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J.D. Vance speaks alongside former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during an election night event
Image: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

JD Vance

JD Vance is the vice president of the United States, serving under President Donald Trump. The former Ohio senator and father of three grew up in a steel manufacturing town and joined the US Marines after high school.

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All Content on this topic

President Donald Trump wearing a "Trump was right about everything" hat speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025

Fact check: Is the Trump administration rewriting history?

JD Vance misstates World War II history — DW fact checks Trump's distortions from Iraq to museum censorship.
PoliticsAugust 27, 2025
Lars Klingbeil shakes the hand of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Germany's Klingbeil visits Ukraine, vows security guarantees

"As long as this war continues, we will stand by Ukraine's side," said German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil.
ConflictsAugust 25, 2025
US President Donald Trump (R, wearing a MAGA cap) and US Vice President JD Vance (L) sit in the Situation Room of the White House

Trump's spending bill clears Senate as Vance breaks tie

Democrats decry Trump's tax breaks for benefiting billionaires at the expense of food aid and healthcare for millions.
PoliticsJuly 2, 202502:08 min
JD Vance gestures with his hands at the American Compass Gala on June 3

US Vice President JD Vance joins X rival Bluesky

JD Vance also asked his followers to join him on Bluesky, which has been styled as a progressive alternative to X.
PoliticsJune 19, 2025
Crowds with Russian flags and images of Russian President Vladimir Putin

The risks of recognizing Russia's annexation of Crimea

The United States has reportedly called on Ukraine to accept Russian control of Crimea as part of a peace agreement.
PoliticsApril 25, 2025
US Vice President JD Vance and Indian PM Narendra Modi on April 21, 2025

US Vice President Vance meets Indian PM Modi for trade talks

The meeting between JD Vance and India's Narendra Modi comes as New Delhi is trying to avoid Trump's trade tariffs.
PoliticsApril 22, 2025
US Vice President in Delhi, India

India's Modi to host JD Vance for trade talks

The US vice president is visiting India to discuss trade, but looming US tariffs on the country will also come up.
PoliticsApril 21, 2025
US Vice President JD Vance gives a speech at the Munich Security Conference

JD Vance says Europe should have done more to stop Iraq War

US Vice President JD Vance says EU governments could have done more to oppose Washington over the Iraq War.
PoliticsApril 15, 2025
Colonel Susannah Meyers (left) next to JD Vance and his wife Usha on their visit to Greenland

Greenland US space base chief fired after Vance visit

The head of the US military outpost in Greenland had distanced herself from Washington's agenda for the Arctic island.
PoliticsApril 11, 2025
US Vice President JD Vance waves as he arrives to board Air Force Two after touring Greenland

Denmark criticizes Vance's remarks on Greenland

The Danish foreign minister has scolded the Trump administration for its "tone" in criticizing Denmark and Greenland.
PoliticsMarch 29, 202501:41 min
Lars Løkke Rasmussen

Greenland: Danish minister pushes back at JD Vance's 'tone'

Denmark was not pleased with comments from US VP Vance that it had "under invested" in the security of Greenland.
PoliticsMarch 29, 2025
US Vice President JD Vance (C) speaks in a US base conference room as second lady Usha Vance and others listen

Vance tours US military base in Greenland

The US vice president's trip comes on the same day that Greenland's politicians finally formed a coalition government.
PoliticsMarch 28, 202504:49 min
JD Vance was greeted by military personnel at Pituffik Space Base

JD Vance arrives in Greenland on controversial trip

JD Vance has sharply criticized Denmark, saying the government has "not done a good job at keeping Greenland safe."
PoliticsMarch 28, 2025
A snow and ice covered landscape with a track leading to the Pituffik space base in north Greenland(

Frosty response to US Vice President Vance's Greenland trip

A US delegation including Vice President JD Vance is heading for Greenland. Locals see the visit as a "provocation."
PoliticsMarch 27, 2025
Members of US Congress discussing leaked Signal chat with a large print-out of messages held up in the background

Leaked Signal chat describes Europeans as 'free-loaders'

He's fed up with "bailing out Europe again," said US Vice President JD Vance in a leaked Signal chat.
PoliticsMarch 26, 202502:32 min
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk in the Oval Office

Fact check: Audio of JD Vance criticizing Elon Musk real?

A viral audio clip features JD Vance criticizing Elon Musk for "making us look bad." Vance claims it is AI-generated.
PoliticsMarch 26, 2025
Donald Trump looks at his son Donald Trump Jr.

Trump-backed 'Olympics on drugs' could become reality

The Enhanced Games would see doped athletes competing against each other. A first edition could be hosted by a US city.
SportsMarch 19, 2025
A Ukrainian serviceman holds a Javelin during a large-scale military exercise

How will the end of US military aid affect Ukraine?

Donald Trump is putting all US military aid for Kyiv on hold. This will hit Ukraine hard, especially its air defense.
ConflictsMarch 4, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy looks on on the day they meet at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 28, 2025.

Zelenskyy hopeful that relations with US can be repaired

US-Ukraine relations are at a new low after a dramatic row between US President Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
ConflictsMarch 1, 202502:32 min
US Vice President JD Vance speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 2025 at National Harbor, Maryland, USA, on February 20, 2025

Vance criticizes Germany's free speech laws at CPAC summit

The US vice president linked the US military deployment in Germany with the country's hate-speech laws.
PoliticsFebruary 21, 2025
Teaser Berlin Briefing NEU

MSC 2: Does the US still have to figure out Russia/Ukraine?

