JD Vance once said conspiracy theories were idiotic—now he's embracing them

WASHINGTON — JD Vance not long ago described conspiracy theories as the feverish imaginings produced by “fringe lunatics writing about all manner of idiocy.”

That was before he became a rising star in Republican politics.

The Ohio senator and GOP's vice presidential nominee has in recent years declared that the federal government deliberately allowed fentanyl into the United States to kill conservative and rural voters. He has praised Alex Jones, a well-known conspiracy theorist who claimed the deaths of 20 young children in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax.

And he’s echoed — contrary to all evidence — former President Donald Trump's assertion that the 2020 election was unfairly won by Democrats and that those charged in the subsequent Capitol insurrection are “political prisoners.” More recently, he gave credence to the debunked idea that Haitian immigrants were abducting and devouring pets in Ohio.

Longtime Republican strategists and academics say Vance's evolution on the conspiracy theories can be traced to the Ohio politician's desire to advance in Trump's Republican Party. The former president has a long history of pushing unfounded claims. He lied about former President Barack Obama having been born in Kenya, and about doctors performing "post-birth abortions." He has said that wind turbines cause cancer. And he has repeatedly amplified social media posts that elections cannot be trusted.