‘MAGA clone’: JD Vance brings anti-LGBTQ record to 2024 campaign

Ohio Senator JD Vance, former President Donald Trump’s new running mate, has rapidly carved out a place in the conservative spotlight after getting elected to the upper house in 2022 — and since that time he has become known for his stances against LGBTQ rights and other key issues.

The 39-year-old junior senator has been vocally opposed to LGBTQ rights since he ran for office. In a 2022 Senate debate against his Democratic counterpart, then-Rep. Tim Ryan, Vance went on the attack against Ryan for supporting the Equality Act, a comprehensive LGBTQ non-discrimination bill.

That same year, Vance told Mission America that he was opposed to the Respect for Marriage Act, which implemented safeguards for marriage equality and was signed into law by President Joe Biden.

The GOP’s new vice presidential nominee has also perpetuated false and discriminatory terminology about LGBTQ people under the guise of “parental rights.” In a 2022 appearance on Tucker Carlson’s former Fox News show, “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Vance said, “Look, if you don’t want to be called a ‘groomer,’ don’t try to sexualize six- and seven-year-old children.” In that same interview, Vance also said Democrats were teaching “crazy gender theory” to children.

Vance has also voted against IVF access and introduced legislation to criminalize doctors for providing gender-affirming care for youth.

However, while Vance is now in lockstep with Trump, some people who have known the Ohio senator say he wasn’t always this way. Vance once voiced criticism of Trump — and his former Yale Law School classmate, Sofia Nelson, who is transgender and once had a close friendship with Vance, told the New York Times that he delivered home-baked treats after they had top surgery. But their friendship fizzled in 2021 when Vance expressed support for legislation in Arkansas barring gender-affirming care for youth.

“It hurt my feelings when he started saying hateful things about trans people,” Nelson said, according to the New York Times.

Trump, meanwhile, spent his presidency pushing back against LGBTQ rights. He banned trans troops from the military, moved to strip LGBTQ protections from Obamacare, filed an amicus brief against workplace protections for LGBTQ people in the Supreme Court case of Bostock v. Clayton County, rolled back Obama-era guidance stipulating that schools must respect transgender students in accordance with their gender identity, proposed a rule to remove protections for homeless transgender individuals, and more.

During a radio interview in May, Trump said he would nix the Biden administration’s protections for transgender students “on day one” if he is elected.

Vance has signaled support for Trump’s ban on transgender service members from the military. 

“Importantly, American political leaders should stop using America’s military as a social justice side project,” Vance said on his campaign website in 2021. “Our troops don’t need to focus on diversity or equity or any other progressive buzzword; they need to focus on fighting and winning America’s wars.”

In a since-deleted post on Twitter, now known as X, Vance criticized the Supreme Court’s conservative justices for their ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which barred employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

“The conservative legal movement has accomplished two things: libertarian political economy (enforced by judges) and betrayal of social conservatives and traditionalists,” Vance posted on June 15, 2020 — the day of the decision.

Vance’s position on abortion has been, at times, inconsistent. In a 2022 interview on the “Very Fine People” podcast, Vance said he “certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally,” but on July 15, he echoed Trump’s view that abortion should be a state issue.

“My view is that Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican Party, and his views on abortion are going to be the views that dominate this party and drive this party forward,” Vance said during an apperance on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show. “Alabama’s going to make a different decision from California. That is a reasonable thing. And that’s how I think we build some bridges and have some respect for one another.”

The relationship between Trump and Vance appeared to emerge due in part to their joint ties to Peter Thiel, an out gay billionaire who founded PayPal and has backed Trump since his first presidential campaign in 2016. According to the New York Times, Thiel — who employed Vance at a San Francisco investment firm in 2016 — brought Vance into Trump’s office at Mar-a-Lago in 2021 for an introductory meeting. Thiel also introduced Vance to the entrepreneur David Sacks, according to the Times — and Sacks and Thiel contributed millions to Vance’s war chest as he ran for Senate.

Queer groups have started sounding the alarm about Vance’s platform, including the Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD, which both issued outlines of Vance’s opposition to LGBTQ rights.

“Donald Trump has been a bully for years — and his pick of MAGA clone JD Vance is a reminder that nothing has changed,” Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson said in a written statement.

On the other hand, the Log Cabin Republicans — a group of LGBTQ Republicans — praised the selection of Vance as Trump’s running mate. In a post on X, the group wrote, “Log Cabin Republicans are FIRED UP to elect President @RealDonaldTrump and @JDVance1 and Make America Great Again!”