ICYMI: How JD Vance Betrayed His Transgender Friend for the Sake of His Political Ambition

by Cullen Peele •

Recently unearthed emails and text messages from JD Vance in his law school years portray a man very different from the MAGA bully today, a man who will turn against his own LGBTQ+ friends to score points with the MAGA fringe

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a piece published by the New York Times over the weekend, Sofia Nelson, a former Yale Law School classmate of JD Vance, shared details of how Donald Trump’s running mate was once a close friend who empathized with marginalized Americans, including LGBTQ+ people, and Nelson’s own transgender identity. Nelson, who is now a public defender living in Detroit, provided text messages and emails from Vance that not only quote the Ohio senator’s previous disdain for Trump, but even his participation in Pride celebrations and his concern about police brutality and racial equity.

These revelations are more proof of who JD Vance really is: a bully and a coward, whose only allegiance is to power and ambition, and who will betray those closest to him in order to be accepted as a MAGA clone,” said Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson. “This election is not just about two presidential tickets, it is about two fundamentally visions of America. One is led by a convicted felon, who will stop at nothing to destroy democracy and impose his dystopian Project 2025 agenda, and his opportunist sidekick, who cast his own friends aside when power came calling. The other vision is led by Kamala Harris, a champion of unity and accountability, who means it when she says freedom and justice for all.”

HRC President Kelley Robinson

According to the story, as Nelson progressed in their gender transition during their friendship, Vance communicated to his classmate that while he didn’t understand what they were doing, he fully supported their decision to live as their authentic self. He also provided Nelson with a gift of baked goods following a transition-related procedure, a stunning contrast to the hateful anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric that he and others spewed at this year’s Republican National Convention.

Other revelations from the piece:

  • Vance wrote Nelson a sincere, heartfelt apology for mis-identifying them in his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, admitting ignorance and stating “I recognize now that this may not accurately reflect how you think of yourself, and for that I am really sorry,” he wrote. “I hope you’re not offended, but if you are, I’m sorry! Love you, JD.”

  • In 2014, Vance criticized the now late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, telling Nelson that “He’s become a very shrill old man. I used to really like him, and I used to believe all of his stuff about judicial minimalism was sincere. Now I see it as a political charade.”

  • Vance supported criminal justice reforms and expressed empathy with people of color, saying “ I hate the police” and “Given the number of negative experiences [with law enforcement] I’ve had in the past few years, I can’t imagine what a Black guy goes through.”

  • Vance wished Nelson a Happy Pride and attended a parade in San Francisco, telling Nelson that it was nice to “see a lot of happy people” who were in attendance

  • Vance called Trump out for being a “demagogue,” expressing outrage and fear for Muslim-Americans as his racist presidential campaign commenced in 2015, “I’m obviously outraged at Trump’s rhetoric, and I worry most of all about how welcome Muslim citizens feel in their own country,” Vance wrote to Nelson. “And there have always been demagogues willing to exploit the people who believe crazy (expletive).”

Vance also penned a piece for the New York Times in 2016, stating that “The more white people feel like voting for Trump, the more Black people will suffer. I really believe that.” Vance was not only critical of Trump for his history of racism, but also said that, “I’ve been very critical of other Repubs for the L.G.B.T.Q. issue, especially Rick Perry,” referring to the former Texas governor. Not long after joining the U.S. Senate, Vance set out to hold up State Department nominees over his objections to their pro-LGBTQ+ policy views, going as far as to send a MAGA litmus test questionnaire forcing them to describe their views on diversity, Pride flags, and gender neutral restrooms.

Full review of the New York Times piece can be found here.

Contact Us

To make a general inquiry, please visit our contact page. Members of the media can reach our press office at: (202) 572-8968 or email press@hrc.org.