Politics'I Hate Hillary, But I Hate Trump More': J.D. Vance Funneled Secret Anti-Trump Dirt to Clinton Before 2016 Presidential Race, Sources Claim
J.D. Vance previously did not like Donald Trump.
Sept. 18 2026, Published 1:48 p.m. ET
Before becoming vice president, J.D. Vance tried to get Hillary Clinton elected over Donald Trump, according to a new report.
In a wide-ranging profile on Vance published by Vanity Fair on September 16, a Clinton campaign operative recalled that Vance personally dialed up Clinton's senior policy advisor with a pitch to ensure the secretary of state wouldn't lose the 2016 presidential election.
Vance Urged Clinton to Focus on Rust Belt
Clinton was slammed for ignoring Rust Belt states.
Per the operative's story, Vance, then 32, demanded the attention of Jake Sullivan, who served as Clinton's senior policy advisor on the campaign.
“J.D. called me and said, ‘Can you put me in touch with Jake Sullivan?’” the insider recalled. “I was, like, ‘Jake is running Hillary’s campaign. He’s way too busy.’ He called me again, and he said, ‘I hate Hillary. But I hate Trump more. Trump can’t win. He can’t win. Hillary’s going to lose, but she doesn’t have to.’”
Vance urged the Clinton campaign to turn its attention to midwestern swing states and apologize for voting to authorize George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq.
"'She needs to come here instead of being down with Beyoncé in Miami,'" the insider recalled of Vance's pitch. "'She needs to come here and apologize for the Iraq War. Apologize for sending so many people, my community, all the people in all these states whose sons and fathers died, and everybody just forgot about them.’”
Vance Was Once a Harsh Trump Critic
Vance used to not like Trump.
The advice was ignored. Clinton infamously lost Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania – the very swing states Vance urged her to visit. Postmortems on the candidate's campaign harshly criticized Clinton for ignoring the Rust Belt in the weeks leading up to the election.
The story highlights Vance's dramatic transformation from harsh Trump critic to Trump sycophant. Vance did not vote for Trump or Clinton in 2016, instead casting his vote for independent candidate Evan McMullin. Before becoming Trump's running mate in 2024, Vance notably compared the 80-year-old president to Adolf Hitler.
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Vance's Team Denies He Tried to Help Clinton
Both Vance and Clinton's teams acknowledged Vance spoke to Sullivan in 2016.
His spokesperson did not deny the story to Vanity Fair, but attempted to claim it was Sullivan who sought Vance's advice.
“A lot of people asked the Vice President for advice in 2016. He never worked for a campaign, but he urged both Republicans and Democrats to care about working class towns like Middletown, Ohio. We 100 percent reject the characterization that he was trying to help Hillary win,” said spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk.
A source close to Sullivan said Clinton's advisor did not recall Vance's apology tour pitch, but did talk to Vance about the backlash to Clinton's infamous "basket of deplorables" characterization of Trump supporters.
Vance Eyes 2028
Vance is likely gearing up for a 2028 run.
The profile comes as Vance preps for a likely 2028 presidential campaign, where he is the early presumptive favorite to take up the Republican mantle after Trump.
Vance has pushed off 2028 speculation by saying he's focused on the upcoming midterms — where his pitch to voters is that they should give Republicans "another chance" after two years of complete control of government.
Vance could face a field of GOP challengers that includes administration buddies Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth, as well as a veteran of the 2016 campaign trail Ted Cruz.
