In a podcast appearance, J.D. Vance made a number of inflammatory comments that align with the hard right’s perceived boogeyman, “The Deep State,” as well as the driving “philosophy” behind Project 2025.
“I tend to think that we should seize the institutions… and turn them against the left,” Vance told podcaster Jack Murphy, offering his future running mate “advice” that was likely his goal already.
“We need like a de-Baathification program, a de-woke-ification program. I think Trump is going to run again in 2024. I think that what Trump should do, if I was giving him one piece of advice: Fire every single midlevel bureaucrat, every civil servant in the administrative state, replace them with our people.”
In tangible ways—now that Trump chose Vance as his running mate—this particular interview has the feel of a veep-audition reel. And in 2021, the radical “tenets” of Heritage Foundation‘s Project 2025 hadn’t gained the notoriety it has as of this writing, which means Vance endorsed the virulent plan before it had risen in public consciousness.
According to Vanity Fair writer James Pogue, Vance is said to be heavily influenced by Curtis Yarvin, an anti-democracy hard-right influencer, blogger and Peter Thiel acolyte. So, in addition to alignment with Heritage and Project 2025, Vance is in lockstep with many “New Right” characters as well.
