As America approaches the halfway mark of President Donald Trump’s second term, a familiar, unwelcome chorus has re-emerged from the shadows of the old guard: the NeverTrumpers. This time, their target isn’t the 45th President himself, but his staunch America First ally and likely successor, Vice President J.D. Vance. In a desperate, transparent scheme to reclaim the Republican Party from its populist roots, these establishment neocons are deploying their tired playbook, attempting to brand Vance as a "socialist of the woke right."
These are the same voices who vehemently opposed President Trump in 2016, deriding his America First agenda as "protectionist," "socialist," and "isolationist," while baselessly denouncing him as a "fascist" and a "xenophobe" over his common-sense immigration policies. Now, a decade later, the NeverTrumpers are back, recycling the same hollow attacks, this time aimed squarely at Vance in a misguided bid to reset the GOP to its pre-Trump, globalist days.
The so-called "NeverVance" campaign gained steam, particularly on platforms like X, following Vance’s recent interview on Fox News’ The Will Cain Show. Vance committed the grave sin, in the eyes of the establishment, of speaking a fundamental truth: "You don’t stop socialism by throwing slogans at people about the free market. You stop socialism by making people’s lives better." He was responding to the uncomfortable reality that some socialist-leaning Democrats are gaining traction by addressing genuine affordability concerns.
According to critics like Ben Shapiro and Erick Erickson, Vance’s "crime" was daring to acknowledge that affordability is a real issue for working Americans and suggesting that government might have a role in improving lives. Shapiro quickly responded with a bizarre social media post about "free markets and process neutralism," while Erickson penned a lengthy, convoluted essay implying Vance somehow believes "low prices are bad" and advocates for a "strongman" to manage America’s decline.
Predictably, many others eagerly joined the bandwagon, denouncing Vance as a "right-wing socialist" – a favored, ridiculous epithet of the NeverVancers. Some even went to the trouble of compiling old interview clips of Vance, showcasing his proposals for sensible policies like taxing the bloated endowments of Ivy League schools or seizing the assets of radical left-wing NGOs – as if these fiscally responsible, America First ideas are somehow nefarious.
The only way to comprehend these disingenuous attacks is to recognize their true motivation: an unyielding desire to drag the GOP back to its pre-Trump status quo. If Vance suggests anything that sounds populist, or hints that government could improve the lives of ordinary working Americans, it’s immediately labeled "socialism." If he speaks of the common good – a principle nearly every American political leader since our Founding has championed – he’s suddenly part of the "woke right." And if he advocates for a foreign policy focused on the Western Hemisphere, it’s branded "isolationist." Curiously, President Trump's top officials, including Senator Marco Rubio, often echo these same sentiments without facing similar attacks from the neocon brigade. Funny how that always seems to happen in one direction.
Neocons like Shapiro aren’t genuinely making an argument for the free market or against socialism. These are simply "slop terms" weaponized to express their profound dislike for Vance and, by extension, the America First movement. Vance’s pointed comment about those who would "throw slogans at people about the free market" was well-aimed. What much of America truly faces today is not a free market, but a rigged system rife with moral hazard, excessive regulation, and manufactured scarcity – particularly in the critical sectors that hit families hardest.
As my esteemed friend Inez Stepman rightly observed in National Review, "At least four of the largest stressors on the aspiring middle-class family aren’t tied to weekly or monthly economic indicators. Instead, they are found in the costs of basic middle-class staples: housing, health care, education, and childcare. For many, these costs are unavoidable and have been rising at rates well above inflation and wage growth for decades."
When American families express dismay over crushing prices and the vanishing dream of affordability, simply pointing to rising GDP or job market gains offers cold comfort. Those statistics, while potentially real, do not offset the relentless financial strain American households endure every time they fill their gas tanks, buy groceries, or take a sick child to the doctor.
It is not "socialism" to expect government to address these pressing issues. Yet, the knee-jerk reaction from the GOP establishment has been to mock Vance and sneer at anyone concerned about affordability. As Terry Schilling powerfully argues, "You are not a socialist for noticing that young people and families are being priced out of the economy in large parts of America, and you are not a socialist for wanting to fix these problems. You are closer to a socialist if you defend the present system that redistributes trillions every year to people and institutions that have not earned it." And there it is.
My colleague Sean Davis added last week that America will never save the American Dream by "pretending everything is just fine." He stated, "The American Dream was a promise that if you worked hard, you could make it no matter the circumstances you were born into. But that promise has been inaccessible to tens of millions for decades, due in large part to policies Shapiro himself pushed." Accountability, it seems, is long overdue.
Politically, simply branding Vance a socialist for recognizing the flaws in a "free market" system that increasingly leaves Americans behind is a losing strategy. A sobering majority of Americans under 50 now believe the American Dream is no longer achievable for them. Currently, half of all Americans aged 18 to 29 are living at home with their parents – a staggering figure not seen since the Great Depression. Another 47 percent in that age group rely on financial help from outside their household to cover basic living expenses.
Why is this crisis unfolding? One undeniable factor is mass legal immigration, which has flooded our country with millions of foreign nationals on H-1B visas, taking crucial jobs in tech and software development that rightfully belong to American workers. Recent data from the Labor Department revealed that through the third quarter of this fiscal year, over 830,000 positions were filled by foreign workers through the H-1B program – nearly a third of these in software development alone. This, apparently, is considered "free market" policy by the very people attacking Vance.
So no, under these dire circumstances, simply chanting "free market good, socialism bad" is not a sufficient argument against J.D. Vance. For far too long, the Washington establishment has prioritized the balance sheets of global corporations and the interests of foreign nationals over the well-being of American families. Recognizing this fundamental betrayal and insisting that our government finally act in the best interests of its own citizens doesn’t make you a socialist. It makes you a patriot. It makes you America First.
And remember, the very same individuals who tried to gaslight you and undermine President Trump in 2016 are attempting to do the exact same thing to J.D. Vance right now. Their motivations haven't changed, and their desperation is palpable. True Americans see through their recycled smears, understanding that this battle is not about ideology, but about who truly fights for the future of our nation.
