What JD Vance Was Like Before Becoming Vice President Of The United States

The following article contains references to substance use.

JD Vance's life has been all about change. And, no, we aren't just talking about Vance's major weight loss transformation. The vice president of the United States has spent years evolving from a small town boy with few future prospects into a big-name politician. Growing up in an impoverished community in the midwest, Vance was a mediocre student who never imagined that he would one day go to college, let alone become a household name. Nevertheless, he persevered enough to get an education at Yale Law School and venture into government.

Even after he dipped his toes into the elite world of politics, Vance continued to change in more ways than one. He began his political career as one of Donald Trump's most vocal critics — only to later become his V.P. He once opposed the Republican party's history of supporting tax cuts for the rich but became part of an administration that has supported this type of policy. So, how did he get here?

These days, JD Vance lives in the beautiful white vice presidential mansion located at DC's 1 Observatory Circle. He dines at formal state events, and his wife, Usha Vance, wears fashionable gowns. However, the American politician has not always lived in such luxury. Unlike many other Washington insiders, Vance did not hail from a family of doctors, lawyers, or engineers. Au contraire, Vance grew up in an underserved community in Middletown, Ohio, where very few people went to university.

In his book, "Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis," Vance described his background as "Scots-Irish hillbilly." Elaborating on this concept, he wrote, "I may be white, but I do not identify with the WASPs of the Northeast. Instead, I identify with the millions of working-class white Americans of Scots-Irish descent who have no college degree. To these folks poverty is the family tradition." The future vice president went on to share that he grew up in an environment characterized by a long legacy of financial difficulties. His parents both experienced drug addiction, and neither of his grandparents had the chance to pursue a higher education.

Many of the people who Vance knew growing up struggled on a daily basis. "Many of us have dropped out of the labor force or have chosen not to relocate for better opportunities," he wrote in his book. He later added that this culture can "make it difficult to succeed in a changing world."

When it comes to education, JD Vance seems like the pinnacle of an American success story. Despite growing up with a decisive lack of opportunities, Vance studied hard and managed to secure a spot at Ohio State University. From there, he went on to learn everything he could about legal theory and went onto attend Yale. Because Vance's path to success was so impressive, it might be tempting to laud him as a brilliant student. However, in his memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy," Vance warned his readers not to characterize him in these glowing terms. According to the current vice president, the truth behind his educational ascent is much more complicated than what most people think.

"Today people look at me, at my job and my Ivy League credentials, and assume that I'm some sort of genius, that only a truly extraordinary person could have made it to where I am today," he wrote. "With all due respect to those people, I think that theory is a load of bullsh**." In truth, Vance revealed, he struggled in high school — partially due to the culture of pessimism and despair in his town. "I was one of those kids with a grim future," he explained. "I almost failed out of high school. I nearly gave into the deep anger and resentment harbored by everyone around me. ... Whatever talents I had, I almost squandered until a handful of loving people rescued me."

When discussing his transformation from a disengaged high school student to a successful lawyer and politician, Vance isn't afraid to show that his path was not linear. Whereas many young people from more privileged backgrounds go straight from high school to college, Vance tried a number of different careers along the way. Although he ultimately graduated from Middletown High School in Ohio, he was admittedly not particularly academically-focused; however, he was looking for some sort of purpose. He decided to enlist in the Marine Corps — a choice that would change his life forever.

As a member of the U.S. military, Vance was sent to Iraq on active duty. Although many former marines describe their deployment as one of the most life-altering experiences out there, Vance found other aspects of his military career to have an even more lasting impact. Writing in "Hillbilly Elegy," Vance explained, "The Marine Corps assumes maximum ignorance from its enlisted folks. It assumes that no one taught you anything about physical fitness, personal hygiene, or personal finances. I took mandatory classes about balancing a checkbook, saving, and investing. When I came home from boot camp ... a senior enlisted marine drove me to Navy Federal — a respected credit union — and had me open an account" (via Deseret). Vance's time in the military provided him with the basic education necessary to succeed in the civilian world. This proved essential for his eventual success.

