his memoirs, Ron Howard, was surprised by his change of position . The change of heart may have been prompted by the Democrats' campaign against Trump's nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to be the U.S. Supreme Court justice in 2018 - Vance's wife Usha Chilukuri worked for Kavanaugh.

- About former U.S. President Joe Biden, Vance speaks out just as emphatically. He is sure that his policies could have led to a nuclear conflict.

Equation of power: Putin-Trump dialog forces the West to change positions on Ukraine

Even NATO gave a positive assessment of the leaders' contacts

Fact 5: He has spoken out strongly against aid to Ukraine

- Vance has often criticized the economic and military aid that the US provides to Ukraine. For example, back in 2023, he was part of a group of senators calling on Joe Biden to stop supplying arms to Kiev. He called for dealing with security issues inside the country and on its borders, rather than interfering in international conflicts.

- The politician is sure that assistance to Kiev in the long term is disadvantageous for Washington and will remove from Europe the responsibility for its own regional security. According to him, all this leads to the "deindustrialization" of Europe.

- In addition, the US vice-president believes that Ukraine's return to the 1991 borders is a fantasy. In modern conditions, he said, this is impossible. He stressed that it is in the interests of the USA to recognize that Ukraine will have to cede part of its territory to Russia. Washington, in his opinion, needs to finalize military actions.

- Vance criticized the lack of talks between Russia and Ukraine, as well as statements by White House representatives who allegedly cannot hold a dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin.