From Advocating for Protection from Opioids to Becoming a "Drug" Dealer: J.D. Vance and the Exploitation of a Vulnerable America
How J.D. Vance went from warning that Trump was "cultural heroin" to selling the same drug — a timeline of the trade.
The Atlantic republished an essay written by JD Vance “Opioid of the Masses” written a decade ago, In which he warned that Donald Trump is an addictive drug to Americans
Vance wrote that Trump was “Cultural heroin” that was especially addictive to those in the midwest who have suffered great pain from the decline of its industries as well as the brutal opioid drug wave that has hit the region hard
“What Trump offers is an easy escape from the pain. To every complex problem, he promises a simple solution.” Vance wrote
Vance believed that Trump is merely just exploiting American suffering by offering statements of hope without offering any actual plan to heal the public
Vance would end his essay with “when his supporters realize that even with a President Trump, their homes and families are still domestic war zones, their newspapers obituaries continue to fill with the names of people who died too soon”
However since this essay, Vance has played a role in supporting the spread of what he once deemed as the “Opioid Of The Masses”
So how did we get to this era of Trump and Vance
In 2021 Vance would meet with Donald Trump privately at Mar-a-lago looking for a MAGA endorsement for his 2022 campaign run for a seat as an Ohio Senator
Vance would later admit in various interviews that he would plead for forgiveness from Trump for his previous tweets and past criticizing the President in this meeting
Not long after Vance would delete everything related to his criticisms of Trump and secure the endorsement
Vance would win the seat as senator for Ohio with the endorsement he received from Trump.
In 2022 he would push any agenda that Trump was campaigning while effectively promoting a Trump presidency as the answer for those who are hurt in Ohio
In 2025 after Trump's presidential victory, Vance would resign his position serving the Ohio public in order to serve under Trump where he acts as a devout defender
Effectively making him a distributor of someone he once deemed the “Opioid Of The Masses”
Selling out the community he once aimed to protect, to now actively selling them to get exploited from Trump and the billionaire class who has only got wealthier under the second term.