After serving in the marines, JD Vance went on to enroll in Ohio State University. There, he engaged in challenging topics like philosophy and political science, which helped him understand his potential. He studied much harder than he did in high school and eventually earned a scholarship to Yale Law School. Unfortunately, however, Vance's financial aid package would not be enough to cover his living expenses. Thus, in the months leading up to his big move to New Haven, the future lawyer took on a summer job at a tile business.

Working at this small company was no easy task. Looking back at this experience in his memoir, Vance wrote, "Floor tile is extraordinarily heavy: Each piece weighs anywhere from three to six pounds, and it's usually packaged in cartons of eight to twelve pieces. My primary duty was to lift the floor tile onto a shipping pallet and prepare the pallet for departure." Lifting these cumbersome pieces was challenging for Vance, but he was determined not to quit. As he noted in his book, "It wasn't easy, but it paid thirteen dollars an hour, and I needed the money, so I took the job and collected as many overtime shifts as I could." Without this funding, Vance's dream of moving across the country and attending law school would be impossible.

When JD Vance finally began his studies at Yale Law School, he felt like he was entering a whole new universe. Whereas the world of his childhood was characterized by pessimism and poverty, Yale was brimming with privilege. This became evident to Vance when he realized that some of his favorite activities were considered uncouth by his new set. "When you go from working-class to professional-class, almost everything about your old life becomes unfashionable at best or unhealthy at worst. At no time was this more obvious than the first (and last) time I took a Yale friend to Cracker Barrel," he wrote in his memoir (via Deseret). The restaurant was not exactly admired by his new classmates at Yale.

Part of the issue was that a large percentage of Yale students didn't seem to be aware of their socioeconomic privilege. As Vance noted, "At Yale Law School, I felt like my spaceship had crashed in Oz. People would say with a straight face that a surgeon mother and engineer father were middle-class." Coming from a background where most people were struggling, Vance simply did not share this perspective. He was particularly shocked to realize just how much money he and his classmates would eventually earn. "In Middletown, $160,000 is an unfathomable salary; at Yale Law School, students expect to earn that amount in the first year after law school," he explained.

Although Yale Law School was in many ways a jarring experience for JD Vance, it was also a fulfilling one. Whereas Vance had previously studied in more laid-back environments, Yale offered the academic intensity and rigor that he longed for. Not only were his classes incredibly challenging, but his classmates were focused on succeeding. He was allowed to spend hours holed up in the legal library, which looks like something out of a "Harry Potter" movie. For Vance, this was akin to being in paradise. As he would later write, "Yale Law School was like nerd Hollywood, and I never stopped feeling like an awestruck tourist" (via Deseret).

The academic environment at Yale was not the only thing that Vance enjoyed. He also found himself drawn to a fellow law student by the name of Usha Chilukuri. In some ways, she was everything he was not. Whereas he was uncomfortable with the elite environment at Yale, she seemed to thrive in it. On occasions in which he had no idea what to do, she always seemed to have the answer. According their fellow Yale Law School alum Charles Tyler, it didn't take long for Vance to turn to Usha for advice. Speaking to the BBC, Tyler explained, "Usha was teaching JD about the subtler aspects about being at an elite institution. Usha was his guide throughout the process." The pair fell in love and eventually got married.

In the spring of 2013, JD Vance should have been embarking on the happiest phase of his life. He was on the cusp of graduating from Yale. His relationship to the woman then known as Usha Chilukuri was going great. His career prospects looked better than ever. As exciting as this all was, the tragic reality of JD Vance's early years came back to haunt him when he discovered that his mother, Bev Vance, had overdosed.

Writing about this incident in an article for the Atlantic, the future vice president shared, "Shortly before I graduated from law school, I learned that my own mother lay comatose in a hospital, the consequence of an apparent heroin overdose." Apparently, this was not the first time that Vance had watched his mother suffer as a result of addiction. In the same piece, Vance noted that she had a long history of drug misuse, writing, "Heroin was only her latest drug of choice. Prescription opioids — 'hillbilly heroin' some call it, to highlight its special appeal among white working-class folks like us — had already landed Mom in the hospital and cost our family dearly in the decade before her first taste of actual heroin." 

