A former classmate of J.D. Vance has leaked a trove of emails and text messages from the Republican Party vice presidential nominee, containing comments about Donald Trump in which he calls the former president “a morally reprehensible human being.”
Sofia Nelson, a former classmate of Vance’s at Yale Law School, shared about 90 emails and text messages with her. the new york times.
The emails show how Vance went from being a staunch opponent of Trump to someone who is now his running mate for the 2024 presidential election.
Nelson, who is transgender, said the two were good friends but had a falling out in 2021 when Vance supported an Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
In a 2015 email, Nelson wrote to Vance that a friend of theirs who wore a hijab no longer felt safe doing so. He responded by calling Trump a demagogue.
The emails show how Vance went from being a strong opponent of Trump to his running mate for the 2024 presidential election.
Sofia Nelson, a former classmate of Vance’s at Yale Law School, shared about 90 emails and text messages with the New York Times
Vance told her: “I am obviously outraged by Trump’s rhetoric, and I am particularly concerned about how welcome Muslim citizens feel in their own country.
“But I also think that people have always believed in crazy shit. And there have always been demagogues who were willing to exploit the people who believe in crazy shit.”
He also wrote in a separate email: “If you look at the polls, the issue Trump is getting the most support on is the economy.
“If the media and the elites on both the right and the left just say, ‘Look at these stupid racists who support Trump,’ then they will never learn the most important lesson of Trump’s candidacy.”
Vance said he saw something in Trump and found it exciting that the media and Wall Street seemed powerless against him.
He added: “If he would just show a little less racism, I would really be his biggest supporter.”
As Election Day 2016 approached, Nelson let Vance know they would be knocking on doors for Hillary Clinton.
Vance replied: “I’m lucky I live in a place where I don’t have to vote for her (because the margin will be so big), because I know I would never support Trump even if it really mattered.’
He predicted Clinton would beat Trump, calling him a “disaster” and “just a bad person.”
In a 2015 email, Nelson wrote to Vance that a friend of theirs who wore a hijab no longer felt safe doing so. He responded by calling Trump a demagogue.
Vance said he saw something in Trump and found it exciting that the media and Wall Street seemed powerless against him.
In October 2014, following the killing of Michael Brown by a white police officer in St. Louis, Missouri, Nelson raised the issue of requiring all officers to wear body cameras.
Vance responded, “I hate the police. Given the number of negative experiences I’ve had over the years, I can’t imagine what a black man goes through.”
The year after the Charleston church shooting, the two again discussed racial issues.
Vance said he didn’t understand why people “don’t see the connection between this person killing innocent people and the fact that the Confederate flag is still flying” at the South Carolina Statehouse.
In his book Hillbilly Elegy, Vance called Nelson a lesbian and later apologized to her for it.
He said to her, “I hope you realize that the description came from ignorance when I first started writing years ago. I hope you’re not offended, but if you are, I’m sorry.”
Nelson responded by calling Vance “buddy,” while also thanking him for his “kindness.”
Trump and Vance of Ohio attend the second day of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., July 16, 2024
In October 2014, following the killing of Michael Brown by a white police officer in St. Louis, Missouri, Nelson raised the issue of all officers being required to wear body cameras. Vance said he hated officers
They added: ‘If you had written genderqueer radically pragmatically, no one would know what you meant.’
Nelson, now a Detroit prosecutor, attended Vance’s wedding in 2014 and thought about doing a podcast together. He suggested calling it “The Lunatic Fringe.”
Nelson told the outlet: “He achieved great success and became very wealthy by being a Never Trumper who explained the white working class to the liberal elite. Now he’s amassing even more power by saying the exact opposite.”
In a statement to the Times, a spokesperson for Vance said, “Senator Vance values his friendships with people across the political spectrum.
“He’s been candid about how some of his views from a decade ago began to change after he became a father and started a family. He’s also explained at length why he changed his mind about President Trump.
“Despite their differences, Senator Vance cares about Sofia and wishes her the best.”