JD Vance changed positions 5-6 times
Anthony Scaramucci counted that JD Vance has morphed his political positions five or six times in pursuit of his presidential ambitions.
Snapshot · The Rest Is Politics: US
197. Vance Vs Hegseth: Who Takes the Fall for Trump’s Iran Deal?
Explore episode
Jun 18, 2026
Where this was said
JD Vance's 'Communion': What the Book Really Is
At 29:42 · chapter starts 27:30
Katty frames the book's significance: Hillbilly Elegy made Vance, and Communion is his bid to remake himself. The new memoir traces his spiritual odyssey and his wife Usha's role in bringing him to weekly Catholic practice. Scaramucci read both books and compared writing styles; he finds Vance genuinely authored Communion and admires the prose. But the analysis is damning. Vance claims in the book that Catholicism has reanchored him away from material ambition — yet he wrote it from the Vice President's mansion, hired Trump's deputy chief of staff to replace his own, and secured White House sign-off before publication. The spiritual journey and the political manoeuvre are happening simultaneously, and the manoeuvre is winning. Scaramucci's verdict: read it if you want to understand this man, because he might end up as president.
Hillbilly Elegy published ~10 years ago
JD Vance's breakout memoir Hillbilly Elegy was published approximately 10 years ago and propelled him from obscurity to the Senate and then the vice presidency.
Vance's Book Tour: Staging Ground for 2028
Anthony Scaramucci read JD Vance's new memoir Communion and compared it line by line to Hillbilly Elegy. The verdict: it's a staging book for his presidential run, green-lit by Trump's inner circle, with a fake spiritual anchor. Vance even hired Trump's deputy chief of staff to replace his own — signalling he's running full MAGA.
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