JD Vance, the New Racist Populism Czar - Mother Jones

FREE TRIAL VERSION. DON'T MISS OUT. | FREE TRIAL VERSION. DON'T MISS OUT. | | | JD Vance, the New Racist Populism Czar | By David Corn March 3, 2026 | Vice President JD Vance speaking at Pointe Precision in Plover, Wisconsin, on Thursday. Matt Rourke/AP | | | You're reading a free promotional version of Our Land, and we hope you enjoy David's exclusive writing and don't want to miss out on what's next. Sign up to start receiving a free 30-day trial of Our Land and enjoy all of the behind-the-scenes reports and interactive features with each issue. | | | During his very loud and very long demagogic State of the Union speech, President Donald Trump railed about fraud in Minnesota, claiming members of the Somali immigrant community had “pillaged an estimated $19 billion.” That number, no surprise, was way off: Estimates for fraud in the state’s Medicaid program and other social welfare operations range between $1 billion and $9 billion over a number of years. Announcing a “war on fraud,” Trump said he had tapped Vice President JD Vance to lead this effort. He also insisted that his administration could “find enough of that fraud” to “actually have a balanced budget overnight.” That was absurd. The deficit that Trump has helped to supersize is $1.8 trillion. Even if there were the same level of fraud in every state as Minnesota and every dime of the fraud were captured and sent to the federal treasury, the US government would be lucky to bank about $50 billion a year. That’s less than 3 percent of the deficit. Trump is not good at math. But putting Vance in charge of this initiative is a smart move for Trump because no GOP politician does a better job of blending economic populism and racism. It’s Vance’s specialty. | | | Look at his acceptance speech at the 2024 GOP convention. Vance praised the people of eastern Kentucky, his family’s ancestral home. It’s one of the poorest regions in the United States, but he hailed its residents as “very hardworking” and “good” people: “They’re the kind of people who would give you the shirt off their back even if they can’t afford enough to eat.” He added, “And our media calls them privileged and looks down on them.” Vance maintained that these folks have been screwed over by ruling elites who have pushed economic policies that benefit the well-off and harm working-class families. (He must have forgotten Donald Trump’s first-term tax cut that heavily favored the wealthy.) But back to “privileged.” Who refers to the low-income families of Appalachia as privileged? Vance did not explain this. But this sentence was something of a dog whistle and a callback to demagogic rhetoric that Vance has been slinging for years. He meant they are called “privileged” because they are white—as in “white privilege.” As he has done before, Vance was merging working-class resentment and white racial grievance. In various venues, he has charged that plutocrats (whom he doesn’t name) are conspiring with the woke crowd (whoever they are) to silence Middle America. These powerful interests, Vance says, deploy false accusations of racism to prevent people—white people, that is—from complaining about the economic hardships they face and from challenging the well-heeled who are playing them for suckers. The elites are using woke-ism to economically exploit white working-class Americans. This is how Vance put it in a 2021 interview with conservative talk show host Bill Cunningham: Here’s what the elites do. When they say that those people are white privileged, they shut them up. ‘Look, you’re unhappy about your job being shipped overseas? You’re worried that a lawless southern border is going to cause the same poison that killed your daughter to also affect your grandbaby? Don’t you dare complain about that stuff. You are white privileged. You suffer from white rage’…What they do is use it as a power play so they can get us to shut up. So they can get us to stop complaining about our own country. And they get to run things without any control, without any pushback from the real people. This is deft demagoguery. Two years ago, I described it this way: Vance conflates legitimate concerns about economic power with racist paranoia. It’s much more sophisticated than the usual GOP playing of the race card. Instead, Vance fuses toxic culture wars to bread-and-butter issues. Look at how he weaved all this together when a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, [in 2023 and sparked a chemical fire]. Vance blamed Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his Department of Transportation’s *racial equity initiatives** for the catastrophe: “I’ve got to say, the Secretary of Transportation…talking about how we have too many white male construction workers instead of the fact that our trains are crashing…This guy needs to do his job.” So the good (white) folk of East Palestine were victimized supposedly because Buttigieg was spending too much time trying to help Black people.* His message: Wokeness is a tool of the wealthy to repress hardworking and decent white folks. Now Trump is tying fraud to his anti-immigrant and racial bigotry. He has repeatedly targeted racist rants at Somali immigrants, exclaiming they are “garbage” and “destroying” Minnesota. “We don’t want them in our country,” he bellowed. In December, he said, “These Somalians have taken billions of dollars out of our country”—a baseless claim, even considering the fraud investigations in Minnesota. And for years he has race-baited Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who was born in Somalia. “She shouldn’t be allowed to be a congresswoman,” Trump said in one of his many outbursts directed at her. After getting elected by falsely asserting Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating dogs and cats, Trump switched to race-bashing the Somalis of Minnesota. And the fraud scandal—a true and troubling scandal in which most of the convicted perps so far are Somali