A former classmate of J.D. Vance has leaked a series of emails and text messages from the Republican vice presidential nominee that include comments about Donald Trump in which he called the former president “a morally reprehensible human being.”
Sofia Nelson, a former classmate of Vance’s at Yale Law School, has shared about 90 emails and text messages with The New York Times.
The emails shed light on how Vance went from being a staunch opponent of Trump to now being his running mate in the 2024 presidential election.
Nelson, who is transgender, said the two were close friends but had a falling out in 2021 when Vance supported a ban in Arkansas on gender-affirming care for minors.
In a 2015 email, Nelson wrote to Vance saying that a friend of hers who wore a hijab no longer felt safe doing so. He responded by calling Trump a demagogue.
The emails shed light on how Vance went from being a staunch opponent of Trump to now being his running mate in the 2024 presidential election.
Sofia Nelson, a former classmate of Vance’s at Yale Law School, has shared about 90 emails and text messages with The New York Times.
Vance told him: ‘I’m obviously outraged by Trump’s rhetoric, and I’m more concerned about how welcome Muslim citizens feel in their own country.
“But I also think that people have always believed nonsense and there have always been demagogues willing to exploit people who believe nonsense.”
He also wrote in a separate email: ‘If you look at the polls, the issue Trump is getting the most support on is the economy.
“If the response of the media and elites on both the right and the left is simply to say ‘look at those racist fools supporting Trump,’ then they will never learn the most important lesson of Trump’s candidacy.”
Vance said he saw something in Trump and found it refreshing that the media and Wall Street seemed powerless against him.
He added: “If he would just tone down the racism, I would literally be his biggest supporter.”
As Election Day 2016 approached, Nelson informed Vance that they would be going door to door looking for Hillary Clinton.
Vance responded: ‘I count my lucky stars that I live in a place where I don’t have to vote for her (because the margin will be huge), because I know I could never support Trump if it really mattered.
He predicted Clinton would prevail over Trump, calling him a “disaster” and “just a bad man.”
In a 2015 email, Nelson wrote to Vance saying that a friend of hers who wore a hijab no longer felt safe doing so. He responded by calling Trump a demagogue.
Vance said he saw something in Trump and found it refreshing that the media and Wall Street seemed powerless against him.
In October 2014, after the shooting of Michael Brown by a white police officer in St. Louis, Missouri, Nelson raised the issue of all police officers wearing body cameras.
Vance responded: “I hate the police. Given the amount of negative experiences I’ve had over the years, I can’t imagine what it’s like for a black man.”
The year after the Charleston church shooting, the two again discussed racial issues.
Vance said he didn’t understand why people “can’t see the connection between this person murdering innocent people and the fact that the Confederate flag is still flying” at the South Carolina State Capitol.
In his book ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ Vance referred to Nelson as a lesbian and later apologized for it.
He told her: “I hope you recognize that the description arose from ignorance, when I first started writing years ago. I hope you don’t feel offended, but if you do, I’m sorry.”
Nelson responded by calling Vance a “friend” while thanking him for “being sweet.”
Trump and Vance of Ohio attend the second day of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., July 16, 2024.
In October 2014, after Michael Brown was killed by a white police officer in St. Louis, Missouri, Nelson raised the issue of all police officers wearing body cameras. Vance said he hated police officers.
They added: ‘If you had written radical gender queer pragmatist, no one would know what you meant.’
Nelson, now a public defender in Detroit, attended Vance’s wedding in 2014 and thought about doing a podcast together, suggesting they call it “The Lunatic Fringe.”
Nelson told the outlet: “He achieved great success and became very rich by being a ‘Never Trumper’ who explained the white working class to the liberal elite. Now he’s amassing even more power by expressing the exact opposite.”
In a statement to The Times, a representative for Vance said: ‘Senator Vance values his friendships with people across the political spectrum.
‘He has been open about the fact that some of his opinions from a decade ago began to change after becoming a father and starting a family, and he has explained in detail why he changed his mind about President Trump.
‘Despite their disagreements, Senator Vance cares about Sofia and wishes her the best.’
