Vice President JD Vance joined President Donald Trump’s third campaign for president as his running mate one year ago Tuesday, after the president announced his pick in a July social media post during the 2024 Republican National Convention.
Vance beat out now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum for the spot.
Trump’s selection of Vance, who had little political experience outside of a short term in the Senate, stirred controversy with Republicans who thought Rubio or Burgum would be better choices. But Vance’s triumph against Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) in the vice presidential debate warmed those within the party to him.
Whether that will pan out for him as a possible 2028 presidential candidate remains to be seen. He is widely expected to run for president in the future and already has strong support among the base.
White House spokeswoman Liz Huston told the Washington Examiner that Vance “is a trusted partner to President Trump and has played a critical role in helping the President keep all of the promises he made to the American people including delivering the largest tax cut in history for middle and working class Americans, securing the border, and putting American workers first.”
The administration also pointed to an article calling Vance a “Swiss army knife” who can step into a variety of roles.
Here are some of Vance’s most notable deeds in his first year alongside Trump.
1. Confrontation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Vance saw his name splattered across news media coverage weeks after taking office, after his stunning argument with Zelensky on national television in the Oval Office. Zelensky came to the White House in February in hopes of signing a mineral deal with the United States and continuing discussions on ending the war.
After he began arguing with Vance, he left with neither accomplished.
“Do you think that it’s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?” Vance asked Zelensky after the Ukrainian inquired what “kind of diplomacy” Russian President Vladimir Putin offered.
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“You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict,” Vance added.
The exchange delighted anti-Ukraine aid Republicans, not unlike Vance, but highly strained relations between Ukraine and the U.S. Trump posted on social media afterward that Zelensky could come back “when he is ready for peace.”
“I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” Trump wrote on social media. “I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
It also affected U.S.-Ukraine relations for months afterward. Zelensky made it a point to thank Trump and the U.S. in talks at The Hague last month.
“We covered all the truly important issues,” Zelensky said. “I thank Mr. President, I thank the United States. We discussed how to achieve a ceasefire and a real peace.”
Jeffrey A. Engel, the David Gergen director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University, told the Washington Examiner that he believes the attack on Zelensky was “coordinated” and that Vance is “willing to be an attack dog for the administration,” mirroring other experts who considered him so after his spat with Zelensky.
Engel said he believes his stance on foreign policy has the most to do with Americans, and less with allies.
“I’m of the belief that this administration essentially has no foreign policy other than domestic policy,” Engel said. “I think his performance on the foreign stage, whether with Zelensky, whether at Munich, whether throughout Europe, has almost entirely been to play to the audience at home.”
2. Tiebreaking votes on ‘big, beautiful bill’ and Hegseth’s nomination
As most vice presidents do, Vance has cast key tie-breaking votes as the Senate’s president. The two most notable are his votes for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s nomination and his vote for the “one big, beautiful bill.”
The legislative vote was necessary after Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Susan Collins (R-ME) joined Democrats in voting against the Trump administration’s tax and spending legislation. Paul criticized it for spending excessively, while Tillis and Collins had concerns over the Medicaid cuts in it.
Hegseth’s nomination faced controversy for weeks as he was scrutinized for allegations of sexual assault, alcohol abuse, and financial mismanagement. The need for a tiebreaker, nevertheless, was unexpected until Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) cast a surprise “no” vote, joining Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Collins in opposition.
The tiebreaker was Vance’s first as vice president. His vote to help Hegseth to the top spot heavily affected the Defense Department’s direction.
University of New Haven political science professor Patricia Crouse told the Washington Examiner that Vance’s role as a messenger to the Senate, as a former senator himself, is critical, too. She also said Vance’s moves help carve “his path to the presidency” in 2028.
“Like most vice presidents, Vance’s primary role has been supporting Trump’s policies, but I believe his biggest accomplishments have come as his liaison between the President and the Senate,” she said.
“He is obviously well-liked and trusted by the Republican members of the Senate and has been key in getting the Senate on board with Trump’s policy priorities,” she added. “As the deciding vote on Trump’s pick for secretary of defense and his OBBB, he has put his mark on the direction of the country.”
