Vance's 2016 book "Hillbilly Elegy" blamed poor people in Appalachia for their own problems - drugs, unemployment, family breakdown. Now as Trump's VP, he blames corporate elites and Wall Street for the same issues. What's going on?

Question

Vance's 2016 book "Hillbilly Elegy" blamed poor people in Appalachia for their own problems - drugs, unemployment, family breakdown. Now as Trump's VP, he blames corporate elites and Wall Street for the same issues. What's going on?

Accepted Answer

Same problems, different scapegoats depending on who's listening. "Hillbilly Elegy" told wealthy readers that poor people cause their own misery through bad choices - a message that made liberals feel good about themselves. Now, targeting working-class Trump voters, Vance blames evil corporations for the same poverty he used to pin on personal responsibility. It's not about truth, it's about telling each audience what they want to hear.

Vance's 2016 book "Hillbilly Elegy" blamed poor people in Appalachia for their own problems - drugs, unemployment, family breakdown. Now as Trump's VP, he blames corporate elites and Wall Street for the same issues. What's going on?

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