The Tragic Reason Why JD Vance Was Almost Put Into Foster Care When He Was 12: "I Lied"
Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of child abuse that some readers may find distressing.
Donald Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, who is best known for his work Hillbilly Elegy, has always been candid about his roller-coaster upbringing in the heart of Appalachian America. Vance’s story is a poignant reflection of the struggles many families face in similar socio-economic backgrounds. One of the most troubling episodes from his childhood had him almost being placed into foster care at the age of 12.
As per NPR, things took a turn for the worse during a trip he had taken with his mother, Beverly Vance. He recalled, “So what happened is my mom, who was, in a lot of ways, this really wonderful person who tried very hard but also carried around the demons of her youth a little too much — had come over to my grandma's house where I was staying. She had apologized for something she had done earlier. And she had offered to take me on this trip to go and do some fun things."
“One is the components we don’t speak enough about as a key to the American Dream is culture.
— Jamie Giles Rodgers (@jkgile01) December 7, 2018
The culture of your family, the network of your neighbors, the stigma of getting ahead, the impact of seeing drugs....” - JD Vance on childhood trauma. #CSG2018 pic.twitter.com/KoDN8BJnxS
The author continued, "And it was supposed to be a big makeup trip. But what happened is that something ignited her temper while we were together. She sped up the car on the highway... she was driving over 100 mph. And she just kept on saying, 'I'm going to crash this car and kill us both.'”
Usha Chilukuri Vance, the wife of JD Vance, shared that they were friends first when they met at Yale. "He was, then, and now, the most interesting person I knew: a working-class guy who had overcome childhood traumas that I could barely fathom — to end up at Yale Law School." pic.twitter.com/m8kaHOU80m
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) July 18, 2024
As per Forbes, this incident led to Beverly's arrest for domestic violence and brought child welfare authorities into their lives. J.D. further detailed, “I...hopped in the backseat to hide from her. And this got her really angry. And she stopped the car and pulled over...was going to start hitting me. And so I ran. I ran out of the car. We were in a pretty rural part of the state. And I ran through a field to a person's house. And eventually, this set in chain a set of events where Mom was arrested. She was charged with domestic violence and I was made to sit in a police car until my grandparents and my sister came to rescue me... As soon as she was charged with domestic violence, it became a case of child abuse and neglect.”
Faced with the potential of being removed from his home and placed into foster care, JD ultimately chose to lie to the authorities. He disclosed, “I was effectively given a choice between— keep talking, and we're going to have to file charges...we're going to have to take you out of the home...Or if you just keep quiet about things, then you can stay living with your family. And that was, of course, a pretty hard decision for a 12-year-old. But luckily, I had enough faith in my grandma. I knew that she wouldn't let anything too bad happen to me. And so I lied to the people who asked whether something bad had happened. I remember my mom had a domestic violence hearing. And the judge asked whether she had done anything to threaten me. And I lied. I told him no.”
CHILD ABUSE: If you know of any children who are being subjected to abuse, please contact The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at (800) 422-4453.
