REUTERS/Gaelen Morse
- JD Vance and Donald Trump Jr. have developed a close friendship and communicate "nearly daily," per The Times.
- Vance was once a critic of former President Trump but has become a champion of the ex-president.
- Per The Times, Vance is on the former president's list as a potential 2024 vice presidential pick.
When Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio arrived in the Senate last year, he was already a well-known figure, boosted by his best-selling memoir "Hillbilly Elegy" and its subsequent film adaptation.
For many GOP figures, Vance represents the future of the party, one that embraces the more isolationist "America First" worldview advanced by former President Donald Trump.
And while Vance in the past had been highly critical of Trump, the freshman senator is now one of the ex-president's most ardent champions in the upper chamber.
Vance's loyalty has not only landed him on Trump's list as a potential 2024 vice presidential pick, but it has also led the Ohioan to develop a close friendship with the former president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., according to The New York Times.
Vance and Trump Jr. exchange text messages or speak on the phone "nearly daily" and the two men also attempt to arrange meet-ups if they happen to be in the same city, per the newspaper.
The friendship between the two men is also evident on social media, where Vance, in a recent X post, backed up Trump Jr.'s criticism of congressional GOP leadership, namely House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana.
I’m certainly bothered by it.
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) April 18, 2024
Perhaps Mike Johnson should stop going on TV and telling the world that Donald Trump endorses every piece of his ridiculous betrayal. https://t.co/D6rMcCIlYE
Trump Jr., in a statement to The Times, heaped further praise on Vance, who was backed by the former president in the 2022 GOP Senate primary in Ohio, an endorsement that helped lift him to the nomination in what was a crowded and competitive race.
During the general election campaign, Trump Jr. also stumped for Vance throughout Ohio.
"In the world of politics, you make a lot of acquaintances, but there are very few actual friends," Trump Jr. told the newspaper. "JD has become a close friend of mine, and I'm a big supporter of everything he's been doing policywise to put America First in the Senate."