Thankfully, the vice president's mother recovered and got sober soon afterward.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

About a year after graduating from Yale, JD Vance and Usha Vance's relationship evolved into marriage. The couple tied the knot twice — once in a Southern-themed ceremony in Kentucky and again in a Hindu wedding celebration. In 2017, the couple welcomed a boy, Ewan Vance, and three years later, Vivek Vance joined the family. Their daughter, Mirabel Vance, arrived more recently in 2021.

JD Vance and Usha Vance's three kids changed everything for the couple. Not only did their lifestyle change, but their worldview shifted as well. Following JD's controversial remarks about childless women, which crossed a major line with Swifties, JD explained his view of parenthood on "The Megyn Kelly Show.": "I know the media wants to attack me and wants me to back down on this ... but the simple point that I made is that having children, becoming a father, becoming a mother, I really do think it changes your perspective in a pretty profound way." Vance went on to share how fatherhood increased his sense of empathy and responsibility. 

Before long, Vance felt that being a loving father was more important than being a successful career-person. As he shared in a speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention, "The American dream that always counted most was not starting a business or becoming a senator. ... My most important American dream was becoming a good husband and a good dad."

In 2025, JD Vance is known as Donald Trump's right-hand man. However, the vice president wasn't always so keen on Trump. Back in 2016, Vance was actually one of the then-presidential candidate's biggest critics. As reported by Reuters, leaked Facebook messages between Vance and a colleague show that Trump's veep once compared him to the German dictator, Adolf Hitler. "I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical a**hole like Nixon who wouldn't be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he's America's Hitler," Vance allegedly wrote in the private message.

In public, Vance was just as critical of Trump and his politics. He even published an opinion piece in the The Atlantic that compared supporting Trump to misusing drugs. "During this election season, it appears that many Americans have reached for a new pain reliever. It too, promises a quick escape from life's cares, an easy solution to the mounting social problems of U.S. communities and culture," Vance wrote. "It demands nothing and requires little more than a modest presence and maybe a few enablers. It enters minds, not through lungs or veins, but through eyes and ears, and its name is Donald Trump." This scathing article showed that Vance truly did not believe that Trump's rhetoric was good for the future of the United States. On the contrary, he characterized it as something profoundly poisonous. 

Based on JD Vance's early condemnation of Donald Trump, one would think that the two men would never be friends. However, much like Prince Albert of Monaco — who developed a bromance with Trump after publicly criticizing him — Vance eventually changed his tune.

In 2018, he sat down with Shawn Donnan of the Financial Times. During the conversation that followed, the Republican politician offered less criticism of Trump. "He is one of the few political leaders in America that recognizes the frustration that exists in large parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky and so forth," Vance said. In the same conversation, the future vice president would go on to regret his critiques of Trump — when really he had a larger issue with the Republican party as a whole. "I wasn't as critical of my party in 2016 as I was the person. But when I look at tax reform, when I look at healthcare reform, I see Trump as the least worrisome part of the Republican party's problem," Vance said. He later added that he was against tax cuts for the wealthy and the elimination of social programs. Interestingly, these are both policies that Trump's administration has supported in 2025.

By July 2021, it had become clear that JD Vance had done a total 180 with respect to Donald Trump. In a conversation with Fox News, the future vice president back tracked on a lot of the negative comments he had made about the president. Instead, he expressed his utmost support for Trump — surprising some of his fans. "Like a lot of people, I criticized Trump back in 2016. And, I ask folks not to judge me based on what I said in 2016, because I've been very open that I did say those critical things and I regret them, and I regret being wrong about the guy," Vance said.

This change of heart may seem sudden to some. Nevertheless, it worked out for Vance. While Trump reportedly didn't let JD Vance off the hook easy for his past comments, they made amends, and in January 2025, Vance was sworn in as the 50th vice president of the United States, making him a key member of Trump's administration. It will be interesting to see what he accomplishes in the coming years.