Via International Man - August 28, 2025

International Man: JD Vance’s early political rise was fueled by over $13 million from Palantir co-founder and current chairman Peter Thiel—support that far outstripped grassroots contributions.

What do you think drove Thiel to pour big money into launching the political career of someone virtually unknown to the public?

Doug Casey: I’m innately suspicious of anyone and everyone involved in politics on any level. And frankly, I don’t really know anything about JD Vance other than what I learned in the movie about him, a spinoff of his book Hillbilly Elegy. Of course, it presents him in a very favorable light.

However a video by a chap named Nick Fuentes offers a different view. He digs deeper into who JD Vance may or may not be. I suggest everybody watch it now:

Nick Fuentes (@NickJFuentes) explains the subversive history of J.D. Vance, from fake marine to fake MAGA Vice President.

“He’s an artifice created by neocons and defense contractors.” 👀 pic.twitter.com/oFUGskcxv5

— Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis (@DrLoupis__) August 17, 2025

Is what Fuentes says about Vance true? I don’t know that any more than I know what’s true in JD’s book and movie. Like Vance himself, Fuentes has an axe to grind. It’s hard to believe almost anything you read or hear about any political character.

They’re capable of being shaped and reshaped into whatever form seems like a good idea at the time. Don’t forget that JD went from being a Never Trumper to a Mega MAGA almost overnight. Is he just a more intelligent, non-alcoholic, Republican version of Kamala? They both came out of nowhere, inexplicably. In today’s media-driven world it’s possible to create a character out of whole cloth.

The fact that he’s backed (maybe created or controlled are better words) by Peter Thiel might’ve inclined me favorably towards Vance, because Thiel is thought to have libertarian values. But does he? Thiel is a founder and the chairman of Palantir, which is arguably the most evil and invasive corporation in existence today (link). I’m amused that Theil, who’s obviously got a sense of humor, is giving a four-part lecture in San Francisco on “The AntiChrist” starting Sep 15. I’m interested because the projected fifth book in the series of novels I’m doing with John Hunt is called AntiChrist.

Vance has established some very good-looking credentials during his rise from nowhere—ex-US Marine, graduate from Yale, a lawyer, an author, a venture capitalist. It really looks good. Maybe it’s all real; he could just be a smart young man who lifted himself up by his bootstraps. And there’s no shame in Theil having taken a liking to him, acting as his patron. Forbes estimates that Vance is worth about $12 million. Not bad for a 39 year-old who came from nothing.

What do we really know about JD? He appears to be a cultural conservative. He’s the front runner to be the Republican presidential candidate after Trump. And he’s almost certainly Thiel’s stalking horse.

International Man: What’s your take on JD Vance’s dramatic 180° on Trump—from comparing him to Hitler and publicly calling him “reprehensible” to embracing him just as major donor money and an endorsement fell into place?

Do you see this as political evolution, opportunism, or something else?

Doug Casey: Most people in politics are made from silly putty. Is Vance the rare exception? It’s possible that . . .

[SNIP]