International
Who is JD Vance, Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee?
James David Vance (Ohio, 1984), who was chosen today by Donald Trump as his vice presidential nominee for the race for the White House, was recently described by the Republican leader as a “young Abraham Lincoln” who even “looks good in a beard.”
The detail, though it may seem insignificant, says a lot in this case about the respect that Trump, who is widely known to detest facial hair, now professes for this emerging figure within the party, who went from experiencing a real personal drama and serving as a marine in the Iraq war to becoming a best-selling author.
Long before becoming a senator for Ohio, JD, as he is popularly known, suffered a childhood exposed to violence, guns and drug use in Middletown, his hometown in that state neighboring Pennsylvania, where former President Trump was shot in his right ear this Saturday.
Their grim reality was that of many white families in declining US manufacturing cities in the 1990s.
His parents’ constant bickering led to a divorce, after which JD would begin to use his mother’s surname Vance instead of his father’s Bowman; and his upbringing would fall under the care of his fierce grandmother, whom he called “Mamaw,” whose teachings shaped the person and politician he is today.
In his small town in the Appalachians, little JD Vance learned that you don’t choose your family, but you have to love it anyway, that Christianity was his salvation, and that if he ever failed, there would always be the 19 pistols that “Mamaw” kept at home.
This heritage of traditional values, and the desire for a change of scenery, motivated him to enlist in the US Marine Corps and serve in the Iraq War (2003).
In 2005, his grandmother passed away and JD understood that his military career was over and he had to focus on his studies in Political Science and Philosophy at Ohio State University, which he graduated cum laude, before moving on to Yale Law School.
Echoes of that “white trash” childhood – a derogatory term used in the country to refer to lower-class and dysfunctional families – resonated once again in JD’s head a decade later, choosing to put aside his buoyant jobs among California law firms and technology companies to write his memoirs.
Titled ‘Hillbilly Elegy’, they were published in 2016 by HarperCollins and were a hit in the publishing industry from the start.
Media such as The New York Times and CNN, where he would soon become a political commentator, enshrined the virtues of a work with such an impact that it made its way into the presidential battle between Trump himself and Democrat Hillary Clinton, and in 2020 it would arrive as a film on Netflix.
“I can’t stand Trump. I’m afraid he’s taking the white working class into a very dark place,” Vance said in an interview with NPR in 2016.
Until then, JD had shown a more moderate and socially-minded profile, even founding an NGO to protect children who are victims of difficult environments like his own, but in recent years he has been shifting towards a conservatism more in line with the MAGA (‘Make America Great Again’) core.
“My uncle just asked me if I was glad I won. If I hadn’t, it would have been another terrible homecoming. In the Vance family , we always pay attention to the important things,” said JD, laughing, upon winning the seat of senator for Ohio in 2022.
Once in office, he publicly apologized to Trump for his 2016 statements, calling them “a mistake.”
He has recently strongly defended Israeli attacks on Gaza and harshly criticized the Biden administration for its economic management.
Father of three children and married to a woman of Appalachian Indian origins, Vance now faces another major life challenge subject to the unpredictable Trump and his way of working in teams, which has made the figure of the vice president a somewhat irrelevant position; see the case of Mike Pence.
“JD is kissing my ass because he needs my support,” said the former president when the vice president – if there is a Republican victory – joined the race for the Senate.
Months later, at a joint event in East Palestine, Ohio, they closed ranks, criticizing Biden for the derailment of a chemical train, and Trump defined JD as “a young star, a great senator and a true fighter” whose bushy beard doesn’t bother him.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
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