It’s easy to think that everything’s been said about JD Vance, but new information just keeps coming out. Trans lawyer Sofia Nelson, an old friend of Vance, recently revealed that the two used to be really close friends with the political giant and that he’s flip-flopped on every single important issue since he was in college.
Vance’s history was illuminated in an interview in Detroit Free Press earlier this year, where readers learned that Nelson used they/them pronouns while in college with Vance, and that Vance was entirely supportive of Nelson and their transition. The two tried to stay in touch past college, traveling across state lines to visit each other and keeping up with their families.
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“I’m heartbroken by the transformation that they’ve decided to undergo… The JD that I got to know in law school… was thoughtful and compassionate. We obviously didn’t share common politics, but growing up in Wayland, Michigan, it was nothing new to me to develop friendships and respect across the political divide,” they said.
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They believe that Vance has “a lack of core values,” alleging that he flipped for the sake of political opportunism as opposed to a genuine change in his ideals.
The two are no longer on speaking terms. A spokesperson for Vance said to the Detroit Free Press that he “wishes Sofia the best.” Vance, meanwhile, has worked to oppose gender affirming care for youth and actively supports the far-right megaplan Project 2025, which seeks to implement far right policies across the United States.
Nelson said: “It was deeply scary to think that there was something wrong with me that was going to prevent me from leading a full and happy life… so I want trans kids to know that these politicians, they don’t actually think you’re bad. They don’t actually believe there’s anything wrong with you.”
They continued, saying Vance is: “engaging in opportunism to win elections. I know that because [Vance] was very loving and respectful of a trans person in his life, and is now choosing to use trans kids as a political ploy.”
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