Sofia Nelson, a Former Friend of J.D. Vance, Remembers a Different Man From the GOP Running Mate

"Now he's amassing even more power by expressing the exact opposite."

Published July 29 2024, 1:14 p.m. ET

The United States has seen some major upsets and confounding choices in what has already proven to be a turbulent and historic election year. Weeks after a confusing and largely nonsensical presidential debate between President Joe Biden and Republican nominee Donald Trump, Biden stepped down as the Democratic nominee and paved the way for his VP, Kamala Harris to begin campaigning as the presumptive Democratic nominee. On the other hand, Trump chose J.D. Vance as his running mate.

The Ohio senator continues to prove himself as a confusing choice for the GOP ticket. Despite his heavily conservative political views on abortion and LGBTQ+ civil rights, he has differed from his fellow Republicans on tax and minimum wage policies. What's more, his many past criticisms about the Trump administration have also come to light in recent news.

To make matters even more confusing, a former trans friend of his named Sofia Nelson has also come forward to comment on how different he used to be.

J.D. Vance used to be a trans ally for Sofia Nelson. What the heck happened?

In an interview with The New York Times, Sofia Nelson recounted their past friendship with J.D. Vance during their time at Yale Law School. According to them, he'd actually been remarkably supportive when Sofia first came out as transgender.

In his book, Hillbilly Elegy, published in 2016, he described Sofia as "an extremely progressive lesbian" without knowing the full nature of their gender identity. Upon learning, he'd sent an apology letter and expressed some heartfelt support.

In an email shared by Sofia, Vance wrote, "I recognize now that this may not accurately reflect how you think of yourself and for that, I am sorry."

Remembering this, Sofia told NYT, "The content of the conversation was 'I don't understand what you're doing, but I support you.' And that meant a lot to me at the time because I think that was the foundation of our friendship."

Their friendship only grew as they emailed and texted each other consistently for years before and after. Throughout these emails, Vance would repeatedly condemn Donald Trump as a "morally reprehensible human being," criticize racially charged police violence, and even take steps to understand Sofia's gender identity.

As Vance became more steeped in Republican policies, however, his views shifted sharply.

In 2021, he publicly supported a ban on gender-affirming care for minors in the state of Arkansas. The move effectively ended his friendship with Sofia, who was deeply hurt by the announcement.

"He achieved great success and became very rich by being a Never Trumper who explained the white working class to the liberal elite," Sofia remembered. "Now he's amassing even more power by expressing the exact opposite."

Sofia currently works as a public defender in Detroit. As for Vance and his bid for VP, he currently has a negative approval rating according to opinion polls, which is reportedly far below the average of +19.

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