At a memorable Munich Security Conference, US Vice President JD Vance lectured the Europeans on what democracy should really mean, questioning its institutions. In this special edition from Munich, host Michaela Küfner breaks down the messages from MSC 2025 together with Jackson Janes (German Marshall Fund), Peter R. Neumann (King's College London) and DW's Brussels correspondent Teri Schultz.
PoliticsFebruary 21, 202531:04 min
US Vice President JD Vance gestures as he speaks during the 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC)

Fact check: Free speech 'in retreat' — is JD Vance right?

US Vice President JD Vance claims that freedom of speech in Europe is at risk. What do the facts say?
February 21, 202508:49 min
U.S. Vice President JD Vance gives a speech at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich

Fact check: JD Vance's free speech claims debunked

US Vice President JD Vance has accused Europe of curtailing free speech. DW examines his controversial claims.
PoliticsFebruary 17, 2025
Teaser Berlin Briefing NEU

MSC 2: Does the US still have to figure out Russia/Ukraine?

What's next after the US Vice President lectured Europeans on democracy at the Munich Security Conference?
PoliticsFebruary 17, 202529:51 min
German President Steinmeier, US President Vance, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and others in a meeting during the Munich Security Conference on February 14, 2025

Deep rift between US and EU opens up in Munich

US-EU "shared values" were questioned by the US vice president. Do the two still see eye to eye?
PoliticsFebruary 15, 2025
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, third left, speaks during a bilateral meeting with United States Vice-President JD Vance on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference

Zelenskyy, Vance sit down for talks in Munich

Did the two leaders manage to find common ground with regard to ending the war in Ukraine?
ConflictsFebruary 14, 202507:49 min
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius in a DW interview

Pistorius: JD Vance's criticism 'is not acceptable'

In his speech at the Munich Security Conference, the US vice president said free speech was "in retreat" in Europe.
PoliticsFebruary 14, 202506:52 min
JD Vance, second right, and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center, meet with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a bilateral meeting

Vance speech a 'massive intervention in European politics'

DW analyzed US Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference which sharply critiqued Europe.
PoliticsFebruary 14, 202506:31 min
French President Emmanuel Macron, second left, and Brigitte Macron, left, pose for a group photo with United States Vice-President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance during arrivals for a working lunch at the Elysee Palace during an event on the sidelines of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025.

US, UK decline to sign Paris AI summit declaration

US Vice President JD Vance said "excessive regulation" could stifle the industry and deter necessary risk-taking.
TechnologyFebruary 11, 2025
JD Vance

Who is Vice President JD Vance?

JD Vance is on his way to the White House as the next vice president of the United States.
PoliticsJanuary 20, 2025
JC Vance claps as he stands next to Donald Trump

Trump's inauguration: What you need to know

Donald Trump will be sworn in as president on January 20, 2025. What happens, who is invited, and who pays for it all?
PoliticsJanuary 20, 2025
JD Vance in front of Donald Trump, standing next to an American flag

Fact check: JD Vance is wrong about AfD, Nazis

Is the far-right AfD most successful in parts of Germany that previously resisted the Nazis? No — and here's why.
PoliticsJanuary 5, 2025
JD Vance appears surrounded by Trump posters.

JD Vance: Who is Donald Trump's running mate in US election?

JD Vance was confirmed as Donald Trump's running mate in July. Many see him as the new face of the MAGA movement.
PoliticsOctober 30, 2024
Then US President Donald Trump looks at his phone during a roundtable with governors on the reopening of America's small businesses, at the White House in Washington DC, USA on June 18, 2020

Chinese hackers target Trump, Vance and Harris campaign

US media reported attempts to break into the cell phones of Trump, JD Vance, and members of the Harris campaign.
CrimeOctober 26, 2024
A view of DW reporter Ines Pohl (left) walking with union representative and campaign volunteer Jeffrey Plummer (right) in a quiet suburban road

US Democrats, Republicans compete for Pennsylvania votes

Ahead of the vice presidential debate, DW's Ines Pohl went to the key swing state to find out what voters want.
PoliticsOctober 1, 202404:05 min
Housewife baking in her fitted kitchen with gas hob and gas boiler for heating the water

'Tradwives': Where well-dressed wives and far-right meet?

Glamorous moms are celebrating conventional gender roles on TikTok. Are they also serving far-right political aims?
CultureAugust 29, 2024
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event with Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Saturday, July 20, 2024

Trump's first rally since attack with running mate JD Vance

With tight security and galvanized crowds in Michigan, Trump has called his survival of the assassination "divine will".
PoliticsJuly 21, 202401:58 min
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance, speaks at the the RNC

JD Vance steps into the limelight at Republican Convention

Donald Trump's running mate, speaking at the third night of the RNC, urged voters to "choose a new path."
PoliticsJuly 18, 2024
Usha Chilukuri Vance

Usha Vance, wife of Trump's VP pick, has deep ties to India

Usha Chilukuri Vance's impressive academic and professional background has inspired Indians as a diaspora success story.
PoliticsJuly 17, 2024
A woman posing in front of a picture of Donald Trump

US Republicans formally nominate Donald Trump for president

Republican convention delegates nominate Trump for president, and he announces JD Vance as his running mate.
PoliticsJuly 16, 202402:21 min
Former US President Donald Trump with a patch on his ear following a shooting applauds while standing next to JD Vance

JD Vance confirmed as Trump's running mate in US election

Republicans formally picked Donald Trump's critic-turned-ally as the vice presidential candidate in the 2024 election.
PoliticsJuly 16, 2024