ATLANTIC REPUBLISHES VANCE'S 2016 ESSAY CALLING TRUMP 'CULTURAL HEROIN'

The Atlantic republished an essay written by JD Vance ten years ago in which he characterised Donald Trump as "cultural heroin" and dismissed his political appeal as offering false solutions to American problems. The magazine said it was republishing the piece to mark its tenth anniversary and the United States' semiquincentennial, inviting readers to evaluate how Vance's assessment of Trump has aged. Vance, now Vice-President, wrote the original essay during Trump's first presidential campaign, when he worked at venture capital firm Mithril Capital Management and before entering politics himself.

In the essay, Vance described Trump's political appeal as a "pain reliever" for Americans facing social crisis, economic decline and eroding trust in government. He wrote that Trump promised simple solutions to complex problems without providing workable details, and characterised his promises as "the needle in America's collective vein". Vance argued that Trump's supporters would eventually recognise he could not resolve their underlying difficulties. At the time of writing, Mike Pence held the position of Trump's running mate, and Vance had recently published his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, a bestselling account of his upbringing in the Rust Belt that examined the white working class.

The essay's republication draws attention to Vance's shift from vocal critic to Trump's Vice-President. The original publication date coincided with a period when Trump's approval ratings have been recorded as near historic lows, according to reporting on his mass deportation campaign, failure to reduce prices as promised, and involvement in military action in Iran alongside Israel despite prior pledges to avoid new wars.