3. Social media presence and his role as the administration’s messenger
Vance is the third-youngest vice president in history, and as such, he embraces the new age of media. His social media escapades include fighting with Democrats online, detailing the administration’s priorities, and sharing his sometimes blunt thoughts on people or news.
Recently, he has openly feuded with Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) on X.
“Hope you enjoy your family time, @JDVance,” Newsom posted in reaction to Vance being spotted at Disneyland in California. “The families you’re tearing apart certainly won’t.”
Vance responded in short, “Had a great time, thanks.”
The pair had a more extensive argument during the Los Angeles protests last month as Newsom asked Vance to rescind the order for the National Guard to go into the city. “Newsom and his stooge Karen Bass fomented and encouraged the riots, because their entire political movement exists for one purpose: to promote mass migration into our country,” Vance said in a long post, before adding that Newsom was the problem.
The vice president also responded to attacks from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) in February on his stance that a Department of Government Efficiency staffer should not be fired for racist posts he made in the past. “Are you going to tell him to apologize for saying ‘Normalize Indian hate’ before this rehire? Just asking for the sake of both of our kids,” Khanna asked.
Vance argued that Khanna’s statement was “emotional blackmail” before adding that he is worried that his children will “grow up to be a US Congressmen who engages in emotional blackmail over a kid’s social media posts.”
“You disgust me,” Vance concluded.
The 40-year-old told press in March that he tends to “err on the side of openness” with his social media remarks, though he also finds social media “addictive,” as others do.
“That’s probably a generational thing, right?” Vance said. “I come from a very tech-forward generation.”
4. First sitting VP to visit Greenland
Vance became the first sitting vice president to visit Greenland in March, as Trump aspired to buy the frigid territory belonging to Denmark. Greenland, ironically named considering it is often a frigid, snow-covered land, which surprised Vance.
“Nobody told me,” he told U.S. troops there in reference to the weather. He wore jeans and a parka with no hat or gloves.
He argued that Greenland was not properly protected and Denmark had not “kept pace with military spending, and Denmark has not kept pace in devoting the resources necessary to keep this base, to keep our troops, and in my view, to keep the people of Greenland safe from a lot of very aggressive incursions from Russia, from China and from other nations.”
Vance tried to convince the territory’s population to favor the U.S. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” he said. “You have underinvested in the people of Greenland, and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful land mass, filled with incredible people.”
Greenlandic officials, including the prime minister, said the Americans were not welcome to visit and viewed Trump’s past statements about the area as aggressive. Vance’s attempts to further talks with Denmark to acquire Greenland have been unsuccessful.
5. Munich Security Conference speech
Vance maintained his hard-line diplomacy stance with Europe at the Munich Security Conference, a top meeting concerning international security, in February. He made sure that European leaders knew his dislike for their treatment of right-wing movements, such as the Alternative for Germany party.
His remarks shocked international relations experts and tensed the room in Munich, with little applause for his remarks. One expert called it an “extremely confrontational speech” and a “direct effort to influence European politics.”
“To many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, it looks more and more like old, entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation,’ who simply don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion, or, God forbid, vote a different way, or even worse, win an election,” Vance told the conference.
The remarks had likely worsened relations with Europe, if not with Germany. Then-German Chancellor Olaf Scholz responded to Vance in harsh terms. “A commitment to ‘never again’ is not reconcilable with support for the AfD,” he said about Germany’s pledge never to return to fascism.
Scholz said the country would not accept feedback on how to run itself from foreign sources. “That is not done, certainly not among friends and allies,” Scholz said. “Where our democracy goes from here is for us to decide.”
Vance appeared to backpedal on his inflamed relations with Europe in May.
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“I do still very much think that the United States and Europe are on the same team,” Vance told the audience at an event sponsored by the Munich Security Conference, noting similarities between European and American culture.
“It’s completely ridiculous to think that you’re ever going to be able to drive a firm wedge between the United States and Europe,” he added. “Now that doesn’t mean we’re not going to have disagreements.”