JD Vance Brands Trump a 'Cultural Heroin' and Rages Prez 'Cannot Fit What Ails' Americans in Resurfaced Article
JD Vance wasn't exactly a fan of Donald Trump before he became vice president.
July 6 2026, Published 1:00 p.m. ET
JD Vance's own words against Donald Trump have come back to bite him, RadarOnline.com can reveal, as a resurfaced article has revealed how the Vice President may truly feel about his boss.
In 2016, The Atlantic published an anti-Trump article, titled Opioid of the Masses, written by Vance himself, in which he destroys the man he would soon take orders from.
JD Vance Destroys Trump in Resurfaced Article
Vance called out Trump and his empty promises in a resurfaced article.
In his blistering takedown, Vance notes all the reasons Trump is bad for America and why citizens shouldn't be distracted by the new shiny toy promising to save them.
"It appears that many Americans have reached for a new pain reliever,” Vance wrote at the time. "It, too, promises a quick escape from life's cares, an easy solution to the mounting social problems of U.S. communities and culture. It demands nothing and requires little more than a modest presence and maybe a few enablers. It enters minds, not through lungs or veins, but through eyes and ears, and its name is Donald Trump."
Vance then called out Trump's "simple solution" and raged, "As he told a New Hampshire crowd – folks all too familiar with the opioid scourge – he can cure the addiction epidemic by building a Mexican wall and keeping the cartels out. He will spare the United States from humiliation and military defeat with indiscriminate bombing.
"It doesn't matter that no credible military leader has endorsed his plan. He never offers details for how these plans will work because he can't. Trump’s promises are the needle in America’s collective vein."
Critics Go Off on JD Vance: 'Such a Little Weasle'
Vance labeled Trump a 'cultural heroin' in the blistering takedown.
Vance then goes on to brand Trump a "cultural heroin," and added, "He makes some feel better for a bit. But he cannot fix what ails them, and one day they’ll realize it."
Critics were quick to call out the vice president on X, as one person pointed out, "Shows how JD Vance's ethics are only skin-deep," and another suggested, "The real JD Vance is the man who wrote this op-ed and, knowing all of this, still decided to be a wolf. He is far, far worse and more dangerous than Trump."
"A fraud then, a fraud now," a user went off, and one said, "It's a shame that JD Vance decided to become such a little weasel since telling the truth all those years ago."
The 41-year-old also once labeled Trump "America's Hitler," and in a now-deleted tweet from 2016, said he was voting for a third-party candidate over Trump.
JD Vance Changes His Tune About Trump
Vance has since changed his tune on Trump ever since becoming vice president.
In 2024, Vance was asked about his past criticism of the former reality star during a debate, as he responded, "Donald Trump delivered for the American people, rising wages, rising, take home pay, an economy that worked for normal Americans, a secure southern border, a lot of things, frankly, that I didn't think you’d be able to deliver on.
"Yeah, when you screw up, when you mispeak, when you get something wrong, and you change your mind, you ought to be honest with the American people about it."
Vance's past words have continued to force him to defend himself. Last month, the politician appeared on the Diary of A CEO podcast with entrepreneur Steven Bartlett and claimed he "didn't know" Trump well when he made the brutal comments, and blamed the media for apparently making the president look bad.
"Donald Trump is much different as a human being than the media makes him out to be," the Hillbilly Elegy author noted in the interview.
JD Vance Can't Take Over MAGA?
'He's incredibly generous,' Vance has since said about his boss.
Vance continued, "He's very warm. He's a very loving person to his kids, to his grandkids. He's incredibly generous. If you see Donald Trump in the Oval Office, it's like he has to give you a gift.
"He's one of these people who really likes hospitality. He really likes making people happy... "I definitely, from the inside, have seen a much more multi-dimensional figure."
Despite Vance's gushing, sources previously claimed Trump isn't exactly all-in on the veep having what it takes to take over MAGA once his second term is up. Trump sat down with Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell to discuss the future of MAGA.
According to Shontell, at one point during their interview, Trump was asked who he believed would be the best person for the job. The reporter also noted to readers that Vance had "quietly slipped into the back of the room," within earshot of Trump's response.
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"Whoever gets this [job] is going to be very important," Trump responded. "And if you get the wrong person: disaster."
