Hillbilly Elegy

“I think Vance understands it at a level as good as any politician that I've seen in this country in my in in in decades and I think some of that is is you know if if if viewers haven't watched Hillbilly or read the book Hillbilly he understands it at such an intuitive level because he lived it”

“Yeah, and I know we're going to get into all of that, because again, we have a Sager tweet, but it echoes something that you actually heard from JD Vance in Hillbilly Elegy that he's since kind of recanted this critique of American culture.”

“That book experienced a renaissance in 2016 when 'Hillbilly Elegy' was published, which many may remember. He ignored the signs that he needed to stop and drop out until it became undeniable for a vast majority of Americans.”

“I have not yet met JD Vance, although we have a podcast planned; I have read his book, however, much of it twice.”

“Vance writes with real love of the people in his life in Hillbilly Elegy, which is genuinely a people rather than idea-centered book — that is not a criticism, by the way, but an observation, as I have already commented positively on his intelligence.”

“Uh, I don't feel that way about Tim Walz, who says I misspoke when actually he just lied to you! Uh, but I think we see that in Hillbilly Elegy in JD Vance's story and we definitely see that in Donald Trump!”

“I mean Hillbilly Elegy was not only best-selling, but then it became a movie. I mean people know his story.”

“I never got to the end of that book though, but whatever happened to, they found him in that manger.”

“but as was also true for JD Vance's own ancestors who moved from Kentucky to Ohio because the Ohio economy was better they were immigrants Appalachian immigrants He talks about this at length in his book”

“And apparently in Hillbilly Elegy he talked about how he in the Marines, he did media relations for the Marines combat correspondent.”

“I picked this up—this is actually when we became friends initially—we were at some massive bankers conference, and I had just written “Hillbilly Elegy.” I feel dirty thinking about it, yeah.”

“I always go back to Hillbilly Elegy and its profound impact on the American psyche.”

“But Penelope stays with me because we got to get into the love story, and I have to tell you Dennis, I know has been reading Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance. I see a lot of parallels here in some ways between what Usha, JD's wife, has done for him and what Nancy Reagan did for Ron.”

“And so this is another guy that I'm really interested to see debate, especially how they've tried to classify JD Vance as just some dude from Yale and he's trying to outcommon—he's trying to outpour JD Vance, who has a hit bestseller and a Hollywood film based on how poor he was as a kid growing up.”

“Now fast forward to today when a Twitter account with 17,000 followers made a post claiming that JD Vance, one of our country's most prominent fascists, had written about shit on a couch in his book Hillbilly Elegy, because no confirm or disconfirm, it's in a book, go look it up, no one read that book, so nobody checked it”

“JD studied at Yale, had his career funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, and then wrote a bestseller trashing that community. Come on, that's not what Middle America is.”

“This is where I get I take offense to JD Vance and in hillbilly El those are my people”

“She was bringing man after man into her home with young children, including a little boy, JD; he was having Pepsi in the baby bottle; he was sleeping in his jeans; he didn't have somebody really looking after him other than when his grandma came into the picture more full-time, and she helped JD and his — his mom stuck”

“Anyone who's read Hillbilly Elegy or listened to JD talk about where he comes from knows he's got nothing but love for the people he grew up with.”

“What's so difficult for me is that he writes this thing, Hillbilly Elegy, right, about sort of growing up poor, and now he blames the people.”

“But Trump's a phony too, and I'll just play this one other sound bite, because he was asked questions like this when Hillbilly Elegy hit.”

“It's so amazing because my copy of Hillbilly Elegy was the 2018 copy, and it's sort of festooned with praise from all the same outlets that are now attacking him.”

“I mean, he claims to be from Eastern Kentucky, tries to write a book about it to profit off our people, and then he calls us lazy, acting like he understands our culture and he's one of us.”

“What happened to him from the period I've talked to him was that he had no idea that this book would be a bestseller.”

“If you read the book, you would see he didn't quite say that.”

“But his book is really about his upbringing in Middletown, Ohio.”

“What’s important is, one, his political identity is from Hillbilly Elegy; he’s speaking to people from the Rust Belt.”

“They were in love with you after Hillbilly Elegy until, you know, because they thought you were like a Trump whisperer. You were the guy who could help them understand the evil man who had entered the presidency.”

“JD Vance, the vice presidential debate based on the people that Kamala Harris is vetting as a candidate, but that's who he is; he's not nearly as substantial as you'd think his life experience and his book and the movie made about his book should be.”

“Look I I interviewed JD Vance in his hillbilly elegy period and he was a very different guy and he wasn't just a different guy in in what he thought he was a different guy in temperament in openness”

“We all read Hillbilly Elegy; I don't know if we talked about it on this pod years ago, but you and I certainly talked about it a bunch.”

“It's just amazing the stories in his past and the characters; you know, that's why Ron Howard made a movie out of the book. And the star of his life and history is his grandmother, Mama, who I talked with the audience about earlier this week.”

“This is... no one knows about JD Vance. I know he had a bestselling book, but not that many people read it.”

“I mean, I think J.D. Vance is such an interesting pick, partially because so many Americans know him from Hillbilly Elegy, which had a profound impact on the American public.”

“Now, I first met JD back in 2017, about a year after his book Hillbilly Elegy became a New York Times bestseller. The book dropped in the middle of the 2016 election cycle.”

“JD watched as the jobs dried up and the basketball courts grew covered with weeds. "My home," he writes in Hillbilly Elegy, "was a hub of misery."”

“She was so iconic that Ron Howard made her character the star of his movie based on JD's book; she was played by Glenn Close.”

“I guarantee you that Megyn, Mama will be mentioned in the vice presidential acceptance speech. He dedicated his book to her.”

“Speaking of speaking of way too young MAGA leaders, the other huge news on Monday was Trump's announcement that his running mate will be JD Vance of Ohio—39-year-old senator, author of 'Hillbilly Elegy' and former CNN contributor, who went from calling Trump 'America's Hitler' to becoming the MAGA era parent and one of Project 2012’s best friends.”

“JD Vance, I mean, you know, read his book, watch the movie, it connects. He had a tough life.”

“he his story is so compelling hillbilly elegy is a must read”

“that's where that's what hillbilly elegy was written about”

“You know, I read, you know, the Hillbilly Elegy author, um, you know, I was, you know, my surprise at that happening caused me to ask questions.”

“i mean this is what jd vance talks about in hillbilly elegy right”

“and there's a book you should read as well I'm going to recommend to you called hillbilly elegy um I'm reading it right now and it's uh it's it's amazing man it's just it's about your culture and the things that happen in your area in Kentucky and um you'll love it man it sounds like you could I mean”