(Daily Signal)—Donald Trump selected Sen. JD Vance from Ohio on Monday as his running mate in the Nov. 5 election, which the former president hopes will return him to the White House. Vance accepted and Vice President Kamala Harris said she’s ready to debate him.
So, who is JD Vance?
Here are five things to know about him.
1. A Marine
Vance served in the Marine Corps from 2003 to 2007 as a combat correspondent. He deployed to Iraq for six months in late 2005.
Vance is one of four Marines currently serving in the Senate. The other three are Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Ct.; Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska; and Todd Young, R-Ind.
The late former astronaut John Glenn is the only other person to have represented Ohio in the Senate as a Marine.
2. Venture Capitalist
After graduating from Ohio State University in 2009 and Yale Law School in 2013, Vance worked at PayPal founder Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm Mithril Capital between 2016 and 2017.
Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy will immediately recognize the name of Thiel’s firm, which is a reference to an extremely strong and valuable dwarven metal that saves Frodo Baggins’ life in the Peter Jackson film version of “The Fellowship of the Ring.”
Vance also included a nod to Tolkien when he launched his own venture capital firm in Cincinnati. He started Narya Capital in 2020, naming it after one of the three elven rings in “The Lord of the Rings.” The wizard Gandalf (played by Ian McKellen in Jackson’s films) wore the ring, which helps its wearer resist tyranny.
3. ‘Hillbilly Elegy’
While working at Mithril Capital, Vance published his bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of Family and Culture in Crisis” in 2016.
“Hillbilly Elegy,” which describes Vance’s youth in the hollowed-out Rust Belt, captured the struggles of Middle America and catapulted him to cultural and political stardom.
The book highlights the Appalachian values of Vance’s Kentucky family and the socioeconomic problems of his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, where his mother’s parents settled when they were young. Ron Howard directed a 2020 film adaptation starring Glenn Close and Amy Adams.
Commentators noted that the struggles Vance revealed in his memoir echo the experiences of the “forgotten men and women” who helped elect Trump as president in 2016.
4. U.S. Senator
Vance, who initially criticized the former president, received Trump’s endorsement in the 2022 U.S. Senate race in Ohio, ultimately defeating Democratic nominee Rep. Tim Ryan.
As senator, Vance has championed many of Trump’s issues. Vance repeatedly has warned about the consequences of illegal immigration and has loudly supported funding the completion of Trump’s wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Vance has opposed experimental transgender medical interventions for minors—often euphemistically branded “gender-affirming care” to hide the true nature of such procedures. He introduced the Protect Children’s Innocence Act to make interventions such as “puberty blockers,” cross-sex hormones, and transgender surgeries a felony when performed on minors.
“Under no circumstances should doctors be allowed to perform these gruesome, irreversible operations on underage children,” the Ohio Republican said in introducing the bill.
Vance has indicated that he would support a federal ban on abortions after 15 weeks’ gestation, although he more recently said abortion laws should be up to the states in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling. In an interview July 7 with “Meet the Press,” Vance said he supports Americans having access to mifepristone, an abortion pill.
He has argued that the U.S. should shift its focus to East Asia, criticized unaccountable U.S. military aid to Ukraine, and backed funding for Israel during its war with the Hamas terrorist organization.
5. Family and Faith
Vance, who turns 40 on Aug. 2, has three children with his wife Usha Chilukuri Vance, whom he married in 2014.
Although the Ohio senator grew up in a “conservative, evangelical” branch of Protestantism, he told The Washington Post that he was seriously considering converting to Catholicism in September 2016. He was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Church in Cincinnati in 2019.
Vance chose Augustine of Hippo as his confirmation saint. Augustine, best known for his seminal works “Confessions” and “City of God,” helped found a robust intellectual tradition in the Catholic Church and inspired many Protestants as well.
“One of the subtexts about my return to Christianity is that I had come from a world that wasn’t super-intellectual about the Christian faith,” Vance told columnist Rod Dreher in 2019. “I spend a lot of my time these days among a lot of intellectual people who aren’t Christian. Augustine gave me a way to understand Christian faith in a strongly intellectual way.”
“I also went through an angry atheist phase,” Vance added. “As someone who spent a lot of his life buying into the lie that you had to be stupid to be a Christian, Augustine really demonstrated in a moving way that that’s not true.”
Five Things New “Preppers” Forget When Getting Ready for Bad Times Ahead
The preparedness community is growing faster than it has in decades. Even during peak times such as Y2K, the economic downturn of 2008, and Covid, the vast majority of Americans made sure they had plenty of toilet paper but didn’t really stockpile anything else.
Things have changed. There’s a growing anxiety in this presidential election year that has prompted more Americans to get prepared for crazy events in the future. Some of it is being driven by fearmongers, but there are valid concerns with the economy, food supply, pharmaceuticals, the energy grid, and mass rioting that have pushed average Americans into “prepper” mode.
There are degrees of preparedness. One does not have to be a full-blown “doomsday prepper” living off-grid in a secure Montana bunker in order to be ahead of the curve. In many ways, preparedness isn’t about being able to perfectly handle every conceivable situation. It’s about being less dependent on government for as long as possible. Those who have proper “preps” will not be waiting for FEMA to distribute emergency supplies to the desperate masses.
Below are five things people new to preparedness (and sometimes even those with experience) often forget as they get ready. All five are common sense notions that do not rely on doomsday in order to be useful. It may be nice to own a tank during the apocalypse but there’s not much you can do with it until things get really crazy. The recommendations below can have places in the lives of average Americans whether doomsday comes or not.
