A New York Times column by Jamelle Bouie argues that Vice President JD Vance has been sidelined from real power in Donald Trump’s administration—reduced to a social‑media megaphone—while more junior officials shape policy. But Bouie warns that Vance’s recent speech at the far‑right Claremont Institute reveals something darker than mere cheerleading: a vision of America rooted in bloodline rather than ideals. Vance rejected the Declaration of Independence’s universal principles as “over‑inclusive,” instead proposing a hierarchy where those with ancestral ties to the Civil War hold greater claim to the nation than others, including immigrants who, he said, must show gratitude or remain silent. Bouie argues this worldview echoes the Dred Scott decision’s denial of equal citizenship and, by invoking fallen soldiers to justify exclusion, betrays the very ideals they fought to defend.
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