immigrants—has supplied him and Vance plenty of ammunition. | | | Now the pair can readily associate an immigrant community with serious fraud, while raising questions about the value and effectiveness of safety net programs. (Why fund them if the money is being stolen?) Trump can signal to his MAGA base that the United States would somehow be more prosperous—it would not have this yawning deficit—were it not for these people of color ripping off government programs. Vance is much experienced in delivering such a false and hate-infused narrative. He can tell white working-class Americans pissed off by the economy, high prices, and government dysfunction that the problem lies with these fraudster immigrants. Dump the blame on those shifty migrants who are cheating salt-of-the-earth Americans and stealing their tax dollars. This is a perfect opportunity for Vance. When it comes to exploiting racism to pose as a phony populist, he’s the best. Got anything to say about this item—or anything else? Email me at *[email protected]. | When Trump launched his unprovoked, illegal, regime-change war against Iran on Saturday, it was tough to not immediately think of the Bush-Cheney debacle in Iraq. Here was another war of choice without a clear reason. One comparison that quickly came to mind was the obvious lack of thought given to what happens after the regime is toppled. I wrote about that within hours of the first bombs landing in Tehran. One of the great sins of George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld was that prior to the Iraq War, they paid practically no attention to what ought to be done after US forces invaded Iraq and booted Saddam Hussein from power. Michael Isikoff and I covered this extensively in our 2006 book, *Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War. There was a big price to pay for that transgression: In the violent chaos that ensued for years following the Iraq invasion, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians died, ISIS arose, regional instability reigned, and Iran consolidated power. As I pointed out in Saturday’s piece, there were plans drawn up within the Pentagon and State Department for post-invasion Iraq, and they showed that a tremendous effort and many resources would be needed to secure and stabilize the country after the fall of Saddam. The Bush gang just ignored them, and Bush himself demonstrated little interest in the matter. This time around, there aren’t even plans for Trump to ignore. As I wrote: Trump has no plan for Iran. Just blow shit up, kill some people, and hope for the best. Tehran, for all its horrific transgressions (including its *recent killing** of thousands of protesters), did not pose an immediate threat to the United States. Perhaps military action against this regime could be justified. But there was ample time to seek congressional authorization and an international alliance for a regime-change war. Instead, Trump proceeded with an unconstitutional action without readying for what is to follow. It is the war of a Mad King.* You can read the whole article here. | | | From the Department of Did You Catch This? | A few weeks ago, Reuters posted an eye-popping scoop: The State Department has developed a portal—called freedom.gov—that will “enable people in Europe and elsewhere to see content banned by their governments, including alleged hate speech and terrorist propaganda.” This suggested the Trump administration will be actively facilitating the spread of hate speech and terrorist messaging. The news service noted that this portal has not been launched yet, due to concerns raised by State Department lawyers. No kidding. There are a lot of problems here. In Europe, some nations impose restrictions on extremist speech that would not survive under the First Amendment here. These limits, right or wrong, understandably arise from concerns stemming from the continent’s experience with Nazism and fascism. But the Trump administration—notably, Vice President JD Vance—has groused that these policies suppress far-right nationalist politicians and parties, such as the AfD in Germany. The AfD has used banned Nazi slogans and been designated by the German government an extremist group. But its anti-immigrant, anti–European Union, pro-Russia stances have endeared it to Trump and MAGA. (And the Trump administration does keep pumping out Nazi-ish slogans and memes.) European Union rules requiring the removal of extremist content from social media platforms have also irked Big Tech firms. According to Reuters in 2024, Germany “issued 482 removal orders for material it deemed supported or incited terrorism and forced providers to take down 16,771 pieces of content.” In December, the Trump administration barred five past or present Europeans officials from entering the United States due to their involvement in regulating hate speech and disinformation. Freedom.gov hasn’t received much media attention since it was revealed by Reuters. But this Trump initiative raises a host of questions. For instance, if an antisemitic screed is banned in Europe, will freedom.gov rush to the rescue and, using taxpayer dollars, post the swill? It’s one thing to advocate for free speech policies that protect the dissemination of such crap; it’s quite another to publish it. Operational details for freedom.gov are not yet available. But the site does feature a graphic of a rider on a horse above the slogan “Freedom Is Coming.” So is more hatred and extremism. | | | The Watch, Read, and Listen List | Wonder Man.** There are not many—scratch that, not any—superhero television series that feature multiple scenes from Midnight Cowboy in the opening episode. That’s the tip-off that Wonder Man, which takes place in yet another corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is not the usual escapist fare. It ticks off the right boxes with an oddball superhero facing an assortment of personal dilemmas, including girl trouble, work trouble, and family trouble. But it is also a meditation on acting and Hollywood. Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is a struggling actor in Tinseltown. He’s getting small roles, such as a victim in the latest American Horror Story. But he’s too obsessed with his craft to be at ease on set and, most important, to take direction. He’s his own obstacle. He also has another problem: He’s burdened with superpowers he cannot control. Unlike the case with most comic-book protagonists, his enhancements—a bit Hulk-ish—are impediments that he must hide, especially since the industry has blacklisted so-called mutants. (The explanation for this prohibition is revealed in a mid-series episode featuring Josh Gad as Josh Gad.) After losing the AHS *role for overthinking his character and causing production delays, Williams runs into a veteran British actor named Trevor Slattery, played deliciously by Ben Kingsley, at a matinee showing of *Midnight Cowboy. Slattery, whose dark backstory includes alcoholism and a prison stint that was somehow connected to his portrayal of a terrorist, is almost washed up. But when Williams and he click, he informs the younger thespian that he’s off to audition for a part in the remake of a 1980s superhero film called Wonder Man. OMG, what a coincidence! This was Williams’ favorite flick as a kid. Through subterfuge, Williams finagles an audition for the lead role in the movie, which is being helmed by one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed auteur directors. It’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship between Williams and Slattery, and the two launch a running dialogue about acting. Is it a craft of intense preparation or one of instinct and intuition? Peppering their conversations with Shakespearean observations, Slattery becomes a mentor for Williams. But, as you might suspect, things are not what they seem. The Department of Damage Control, which is tasked with rounding up mutants, is on to Williams, and Slattery gets caught in the middle. He nobly tries to help Williams, while he attempts to revive his own career and is forced to serve his behind-the-scenes masters. The series is not a satire in the vein of Seth Rogen’s marvelous The Studio, but it is* loaded with inside-Hollywood allusions and jokes, and it does take a deep dive into the acting profession. There are no villains from outer space to defeat—at least not in the first season. Williams’ foils are his own demons. He must conquer both his control-freak approach to acting *and his inability to control his powers. This series is not about a guy with a cape or robot suit saving the world. It’s about a young man with something of a disability struggling to save himself. Once he does, he might be able to play a superhero and perhaps eventually become one. | *A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.* Having reluctantly become a Game of Thrones *fan—I’m not generally a fantasy aficionado—I looked forward to its sequel (actually, a prequel), *House of Dragons, but found it far less absorbing. The characters were not as engaging and the intrigue not as intriguing as those in the original series. Worst of all, the second season of HoD ended with an aggravating letdown, leaving viewers in a lurch for an unconscionable two years. So I was delightfully surprised by the recent dollop released by Game of Thrones Inc.: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. This series is based on several novellas by George R.R. Martin set about 90 years before the start of Game of Thrones. It’s the origin story of a hedge knight named (for obvious reasons) Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey), who also answers to “Dunk.” A hedge knight is a low-rent knight who serves no nobles, wanders the countryside, and sleeps you know where. They tend to smell rather bad. After Arlan of Pennytree, another hedge knight and his mentor, dies, Dunk buries him in a field, takes his sword, shield, and three horses, and travels to a tournament, where he hopes to be recognized as a knight (explaining that Ser Arlan knighted him) and prevail in a joust to earn some riches. On the journey, he meets a precocious pre-teen stable boy who calls himself Egg and who schemes to become Dunk’s squire. This odd pair—Egg is far more sophisticated than the frequently naive Dunk—arrive in the village hosting the tournament, and drama, subterfuge, and royal political infighting ensues, with poor Dunk totally out of his league but Egg seemingly wise in the ways of this world, though still a child who loves puppet shows. They are an endearing couple who banter affectionately with one another, a bit like Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. The 12-year-old Dexter Sol Ansell’s performance as Egg is reminiscent of Maisie Williams’ masterful portrayal of Arya in the original series. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a tight tale. Its six episodes focus on events at the tournament—with the occasional flashback. There’s nothing supernatural going on. No dragons. Just a young and decent fellow trying to find a place in the world now that he’s on his own. And lots of mud. Naturally, there’s an epic fight scene, and it’s magnificently staged, a reminder that hand-to-hand combat is a bloody, gritty, and messy affair. Surprising plot twists that are a trademark of the franchise occur. Unlike the royals of House of Dragons—who cares which sets of elites end up with the throne?—Dunk and Egg are heart-winners. After the dust settles—the mud dries?—we want to know what’s their next adventure. There certainly are more to come. | | | Congratulations, you read all the way to the end! It's a great time to say "I'm in" and start your free 30-day trial. Make sure you don't miss out on what's next: Sign up to start getting Our Land in your inbox each week. We also want to hear from readers (especially those who read the whole thing!). So let us know what you think so far or share something interesting with David at [email protected]. | | | |