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There was once a time in which Vance supported his trans friend and voiced disdain for the candidate he's now running alongside.
JD Vance has changed a lot about himself in recent years, from his stances on racism and Donald Trump to his support for transgender rights.
The Republican vice president nominee didn't always hold such extreme views, according to Sofia Nelson, a former classmate and close friend of Vance. In fact, there was once a time in which Vance supported their transition and voiced disdain for the candidate he's now running alongside.
Nelson's history of messages with Vance, shared with the New York Times, reveal how he went from supporting their identity to supporting anti-transgender legislation. One exchange from 2016 shows an apology from Vance to Nelson after the publication of his book, Hillbilly Elegy, due to him incorrectly referring to Nelson as a lesbian.
“Hey Sofes, here’s an excerpt from my book. I send this to you not just to brag, but because I’m sure if you read it you’ll notice reference to ‘an extremely progressive lesbian.’ 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.”
Nelson wrote back expressing understanding, saying: “If you had written gender queer radical pragmatist, nobody would know what you mean.”
Nelson, who met Vance while they each attended Yale, said that the candidate had even been supportive of their transition. They previously opened up about a time shortly after they had undergone top surgery in which Vance brought them home-baked treats as a recovery gift.
“The content of the conversation was ‘I don’t understand what you’re doing, but I support you,'" Nelson told the Times. "And that meant a lot to me at the time, because I think that was the foundation of our friendship.”
Messages also reveal that Vance attended San Francisco Pride in 2015, including one wishing Nelson a “Happy Pride" and reading, “I’m thinking of braving the crowds in S.F. just to people watch.” After the parade, Vance wrote, “It felt more like a frat party than I expected. But still nice to see a lot of happy people.”
Other messages spanning the past ten years see Vance express dislike for Trump, including one from 2015 that reads: “If he would just tone down the racism, I would literally be his biggest supporter," continuing a day later, "I’m obviously outraged at Trump’s rhetoric, and I worry most of all about how welcome Muslim citizens feel in their own country."
Others call the former president a "disaster," with one stating: “He’s just a bad man.”
Vance and Nelson's friendship ended in 2021, after Vance supported a bill in Arizona banning gender-affirming care for youth. When Nelson asked him about it, Vance wrote back: "I recognize this is awkward but I’ll always be honest with you. I think the trans thing with kids is so unstudied that it amounts to a form of experimentation.”
When Nelson noted the robust medial consensus demonstrating how the care saves lives, Vance brushed them off. Nelson said that his position “deeply saddens me," noting that "the political voice you have become seems so far from the man I got to know in law school."
“He achieved great success and became very rich by being a Never Trumper who explained the white working class to the liberal elite,” Nelson told the Times. “Now he’s amassing even more power by expressing the exact opposite.”
