I think it was 2019 when I first interacted with Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio. I had just finished my judicial clerkship and begun my career in media. JD, just a few years older than me, was already a bestselling author and a tech venture capitalist.
We were both interested in some of the energetic and ascendant elements of the Trump-era Right, and had followed each other on social media accordingly. We messaged about meeting up on the sidelines of the first-ever National Conservatism Conference (“NatCon 1”), held in Washington, D.C., in July 2019.
I don’t think we actually met up amid the fracas, but JD gave a memorable speech.
We’ve remained in touch ever since. Vance published two op-eds at Newsweek during my tenure as opinion editor. We have remained active with national conservatism and both spoke at the recent NatCon conference (“NatCon 4”)….
