J.D. Vance rose to national prominence as the author of "Hillbilly Elegy," a bestselling memoir about growing up in Appalachian poverty that became a cultural phenomenon and was later adapted into a Netflix film. Once a fierce critic of Donald Trump who called him "America's Hitler," Vance underwent a dramatic political transformation to become one of Trump's most vocal defenders, embracing populist positions on trade, immigration, and taking on corporate elites. The Yale Law graduate and former venture capitalist positioned himself as a champion of working-class Americans, riding Trump's endorsement to victory in Ohio's 2022 Senate race despite initially trailing in the Republican primary.