A 2014 remark by JD Vance saying “I hate the police” is circulating on social media, raising eyebrows as the Ohio senator is now GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump‘s running mate.
On Saturday, The New York Times published an article that included 90 emails and text messages from Vance that dated from 2014 to 2017. The messages were provided by Vance’s close law school friend, Sofia Nelson, who fell out with Vance in 2021 over his support for an Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for minors. Nelson identifies as transgender.
Prior to that, the friends’ conversations often reflected the current political environment around them, from police violence to political candidates, including Trump.
On August 9, 2014, an unarmed Black 18-year-old man, Michael Brown was killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Demonstrations rapidly spread across the country giving rise to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement that started the year before.
Two months later, Nelson proposed the idea to Vance in an email that police officers should be required to wear body cameras.
“I hate the police,” Vance replied to Nelson, the Times reported. “Given the number of negative experiences I’ve had in the past few years, I can’t imagine what a Black guy goes through.”
Luke Schroeder, a spokesman for the Vance campaign told the Times in a statement, which was then sent directly to Newsweek on Saturday afternoon, “It’s unfortunate this individual chose to leak decade-old private conversations between friends to The New York Times. Senator Vance values his friendships with individuals across the political spectrum. He has been open about the fact that some of his views from a decade ago began to change after becoming a dad and starting a family, and he has thoroughly explained why he changed his mind on President Trump. Despite their disagreements, Senator Vance cares for Sofia and wishes Sofia the very best.”
Vance’s police comment, which contrasts with his more recent criticisms of political opponents seeking to defund the police and his introduction of a 2023 resolution “expressing support for the law enforcement officers of the United States,” has caught the attention of many social media users, especially from across the aisle.
The report has also brought back up the controversy over Vance’s previous views toward the former president. Vance was previously a vocal critic of Trump, having called him “America’s Hitler,” but in recent years he has become supportive of the former president.
Nathan Robinson, editor of Current Affairs magazine, shared a screenshot of the Times quote, and wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “I don’t like the police either but a convicted felon and a guy who hates the police trying to run a ‘law and order’ campaign against a harsh prosecutor seems unlikely to work.” In May, a New York jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts in his criminal hush money case. Trump has maintained his innocence in the case and plans to appeal.
I don’t like the police either but a convicted felon and a guy who hates the police trying to run a “law and order” campaign against a harsh prosecutor seems unlikely to work
— Nathan J Robinson (@NathanJRobinson) July 27, 2024
Ron Filipkowski, editor-in-chief of the left-leaning MeidasTouch outlet, wrote in an X post: “JD Vance wrote to his friend, in 2014, ‘I hate the police.’ All the Trump campaign’s junk about Harris and defund the police can’t overcome that. Your guy in writing said he hates cops because of how they treat black people. You are so screwed.”
On Sunday, President Joe Biden announced his exit from this year’s presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, a former California attorney general and senator. Harris has since launched her presidential campaign.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s campaign spokesperson for comment via email on Saturday.
JD Vance wrote to his friend, in 2014, “I hate the police.”
All the Trump campaign’s junk about Harris and defund the police can’t overcome that. Your guy in writing said he hates cops because of how they treat black people. You are so screwed.
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) July 27, 2024
The Trump campaign posted on their official X account on July 24 that the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) endorsed Trump. In a statement endorsing the former president, it wrote, “The NAPO endorsement recognizes Mr. Trump’s steadfast and public support for our men and women that represent the thin blue line protecting our communities.”
Patriot Takes, an anonymous social media account that says it is “exposing right-wing extremism and other threats to democracy,” reshared the Trump campaign’s NAPO endorsement photo, posting a screenshot of the Times‘ report and wrote, “This your guy? JD Vance: ‘I hate the police.'”
Other notable Democratic political staffers, including Tommy Vietor, a former President Barack Obama staffer and Emmy Ruiz, the White House political director, reshared the article highlighting the quote.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
