COLUMN: The Man Who Could Finish What Trump Started

The Art of Making the Extreme Acceptable

This is where JD Vance’s true Machiavellian genius lies. Where Trump provokes, insults, and shocks, Vance explains calmly. Where Trump divides brutally, Vance divides politely. He has this extraordinary ability to take the most radical positions of the MAGA movement and present them as mere common sense. During an interview with Megyn Kelly, he defended Trump’s most extreme policies with a smile, a calm voice, and the air of the responsible adult in the room. And it works. People listen. People nod in agreement. Because Vance doesn’t look like an extremist. He looks like your friendly neighbor, that smart coworker you might grab a coffee with.

The Danger of Well-Mannered Extremism

It is precisely this appearance of normality that makes Vance so dangerous. Trump scares moderates. Vance reassures them. Trump repels the undecided. Vance attracts them. While Trump continues to polarize the country with his excesses, Vance is patiently building a broader, more stable, and more enduring base of support. He doesn’t shout that the 2020 election was stolen; he calmly explains why he would have refused to certify the results. He doesn’t rail against immigrants; he speaks calmly about border security. The message is the same. The packaging is different. And it’s this packaging that could allow Trumpism to outlive Trump.

That’s what terrifies me the most. Not Trump’s violence, but Vance’s gentleness. Not the rage-filled tweets at three in the morning, but the measured speeches in broad daylight. Because you can fight a raving madman. But how do you fight someone who smiles while destroying democracy? How do you denounce someone who speaks calmly while proposing the unacceptable?

When Tech Giants Buy a Vice President

Behind JD Vance stands an army of Silicon Valley billionaires. Peter Thiel, the founder of Palantir, invested $15 million in Vance’s Senate campaign. It was Thiel who personally pressured Trump to choose Vance as vice president. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, also actively supported Vance’s nomination, using his X platform to promote the Trump-Vance ticket to his more than 200 million followers. David Sacks, another tech billionaire, hosted fundraising dinners for Vance at $300,000 a seat.

The Tech Industry’s Trojan Horse in the White House

These massive investments aren’t charity. They’re bets on the future. Vance isn’t just Trump’s vice president; he’s Silicon Valley’s representative at the heart of American power. At the artificial intelligence summit in Paris, Vance made it clear that the administration wouldn’t be burdened by AI regulations. He defended Apple against the British government, which wanted access to encrypted data. He participated in events organized by tech investment funds, reassuring tech executives about their place in the MAGA movement. Vance is the bridge between Trumpist populism and the interests of the tech giants. A bridge built with billions of dollars.

Do you see the irony? The guy who claims to defend working-class America, forgotten America, the America of his grandmother Mamaw who struggled to put food on the table… that same guy is funded by the richest men on the planet. Billionaires who have never known poverty, who have never had to choose between paying rent or buying food. And we’re supposed to believe that Vance represents the people? Seriously?

When Democracy Becomes Negotiable

This is perhaps the most alarming aspect of JD Vance’s political profile. In February 2024, he publicly stated that if he had been vice president in 2020, he would not have certified the results of the presidential election. He would have asked the states that Trump lost to send fake pro-Trump electors to Washington, thereby forcing Congress to decide the outcome of the election. This is not a normal political position. It is an open call to subvert the democratic process. This is exactly what Trump supporters attempted to do on January 6, 2021, and Vance makes it clear that he would have participated in that constitutional coup.

The Plan to Purge the Federal Government

But Vance doesn’t stop there. In 2021, he advised Trump to fire all federal employees and replace them with Trump loyalists. When the courts tried to stop this purge, Vance suggested that Trump simply ignore the court rulings. Read that sentence carefully. A future vice president of the United States is openly proposing to ignore court rulings. That is the very definition of authoritarianism. Vance even compared his plan to transform America to the denazification of Germany after World War II. He wants a complete “de-wokification” of the country—an ideological purge of all American institutions.

At this point, I can no longer remain calm. We’re talking about a man who wants to destroy the very foundations of American democracy. Who wants to turn the federal government into an army of loyalists. Who wants to ignore the courts. Who wants to subvert elections. And this man is a heartbeat away from the presidency. How did we get here? How did we let this happen?

The Crusade Against Childless Women

JD Vance’s social views reveal a deeply regressive vision of American society. In 2021, he called the Democratic Party a cabal of childless people, claiming that childless people are more sociopathic and should not have as much influence in democracy. He suggested that parents should have more say than non-parents, even proposing to give parents control over their children’s votes. He referred to Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as women with miserable cats who want to make the rest of the country unhappy.

The Pro-Birth Obsession and Control Over Bodies

Vance wants to ban abortion nationwide. He has compared abortion to slavery. He has suggested that even abusive marriages should sometimes continue for the sake of the children. He wants to criminalize gender-affirming care for minors at the federal level. He opposes same-sex marriage. He has proposed raising taxes on childless people to punish what we consider to be wrong. This vision of society is one of total control over the reproductive and personal choices of Americans, particularly women.

It drives me crazy. Who is he to judge people’s life choices? Who is he to decide that women without children are sociopaths? Who is he to say that some Americans deserve more rights than others based on whether or not they have children? This unhealthy obsession with controlling other people’s bodies and lives is pure and simple fascism. And the worst part is that he says it with a smile.

