JD Vance Accidentally Admits Trump Doesn't Want To Be Seen With Him

If you've noticed Donald Trump and his vice presidential pick JD Vance don't seem to be in the same place very often, you're not imagining things. Vance recently sat down with NBC News to discuss what being Trump's running mate is like, and he accidentally revealed that the former president doesn't want to be seen with him in the process. According to Vance: "[Trump] said, basically, 'I trust you. We should both be in different places, unless it's a really big event ... divide and conquer.'" 

Although this method of tackling campaign events could help Trump and Vance reach more audiences than joint appearances, it seems there's more to the disconnect than just not being seen together. Vance's description of their strategy suggests there's little unity in how his running mate and he are getting the MAGA message out to supporters: "We're each trying to talk to different people in different ways, and we're each trying to try to run the race as best we can," Vance added.

This may seem like a strange way for running mates to behave, but clues to Trump's desire to avoid being seen with Vance may stem from their past. After all, Vance wasn't always a fan of the former president, and building a working relationship after a history of bad blood can be an uphill battle. 

Although the two are now running for the highest offices in the land together, JD Vance and Donald Trump's complicated relationship seemed like an impossibility back in 2016. Vance was very vocal about his dislike for Trump at the time and shared his negative opinions on social media. For example, CNN reporter Andy Kaczynski shared a since-deleted disparaging tweet that Vance posted on X, formerly Twitter:

Vance also deleted a tweet saying he found Trump reprehensible from October 2016. pic.twitter.com/sTYhOpMnPG

— Andy Kaczynski (@KFILE) July 1, 2021

According to the Ohio Capital Journal, Georgia state Rep. Josh McLaurin, a Democrat who was one of Vance's former Yale roommates also shared a screenshot of private messages from Vance comparing Trump to Hitler. McLaurin wrote in the since-deleted tweet sharing the message, "The public deserves to know the magnitude of this guy's bad faith." Vance even sat down with Charlie Rose to discuss his memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy," and took the opportunity to snub Trump in the process. Vance described himself as "someone who doesn't like Trump" and explained that support for the then-presidential hopeful was fueled by cynicism.

For his part, Trump seemed to feel more favorably toward Vance. According to Politico, he declared "I like J.D." in 2022. Nevertheless, his previous statements make Vance's friendship with Trump seem tenuous at best, which may explain why the presidential hopeful seems to be keeping his running mate at arm's length.