BEST OF: George Packer on JD Vance

About this episode

In this episode, Al Franken revisits a conversation with George Packer about JD Vance's political transformation and the implications for the Democratic Party.

JD Vance has had an unorthodox rise to power. After a troubled childhood, he joined the Marines, graduated from Yale Law School, became a best-selling author, and then won a seat in the U.S. Senate. And now, at only 41, he is Vice President to Donald Trump, a man who Vance once described as "America's Hitler" and "cultural heroin." In this Best Of episode, we revisit our June 2025 conversation with The Atlantic’s George Packer. His piece, “The Talented Mr. Vance,” explores Vance's political transformation and whether he genuinely evolved his political views or cynically abandoned his principles for ambition. We also look at the Democrats' path forward. Packer shares how they can respond to Trump's appeal to disengaged voters. Read Packer’s writing in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/george-packer/

People in this episode

Host: Al Franken

Guest: George Packer

Topics covered

• political transformation
• ambition
• Democrats' strategy
• Trump's appeal
• Vance's rise to power

Keywords

• JD Vance
• George Packer
• Donald Trump
• politics
• The Atlantic

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Atlantic

Books & works: The Talented Mr. Vance

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