JD Vance paid $55K by colleges he bashes as Senate candidate

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

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- 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,” his bestselling memoir of growing up in Appalachia, Vance visited at least 18 universities to give graduation speeches, lectures or political talks. For those visits, Vance was paid more than $55,000, according to records provided to The Associated Press by the colleges.

At the time, Vance, a graduate of Ohio State University and Yale Law School, spoke glowingly of education.

During an appearance on CBS' “Sunday Morning" in 2017, he complimented universities on providing “high-quality talent” and “intellectual property necessary for folks to get their businesses off the ground.” In his book, he recalled watching an episode of “The West Wing” about "education in America, which the majority of people rightfully believe is the key to opportunity.”