OUR DAILY THREAD: Will the real JD Vance please stand up? Or stand down?
Opportunistic organism
THE SET-UP: One of the 2024 Presidential campaign’s notable moments came during the Vice Presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz.
After weeks of frothy-mouthed attacks, the Trump’s designated dog in the fight didn’t show up for his showdown with his Democratic counterpart. Millions of Americans expected to see the JD Vance who cynically trafficked a specious story about pet-eating Haitian immigrants. What they got was a masterclass in seamlessly switching from Hyde to Jekyll.
Vance’s conciliatory tone disarmed Walz and it felt like a breath of fresh air in a political environment polluted with rancid rhetoric. Vance was polling badly and was particularly unpopular with women. His performance seemed tailor-made to put some points onto his Q score. If nothing else, it temporarily blunted talk of Trump’s “buyer’s remorse.” Once the debate was behind him, Vance quickly switched back to his Jekyll-like persona.
The ease with which he can change personas is a feature, not a bug of his political career. No one would’ve predicted his present personage when the cherubic-faced author of Hillbilly Elegy was the darling of both the literati and the blatherati. The catalytic force behind this evolution appears to be Peter Thiel.
Shortly after Thiel backed Vance’s foray into venture capitalism, the much-celebrated chronicler of rural despair shed his criticism of Trump as “America’s Hitler” like a molting snake and, thanks in no small part to Thiel’s backchanneled influence, JD ultimately slithered his way into the role of Rudolf Hess.
Although it’s not comparable to Hess’s sojourn in Scotland, Vance’s visit to Minnesota underscored the slimy skill-set that got him where he is today. After a year spent stoking the flames, Vance parachuted into the middle of the bonfire to play the part of fireman. He sounded downright reasonable in trying to explain away the reported detention of a five year-old child. He also spoke in dulcet tones about the regime’s decision to nullify the Fourth Amendment. Both explanations relied on the kind of sophistry Peter Thiel used to transform the Book of Revelation into an argument in favor of the very technologies most End Times believers believe The Beast will use to leave its mark on the unraptured.
How effective Vance is at triangulating remains an open question. He hasn’t come close to engineering a “Sister Souljah moment," nor would I expect one until Trump’s power to punish comes to an end. Until then, he can goad us into pondering the potential upsides of Mr. Hyde sliding into the Oval Office before Trump’s term is up. At least he isn’t addled by age or infirmity … and he can sound reasonable. And “reasonable” sure sounds awfully appealing when compared to Donald’s digressive din.
That’s why he does it. More to the point, that’s why he’s in a position to do it.
But whether he’s Jekyll or Hyde, or Trump’s Hess or Thiel’s hired Hessian, the one thing he cannot avoid being is … JD Vance. - jp
Vance Says There Is No Need for Troops in Minneapolis ‘Right Now’
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/us/minneapolis-ice-crackdown.html
Vance Blames Unrest in Minneapolis on Residents’ ‘Weird Reaction’ to ICE
https://www.notus.org/trump-white-house/ice-jd-vance-immigration-customs-enforcement-minneapolis-minnesota-protest
WATCH: To lower tensions over ICE, ‘all we need is a little cooperation,’ Vance says in Minneapolis
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-vance-speaks-in-minneapolis-after-deadly-ice-shooting
Vance says Minneapolis will be ‘less chaotic’ if local officials cooperate more with ICE
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/jd-vance/vance-calm-tensions-minneapolis-criticizing-protests-rcna255237
VP Vance: Story of ICE-detained 5-year-old Minnesota boy “lacks context”
ttps://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/video/vp-vance-story-of-ice-detained-5-year-old-minnesota-boy-lacks-context/
JD Vance defends ICE seizing child: ‘What are they supposed to do?’
https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/ice-detains-5-year-old-boy-minnesota-tp8pq0fbm
Lawyer disputes Vance claims about 5-year-old arrest by ICE, ‘inhumane and unacceptable’
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/ice-in-minnesota/lawyer-vance-5-year-old-arrest-ice-columbia-heights/89-f5f5b915-c6d5-4512-a846-364b98b465cf
Vance Defends ICE Memo Telling Agents They Can Raid Homes Without A Judge’s Warrant
https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2026/01/22/vance-defends-ice-memo-telling-agents-they-can-raid-homes-without-a-judges-warrant/
Can ICE Enter a Home To Make an Arrest With Only an Administrative Warrant?
https://reason.com/volokh/2026/01/22/can-ice-enter-a-home-to-make-an-arrest-with-only-an-administrative-warrant/
ICE Can Bust Into Houses Without Warrants Based On Memo So Cool And Legal They Keep It Hidden
https://abovethelaw.com/2026/01/ice-can-bust-into-houses-without-warrants-based-on-memo-so-cool-and-legal-they-keep-it-hidden/