Reinvent yourself
Joseph Uscinski, a University of Miami professor and expert on the history of conspiracy theories, said Vance “has reinvented himself.” “He’s in a good position now because of what Trump has done to the GOP. Twenty or 30 years ago, it probably wouldn’t have worked. He would have been seen as a weirdo. But now, given what Trump has done to the GOP, it’s a given.”
Reject Conspiracy theory That’s not how to win an election.
Mike Pence and Liz Cheney are examples of what can happen to those who refuse to accept this idea. Trump’s former vice president, Pence, refused to join the plan to overturn the 2020 election, which caused his bid for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination to go anywhere. Former congresswoman Cheney was attacked by Trump and his allies after leading the House investigation into Trump’s role in the riot. She was stripped of her leadership role in Congress and lost her House seat to a Trump-endorsed candidate in the Republican primary.
A Vance campaign spokesperson said the candidate stands by most of his claims, but they include: Ohio Immigrants Are Kidnapping Pets — Others have been misrepresented by the Democrats.
Vance recently said it’s okay to share unsubstantiated claims as long as they’re meant to draw attention to an issue.
“If I have to make the American media actually pay attention to the suffering of the American people, I will do it,” he said on CNN on Sunday.
Later in the same interview, he said his claims about kidnapped pets helped “focus” media attention on immigration.
From intellectual to conspiracy theorist
Vance, 40, found early success and fame as the author of the 2016 best-selling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” which explored the plight of rural America.
In addition to calling conspiracy theorists “fringe lunatics,” Vance writes in his book that one reason their beliefs have been so popular is because people have lost trust in the media. “With so little trust in the press, there is no check on the Internet conspiracy theories that dominate the digital world,” he writes.
Before writing this book, Vance expressed similar insights to friends.
Cullen Tiernan served with Vance in the Marine Corps when they deployed to Iraq in 2005 and 2006. Tiernan said Vance routinely rejected conspiracy theories raised in their discussions, including the claim that the U.S. government was actually behind the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Tiernan remains a close friend of the senator, and Vance “had no time for him at all.”
A look at Vance’s published work and speeches shows that he first dove into conspiracy theories after announcing that he would run for Ohio’s Senate seat in 2021.
He defended Jones, Host of InfoWars“Belief in something crazy is not a criteria for why someone should be rejected,” he said in a 2021 speech.
A Vance campaign spokeswoman told the AP that the candidate disagreed with Jones on the Sandy Hook massacre, then compared the conspiracy theory to Democratic concerns. Russia’s support for Trump In 2016.
The senator also repeatedly questioned the seriousness of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and dismissed threats to Pence’s life, as rioters chanted “Hang Mike Pence!” as they searched for the vice president in the Capitol.
He said the “real assault on democracy” was not January 6, but the fact that those who rioted are still in prison.
“It is an insult to all of us that so many people are in prison without a speedy trial. These people are political prisoners.” Wrote On social media in 2022.
And he wrote a favorable review of a book by political activist Jack Posobiec, published in July. He probably said, “ Pizzagate “A conspiracy theory that Democrats are pedophiles who hide kidnapped children in pizza parlors.
Reflecting the theory of massive replacement
Vance also mentioned one of the far right’s favorite monsters, George Soros.
Soros, the Jewish financier and Democratic mega-donor, is so widely targeted by some conservatives that the language used to describe him can obscure the longstanding anti-Semitic rhetoric that suggests wealthy Jewish bankers secretly rule the world and that wealthy Jewish puppeteers pull the strings of those in power.
In December 2021, Vance called Soros “ There is blood on his hands. “For helping to get Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner into office.” “George Soros invested millions of dollars in Krasner’s campaign, and he promised to be lenient on the types of criminals who commit these murders.” Vance wrote about X:.
Vance has promoted the “Great Replacement Theory,” which holds that Democrats are using immigrants to replace white Americans in order to control the country. Many who support this theory, rooted in anti-Semitism and racism, claim that the scheme is orchestrated by powerful Jews like Soros and others. “Globalist” or “Elite”
“We are under invasion in this country because very powerful people have gotten richer and more powerful because of it,” Vance said on Fox News in 2022.
“It’s not a bad policy,” Vance added. “It’s an evil policy.”
Vance’s campaign denies any suggestion that he engages in anti-Semitic or anti-immigrant rhetoric. The candidate notes that he and his wife, the daughter of Indian immigrants, have three mixed-race children. The campaign also says Democrats have talked about how immigration could help the party’s chances of winning.
The campaign said “many leading Democrats have openly and joyfully proclaimed that changing demographics will increase their political power.”
But by attacking Soros and promoting a wholesale replacement theory, Vance is using dangerous rhetoric that has sparked violence in the past, said Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Public Affairs Council.
Not long ago, major party candidates would have rejected such theories for fear that voters would view them as racist or anti-Semitic. But that’s no longer the case, Spitalnick said.
“It’s becoming more and more normalized and mainstream,” she said. “It’s not a coincidence, and it’s incredibly dangerous.”
