J.D. Vance and the Facade of Masculinity in the Republican Party

J.D. Vance, at first glance, is the quintessential ‘American Man.’ He was raised in a small midwestern town, served in the Marine Corps, then returned to his home to attend Ohio State. If that resumé doesn’t make any middle-state nationalist drool, I don’t know what will. After graduating from Ohio, he left for Yale Law School, where he met his wife, Usha Vance, daughter to Indian immigrants and a registered democrat. A few years later he’d release his liberal memoir detailing the struggles of his young life, Hillbilly Elegy which went on to receive critical acclaim. What at first seems like a beautiful midwestern come-up to Ivy League lawyer and author quickly diminuendos. Even after Vance’s scathing remarks about Trump’s leadership during his first term, Vance is now his right hand man. There is something underneath Vance’s claim to power that troubles many political commentators. One which speaks truths about America’s concerning perception of masculinity.

Donald Trump is the hero of the rifle-slinging, beer drinking, lifted truck driving American. He’s an obsessive fear-monger whose campaign rides on brute strength to defeat its opponents, on issues from immigration to religious freedoms. It’s no secret that his endorsement of strongmen like Vladimir Putin shows a desire for a neo-dictatorship which removes all avenues for discourse or political retribution

And who follows him? White men from across the nation who see a bigot-dictator as a way for them to stay firmly at the top in social hierarchy. Stripping abortion rights, cutting social security, and tightening restrictions on immigration are the way that white men are able to hold on to an antiquated American system in which women and people of color receive lesser freedoms. In order to do this, he’ll need an army of masculine men at his side. But what does this moniker, masculine, really mean?

The 2000s ushered in a progressive discussion on gender and sexual orientation and has since challenged social signifiers of what it means to be a man. It has thrown confusion into a vat of insecurity for those whose identity rests in material, surface level traits. In an effort to combat this, conservatives have reclaimed antique signifiers to masculinity; manliness has been pushed to the extreme. Any hint of emotionalism, the acceptance of women as equals, or physical weakness is considered a betrayal to the inherently ‘masculine.’

These beliefs have been pushed so far right they’ve lost any sort of contemporary social nuance. These men relish in the appearance of strength, in outbursts of anger, in asserting physical dominance, in swift and painful retribution. Turn on a Fast and Furious movie or play a Joe Rogan podcast; these beliefs leak into our media and therefore our subconscious. Care for some Andrew Tate, anyone? These men are in a never ending fight for survival against an amorphous social radicalism that no longer gives them the birthright to superiority.

So when Donald Trump wants to restructure American democracy, these are the people he chooses—those who subscribe to conservative gender ideas and who will do anything but “surrender” to what they see as a threat to their identity.

To appeal to this masculine wave, composed of openly brazen millennials and Gen X, Donald Trump needed a face—someone who could relate to the small town masses who want hope for a future where the status quo is maintained. That man was J.D. Vance.

Upon first impression, it made sense. He’s a no-nonsense nationalist who has spoken viciously against abortion, spoken out against what he sees as a corrupt media, and has made it clear he won’t question Trump’s orders. Vance is the image of surface-level masculinity that Trump’s followers love.

But there’s another side to Vance that Trump and his followers have conveniently forgotten–that reveals what happens when we define gender as a surface level characteristic.

When attempting to define something as broad as masculinity, it’s important to not let modern signifiers cloud the picture. It’s easy to say that a masculine man is the one with the biggest machine gun–one which many conservative Americans would probably agree with–but under that logic there would be no masculine men until the late 19th century. Instead, we need to look internally. What are the character traits that define a man?

Historically, men have been leaders. While true that men still largely hold positions of power both in society and in the family unit, this is washover from a patriarchal past and present. Instead, the modern man needs grounding in emotional leadership. While we’re seeing increased discussions around men’s mental health and men’s-only support groups, we’re still far from fixed. Emotional vulnerability inspires confidence in those around you, it brings you down from your high horse and lets you say, here I am, this is me. Which leads to integrity. If a leader cannot be trusted to act in the interest of the collective, they lose governing power over the group. True masculinity rests in that person who will do their job to the benefit of the group, even behind closed doors. They don’t act as a result of public pressure, but rather to ensure the survival, and in modern times the quality of life, of their tribe. This may be the hardest to find in modern politics today.

These factors ultimately rest on intellect. It only takes one trip led into alligator-infested waters for the group to begin questioning your good faith and intelligence. Integrity only goes so far if people believe you may be acting with false-knowledge or on misguided beliefs. The ability for reflection, and a consideration of how their actions affect the group is nonnegotiable for the modern man.

It’s these three traits, among many others, that have graced some of the most influential people in human history, J.D. Vance is not one of those people.

Look most glaringly at his integrity. Or rather, the lack thereof. Shockingly, before Trump’s first presidential run, Vance was a bitter critic. He called Trump’s views “reprehensible,” and compared his rousing of MAGA constituents to Adolf Hitler’s rousing of Nazi sympathizers. And now, less than a decade later, and after Trump has only doubled down on his campaigning tactics since ’16, Vance is seated next to him. To have someone who has openly recognized Trump’s dictator-like tendencies eventually join him is simply psychopathic behavior.

There are two explanations to this. Either Vance is, indeed, a power hungry psychopath who wants another Nazi Germany or he lacks even a shred of integrity and the things he said in 2016 were hyperbole. As a leader, either of these outcomes are incredibly concerning. Simply, he’s not fit to serve.

But, of course, he’s not really a leader. Throughout his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, Vance self-admitted that he had a tendency to pander to a carousel of father figures throughout his childhood. While the circumstances are unfortunate, this habit left him with, yes, a lack of integrity and confidence in his own beliefs. When Trump finally laid his eyes on him during his 2021 senate run, Vance crumbled.

So now as the right hand man to the president with the lowest approval rating in 80 years Vance’s job is to stand to the side and wave as Trump spouts his rhetoric. During his own rallies, he’ll continue to read the MAGA script as he slowly sells his final shreds of self-respect to Donald J. Trump.

This is the ‘American Man’ Trump wants.

If these issues were self-contained within American politics, they’d be concerning. However, I’m more concerned with its ramifications on children and young men. Those who see this kind of emphasis placed on signifying strength without any of the foundational character traits they require, coupled with repeated sexism, racism, and a shunning of progressive lifestyles, this mindset sets us up for a frighteningly divisive future.

Don’t mistake boldness for intellect and ignorance for reserve. Real leaders don’t need to scare their followers into submission. J.D. Vance is only one sick tree in an orchard of thousands. But he’s there and he’s spreading a virus with side effects lethal to a progressive future.