JD Vance paid $70K by colleges he bashes as Senate candidate

By JULIE CARR SMYTH and COLLIN BINKLEY
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Before Republican JD Vance began targeting universities as the enemy of the conservative movement, the Donald Trump-endorsed U.S. Senate candidate in Ohio leveraged a network of higher education institutions across the country to promote his book. And he made money doing it. In the two years after the 2016 release of “Hillbilly Elegy,” Vance visited at least 18 universities for graduation speeches, lectures or political talks and he was paid more than $70,000. At the time, the Yale Law School graduate spoke glowingly of education. But his rhetoric has hardened ahead of the state’s May 3 primary as he courts blue-collar voters who view institutions and intellectualism with skepticism.