Overview
- The Atlantic republished JD Vance’s July 4, 2016 essay that sharply criticized then-candidate Donald Trump and his appeals to working-class voters.
- Atlantic commentator Peter Wehner revisited the piece and argued Vance’s warnings about Trump were accurate and now appear validated by current political trends.
- Wehner criticized Vance’s later political choices, saying the onetime 'Never Trump' figure moved from warning about danger to accepting ambition that led him to the Senate and the vice presidency.
- Wehner cited a recent poll placing President Trump’s approval near 30 percent and reported fractures inside the MAGA coalition, including tensions with figures like Tucker Carlson, as signs the decline Vance described has arrived.
- The essay’s republication on America’s 250th anniversary and its roots in Vance’s memoir Hillbilly Elegy have prompted questions about accountability, political ambition, and how past warnings should shape public judgment today.