The Abandonment of Ukraine and Contempt for Europe

On the international stage, Vance represents a radical shift in U.S. foreign policy. He strongly opposes military aid to Ukraine, stating that he doesn’t care what happens to that country. He wants to force Ukraine to cede territory to Russia and give up on joining NATO. At the 2024 Munich Security Conference, he declared that Europe needed to wake up to the fact that the United States would be focusing on East Asia, not Europe. He even sarcastically suggested that the United Kingdom might become the first Islamist country to acquire nuclear weapons following a Labor Party victory.

Unconditional Support for Israel and the Iranian Threat

Paradoxically, while he is abandoning Ukraine, Vance is a staunch defender of Israel. He unreservedly supports Israeli actions in Gaza, asserting that Hamas is entirely responsible for all civilian deaths. He has criticized the Biden administration for allegedly withholding precision-guided weapons from Israel. He wants Israel to end the war as quickly as possible to form a united front with Sunni Arab states against Iran. This selective foreign policy reveals a worldview in which U.S. alliances are purely transactional and ideological.

It’s staggering to see just how far Vance is willing to go to abandon America’s historic allies. Ukraine, fighting for its survival against Russian aggression? Who cares. Europe, which has been the United States’ strategic partner for 75 years? Let it fend for itself. But Israel? Total support, no questions asked, no limits. This inconsistency isn’t foreign policy. It’s geopolitical opportunism.

The 2028 Candidate Is Already on the Campaign Trail

Make no mistake. JD Vance isn’t content with just being vice president. He’s already running his campaign for 2028. In March 2025, he was appointed finance chair of the Republican National Committee—an unprecedented role for a sitting vice president. This allows him to interact regularly with the party’s major donors, build his own fundraising network, and forge loyalties that will serve him well in two years. Polls already show him at nearly 50% for the 2028 Republican nomination, far ahead of Donald Trump Jr. and Marco Rubio.

Support from Heavyweights in the MAGA Movement

Vance has already received the backing of key figures in the conservative movement. Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, has thrown the weight of Turning Point USA behind him. Glenn Youngkin, the governor of Virginia, has called him an excellent future presidential candidate. Vance is constantly traveling across the country, officially to support Republicans in the midterm elections, but in reality to build his own political machine. He carefully avoids infighting among the various MAGA factions, positioning himself as a natural unifier of the movement.

Watch him play the game. Every trip, every speech, every handshake is calculated with 2028 in mind. He does nothing by chance. It’s all strategy. It’s all ambition. And all the while, he pretends to humbly serve as vice president. The duplicity is total. The hypocrisy is absolute. And it works. Because Vance knows how to play the game better than anyone else.

Chaos vs. Method

Here is the fundamental difference between Trump and Vance. Trump is chaotic, impulsive, and unpredictable. He acts on a whim, constantly changes his mind, and contradicts himself from one day to the next. This unpredictability creates chaos, to be sure, but it also limits his effectiveness. Trump is so busy stirring up controversy that he struggles to implement a coherent vision. Vance, on the other hand, is methodical, patient, and strategic. He knows where he wants to go and moves step by step toward that goal. He doesn’t let himself get distracted. He doesn’t lose focus. He builds.

Ideology versus the cult of personality

Trump is a movement built around a personality. When Trump leaves, Trumpism could collapse. But Vance represents something different and more enduring. He represents a structured ideology, a coherent political project that can outlive its creator. Vance has connections to Silicon Valley, the backing of conservative think tanks, and the support of young activists from Turning Point USA. He has built a coalition that goes beyond a mere cult of personality. And that is precisely what makes him so dangerous. Because an ideological movement is much harder to combat than a cult of personality.

That’s why I can’t sleep at night anymore. Because Trump, as terrible as he is, will eventually be gone. But Vance? Vance is here to stay. Vance is 41 years old. He could dominate American politics for the next 30 years. And unlike Trump, he knows exactly what he’s doing. He has a plan. He has the resources. He has the support. And he has the patience. It’s terrifying.

America at a Crossroads

We are at a pivotal moment in American history. While everyone’s eyes are on Trump, J.D. Vance is patiently building the infrastructure that could permanently transform American democracy. The question is no longer whether Trumpism will survive Trump. The real question is whether American democracy will survive Vance. Because where Trump destroys through chaos, Vance could destroy through method. Where Trump shocks and repels, Vance charms and attracts. Where Trump divides brutally, Vance divides subtly. And it is precisely this subtlety that makes Vance so dangerous.

The Choice Ahead

Analysts are right to be concerned. J.D. Vance could indeed pose an even greater threat to American democracy than Trump himself. Not because he is more extreme, but because he is more effective. Not because he is more radical, but because he is more presentable. Not because he is more dangerous in his intentions, but because he is more dangerous in his ability to carry them out. America must wake up. It must understand that the real danger does not always come from the one who shouts the loudest. Sometimes, the real danger comes from the one who smiles the most calmly.

I don’t know how to end this column. I don’t know how to conclude in the face of such an immense threat. All I know is that we can no longer afford to be naive. We can no longer afford to believe that everything will be all right. Because everything will not be all right. Not if we let Vance continue to build his empire in the shadows. Not if we keep looking the other way while he lays the foundations for an authoritarian regime. Time is running out. And I’m not sure we realize it.

Signed, Jacques Provost