-Analysis-
PARIS – This is highly unusual in the American system. Not a day goes by without U.S. Vice President JD Vance making headlines — and not just for ceremonial duties. At 40 years old, alongside a president nearly twice his age, Vance is actively shaping political decisions while quietly laying the groundwork for his future post-Trump.
He is doubly in the spotlight this week. First, unintentionally, for his involvement in a Signal messaging group now at the center of a political storm in Washington. And second, for tagging along on a trip to Greenland where his wife was supposed to travel alone, creating one of those diplomatic entanglements that Trump administration is so good at.
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What stood out in the leaked Signal exchange, revealed by The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, was a comment from Vance. He openly questioned whether Donald Trump was “fully aware” of the contradiction between the military action being discussed among top officials and the U.S. president’s political messaging.
Shift in loyalty
That remark hinted at a lingering doubt in Vance’s mind about Trump’s consistency on the crucial issue of military force. The uncertainty was enough for the vice president to later release a statement expressing his “unequivocal support for the administration’s foreign policy.” The New York Times summed it up with the headline: “Vance Focuses on Proving His Loyalty to Trump.”
Vance is uniquely positioned to unite the often-contradictory factions within the Trumpist movement.
This incident — just a small detail in the larger scandal now known as “Signalgate” — sheds light on JD Vance’s political journey. He wasn’t a Trump loyalist from the start; in fact, he once even compared Trump to Hitler. But he later fell in line, ultimately securing his spot as Trump’s running mate in last year’s campaign. His loyalty, therefore, is anything but long-standing.
The question looms even larger given that Vance embodies a particular ideological positioning in the Trumpist galaxy. He comes from the tech world, which holds significant sway in today’s power structure. His entry into politics was backed by Peter Thiel, one of the tech industry’s leading “oligarchs” and a former PayPal executive, much like Elon Musk.
Future ambitions
Vance has a two objectives. Ideologically, during Trump’s term, he aims to bridge the gap between Silicon Valley’s “techno-utopia” and the populism that has fueled Trump’s rise since his first victory. Today, these two worlds are at odds, despite sharing a similar anti-democratic outlook.
As an ultra-conservative with working-class roots and a meritocratic ascent, Vance is uniquely positioned to unite the often-contradictory factions within the Trumpist movement.
His second objective, which is an open secret, is of course to succeed Donald Trump in four years. By then, he’ll be the right age and have the legitimacy to do so. But Trump has already answered “no” when asked if Vance would be his successor, likely to maintain his own authority during these next four years.
In the meantime, Vance is making his mark like few vice presidents before him, certainly not Kamala Harris alongside Joe Biden in the previous term.
This week, he’ll have the opportunity to represent imperial Trumpism in Greenland, stealing the spotlight from his own wife. Understanding what’s going on in Vance’s head can be unsettling from a European perspective; it is, in any case, essential to interpreting the present and, more importantly, the future of Trumpism.
