(José Niño, Headline USA) Years before joining Donald Trump’s presidential ticket, JD Vance reportedly sought access to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and offered advice that could have helped her stop Trump.
A new Vanity Fair profile says Vance repeatedly pursued contact with Jake Sullivan, then a senior Clinton policy adviser, as the Democratic nominee struggled to connect with voters across the industrial Midwest.
The episode occurred while Vance publicly opposed both major candidates. He ultimately voted for independent candidate Evan McMullin, but the magazine says he privately tried to convince Clinton’s team that its strategy risked surrendering decisive states to Trump. NPR journalist Chris Whipple, who wrote the Vanity Fair profile, described the outreach as an effort to help elect Clinton, while Vance’s office disputed that interpretation.
An intermediary told Vanity Fair that Vance asked for an introduction to Sullivan and pressed the request after hearing that the Clinton adviser was too busy. The source recalled Vance saying, “I hate Hillary. But I hate Trump more. Trump can’t win. He can’t win. Hillary’s going to lose, but she doesn’t have to.”
Vance reportedly believed Clinton needed to redirect her campaign toward Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. He argued that she should spend less time with celebrities and speak directly to communities that had paid a heavy price during the Iraq War. Vance also wanted Clinton to apologize for her 2002 Senate vote authorizing military force against Iraq, according to the report.
The warning proved politically significant. Trump went on to capture Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania by narrow margins, breaking through states that Democrats had treated as dependable parts of their electoral coalition. He also carried Ohio by a much larger margin.
Vance eventually spoke with Sullivan about six weeks before Election Day. A person close to Sullivan did not remember a discussion of the four Midwestern states. That source did recall Vance urging the campaign to repair the damage from Clinton’s remark placing half of Trump’s supporters in a “basket of deplorables.” According to the source, Vance insisted, “She’s got to focus.”
The reported conversation came several years before Vance publicly aligned himself with the MAGA movement. Vance had previously condemned Trump in severe terms, but he embraced Trump while preparing his 2022 Senate campaign. Trump endorsed Vance, who won the Ohio seat and later became his running mate in 2024.
Taylor Van Kirk, a spokesperson for Vance, rejected Vanity Fair’s account of his purpose. “A lot of people asked the Vice President for advice in 2016. He never worked for a campaign, but he urged both Republicans and Democrats to care about working class towns like Middletown, Ohio. We 100 percent reject the characterization that he was trying to help Hillary win.”
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
