Donald Trump's Shadiest Digs At JD Vance

JD Vance is notably one of the six people in Donald Trump's inner circle who once hated him. According to the Washington Post, in February 2016, the bestselling "Hillbilly Elegy" author wrote his friend a text to share that he went "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 further cemented his dislike for the divisive politician in a July 2016 op-ed piece for the Atlantic, where he compared him to an addictive, pain-relieving, and no-good-for-you drug that doesn't even address the root cause of the problem. Further, Vance called the future president out for selling the masses a vague story about how he had the solution to all of America's problems without offering up any practical details whatsoever. 

According to CNN, the former Ohio senator similarly slammed Trump in a since-deleted tweet from October of that year, reportedly writing, "Trump makes people I care about afraid. Immigrants, Muslims, etc. Because of this I find him reprehensible. God wants better of us." Given all this, it's unsurprising that Vance told NPR just a couple of months prior that he would most likely have to cast his ballot in favor of a third-party candidate in the upcoming elections since he didn't agree with Hillary Clinton's political views either. Naturally, Trump didn't let Vance off the hook for his past comments when they first met, telling him, "You said some nasty s*** about me," per TIME sources. And Vance and Trump's relationship only got more complicated from there, leading the president to make several shady remarks about his chosen VP.

JD Vance's life got even more embarrassing when Donald Trump stopped pretending to care about him. When the president spoke to Bret Baier for Fox News in February 2025, he was asked if he believed his vice president could potentially fill his shoes in 2028. Needless to say, the controversial politician could have used the opportunity to lift the "Hillbilly Elegy" author up publicly and present a united front for the American people. But for some reason, Trump decided the situation called for brutal honesty, answering, "No, but he's very capable," (via The Independent). 

For once, though, the president immediately realized his mistake and quickly tried to save face by elaborating, "I think you have a lot of very capable people." Trump added, "So far I think he's doing a fantastic job. It's too early. We're just starting." If that wasn't bad enough already, when Baier alluded to endorsing his veep in the midterms, Trump dodged the question by patting himself on the back for the initial days of his presidency. Suffice it to say that the dig would have hit Vance where it hurts because he already had a lot to prove before he even stepped into office. 

In July 2024, shortly after Trump crowned the Ohio Senator as his running mate, CNN data analyst Erin Burnett appeared on "OutFront" to report that he was polling terribly. On average, every VP pick since 2000 had polled with a 19-point positive rating. However, Vance was a stark (and only) exception to the average because he was polling at a disappointing minus six points.

Donald Trump can't seem to praise Elon Musk without bringing his vice president, JD Vance, down in the process. For instance, when the former "Apprentice" host took the stage at a Washington rally ahead of his inauguration in January 2025, he made sure to gush about the SpaceX founder several times. However, when it came to Vance, all Trump could muster was: "I want to thank our next Vice President of the United States, JD Vance," (via YouTube). Although the divisive leader admittedly gave him a singular word of praise, its effect was dulled by the fact that Trump had no idea where Vance was even sitting at the important event. 

To make matters even worse, Trump followed up his veep non-shoutout with praise for his wife. In the past though, Vance has made it abundantly clear that he wouldn't let the tech billionaire take his coveted spot beside the president without a fight. In November 2024, Grace Chong, the COO and CFO of Trump ally Steve Bannon's "WarRoom" venture, shared an X post decrying Vance and several other Republican politicians for failing to show up to an important Senate vote. Trump seemingly shared the same views because he penned a Truth Social post urging Republican senators to do their jobs. However, Vance wasn't having it this time. 

The former Ohio senator posted a since-deleted tweet on X to call Chong some rather unsavory names before apparently taking a shot at his boss too by writing, "I tend to think it's more important to get an FBI director who will dismantle the deep state than it is for Republicans to lose a vote 49-46 rather than 49-45. But that's just me."

During the Chicago National Association of Black Journalists conference in August 2024, Donald Trump saw an opportunity to very publicly bring JD Vance down and he took it. According to Business Insider, the controversial politician stated, "Historically, the vice president — in terms of the election — does not have any impact. I mean, virtually no impact." He further tried to make his case by asserting that most people didn't cast their votes because they favored a certain running mate. In typical fashion, Vance had no choice but to take the jab on the chin. Speaking on the "Full Send Podcast" shortly afterward, the bestselling author proclaimed that he agreed with his boss's sentiment because the president truly was the star of the show. 

Additionally, Vance insisted that his purpose on the ticket was to make people understand that then-Vice President Kamala Harris' supposed incompetence made her a poor choice for the top job. However, despite all his support, the former Ohio senator conceded that the dig still made its mark, admitting, "My attitude is, it doesn't really matter, as much as this is a hit to my ego." Unfortunately for Vance's ego, it certainly seems like if Trump could have a do-over, he would've gone with Elon Musk as his VP instead. And he doesn't exactly go to great lengths to hide his feelings either. In fact, in February 2025, the president took to X to share a promo of his and Musk's recent interview with Sean Hannity, which left everyone wondering who the real vice president was.

During an August 2024 appearance on NBC News' "Meet The Press," JD Vance diclosed that Donald Trump had told him in no uncertain terms that he wouldn't support a national abortion ban. However, when Vance's words came up during Trump's presidential debate against former Vice President Kamala Harris in September 2024, he gave a strange answer that undermined his running mate's authority. "I didn't discuss it with JD," the Republican candidate clarified (via ABC News). "And I don't mind if he has a certain view. But I think he was speaking for me — but I really didn't." The awkward debate fumble left Vance with no choice but to fall on the sword for Trump. 

In a subsequent interview with NBC News' "Meet The Press," which took place just a few days later, the bestselling author recognized, "I've learned my lesson on speaking for the president before he and I have actually talked about an issue." Further, Vance acknowledged that he hadn't actually discussed the issue with Trump directly because it seemed too far-fetched to warrant a serious talk. 

Vance also noted that the "Apprentice" alum had made it abundantly clear that he wanted to let each state decide on their abortion policies. Despite these attempts to save face, the pair's discord was evident. And a body language expert exclusively confirmed to The List that even when Trump was taking a dig at Kamala Harris' VP pick, Tim Walz, he was actually projecting his own buyer's remorse.

In addition to taking several not-so-subtle shots at JD Vance, Donald Trump evidently doesn't care enough about his VP to even get his name right. While speaking at his 2025 presidential inauguration, Trump attempted to give a shoutout to Vance, but things didn't exactly go as planned as he asked the assembled crowd, "How good is JB?" (via X, formerly known as Twitter). While he corrected his mistake in the very next sentence, it naturally wasn't enough to convince social media commentators that it wasn't a Freudian slip. As one X critic remarked, "The quicker JD Vance realizes he's nothing but a placeholder token within the Trump administration, the better." They continued, "Trump can't even remember his own Vice President's name. This is just sad." 

Meanwhile, tons of other users poked fun at the error by pointing out to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker that the president had essentially shouted him out in his speech. While Trump's flub of Vance's name showed how disconnected they really were, it unfortunately wasn't even the first time the error occurred. While the controversial leader bragged about all the candidates he had endorsed for the Republican primary in 2022, he noted that he had put his support behind "J.P" or possibly "JD Mandel," per The Hill. It appears that Trump got his future vice president mixed up with one of his opponents, Josh Mandel. However, Vance later claimed to CBS News that he wasn't losing any sleep over the minor mistake since his boss made so many speeches in a day that he was bound to get things mixed up occasionally. Or, in the case of his VP's name, constantly.