Note: The information provided by this publication or any related communications is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. We do not provide personalized investment, financial, or legal advice.
Secured Wealth
Whether in the bank or held in a retirement account, most Americans feel that their life’s savings is relatively secure. At least they did until the last couple of years when de-banking, geopolitical turmoil, and the threat of Central Bank Digital Currencies reared their ugly heads.
It behooves Americans to diversify their holdings. If there’s a triggering event or series of events that cripple the financial systems or devalue the U.S. Dollar, wealth can evaporate quickly. To hedge against potential turmoil, many Americans are looking in two directions: Crypto and physical precious metals.
There are huge advantages to cryptocurrencies, but there are also inherent risks because “virtual” money can become challenging to spend. Add in the push by central banks and governments to regulate or even replace cryptocurrencies with their own versions they control and the risks amplify. There’s nothing wrong with cryptocurrencies today but things can change rapidly.
As for physical precious metals, many Americans pay cash to keep plenty on hand in their safe. Rolling over or transferring retirement accounts into self-directed IRAs is also a popular option, but there are caveats. It can often take weeks or even months to get the gold and silver shipped if the owner chooses to close their account. This is why Genesis Gold Group stands out. Their relationship with the depositories allows for rapid closure and shipping, often in less than 10 days from the time the account holder makes their move. This can come in handy if things appear to be heading south.
Lots of Potable Water
One of the biggest shocks that hit new preppers is understanding how much potable water they need in order to survive. Experts claim one gallon of water per person per day is necessary. Even the most conservative estimates put it at over half-a-gallon. That means that for a family of four, they’ll need around 120 gallons of water to survive for a month if the taps turn off and the stores empty out.
Being near a fresh water source, whether it’s a river, lake, or well, is a best practice among experienced preppers. It’s necessary to have a water filter as well, even if the taps are still working. Many refuse to drink tap water even when there is no emergency. Berkey was our previous favorite but they’re under attack from regulators so the Alexapure systems are solid replacements.
For those in the city or away from fresh water sources, storage is the best option. This can be challenging because proper water storage containers take up a lot of room and are difficult to move if the need arises. For “bug in” situations, having a larger container that stores hundreds or even thousands of gallons is better than stacking 1-5 gallon containers. Unfortunately, they won’t be easily transportable and they can cost a lot to install.
Water is critical. If chaos erupts and water infrastructure is compromised, having a large backup supply can be lifesaving.
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies
There are multiple threats specific to the medical supply chain. With Chinese and Indian imports accounting for over 90% of pharmaceutical ingredients in the United States, deteriorating relations could make it impossible to get the medicines and antibiotics many of us need.
Stocking up many prescription medications can be hard. Doctors generally do not like to prescribe large batches of drugs even if they are shelf-stable for extended periods of time. It is a best practice to ask your doctor if they can prescribe a larger amount. Today, some are sympathetic to concerns about pharmacies running out or becoming inaccessible. Tell them your concerns. It’s worth a shot. The worst they can do is say no.
If your doctor is unwilling to help you stock up on medicines, then Jase Medical is a good alternative. Through telehealth, they can prescribe daily meds or antibiotics that are shipped to your door. As proponents of medical freedom, they empathize with those who want to have enough medical supplies on hand in case things go wrong.
Energy Sources
The vast majority of Americans are locked into the grid. This has proven to be a massive liability when the grid goes down. Unfortunately, there are no inexpensive remedies.
Those living off-grid had to either spend a lot of money or effort (or both) to get their alternative energy sources like solar set up. For those who do not want to go so far, it’s still a best practice to have backup power sources. Diesel generators and portable solar panels are the two most popular, and while they’re not inexpensive they are not out of reach of most Americans who are concerned about being without power for extended periods of time.
Natural gas is another necessity for many, but that’s far more challenging to replace. Having alternatives for heating and cooking that can be powered if gas and electric grids go down is important. Have a backup for items that require power such as manual can openers. If you’re stuck eating canned foods for a while and all you have is an electric opener, you’ll have problems.
Don’t Forget the Protein
When most think about “prepping,” they think about their food supply. More Americans are turning to gardening and homesteading as ways to produce their own food. Others are working with local farmers and ranchers to purchase directly from the sources. This is a good idea whether doomsday comes or not, but it’s particularly important if the food supply chain is broken.
Most grocery stores have about one to two weeks worth of food, as do most American households. Grocers rely heavily on truckers to receive their ongoing shipments. In a crisis, the current process can fail. It behooves Americans for multiple reasons to localize their food purchases as much as possible.
Long-term storage is another popular option. Canned foods, MREs, and freeze dried meals are selling out quickly even as prices rise. But one component that is conspicuously absent in shelf-stable food is high-quality protein. Most survival food companies offer low quality “protein buckets” or cans of meat, but they are often barely edible.
Prepper All-Naturals offers premium cuts of steak that have been cooked sous vide and freeze dried to give them a 25-year shelf life. They offer Ribeye, NY Strip, and Tenderloin among others.
Having buckets of beans and rice is a good start, but keeping a solid supply of high-quality protein isn’t just healthier. It can help a family maintain normalcy through crises.
Prepare Without Fear
With all the challenges we face as Americans today, it can be emotionally draining. Citizens are scared and there’s nothing irrational about their concerns. Being prepared and making lifestyle changes to secure necessities can go a long way toward overcoming the fears that plague us. We should hope and pray for the best but prepare for the worst. And if the worst does come, then knowing we did what we could to be ready for it will help us face those challenges with confidence.
#6. Holds an Israeli passport. He’s a dual citizen, like so many other in Congress. Why is that?