 But it wasn't always that way. In 2016, after publishing his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, Vance was a fierce Trump critic, calling the then-candidate cultural heroine, and even in one text message to a former roommate, he called Trump America's Hitler. But since, Vance has developed a close friendship with Donald Trump Jr., and his service as a Marine, his Yale law degree, and his deep connection to the base all weighed heavily in his favor.