JD Vance’s 2028 Presidential Dreams Are Already Crumbling—And His Megadonors Are to Blame

JD Vance’s presidential ambitions may be over before they even begin, thanks to the same billionaire power brokers who helped manufacture his rapid political rise. And for many observers, the unraveling is both predictable and—admittedly—entertaining to watch.

Vance, once a fierce critic of Donald Trump who referred to him as “America’s Hitler,” now stands loyally at Trump’s side, trading in every ounce of principle for proximity to power. That gamble momentarily appeared to pay off: Trump recently suggested Vance could be among the frontrunners for a major role in a future Republican administration, perhaps even vice president.

But beneath the surface, Vance’s political foundation is cracking—largely because it was never built on voter enthusiasm, charisma, or genuine political skill. Instead, his ascent was engineered and financed by a cluster of ultra-wealthy tech titans, most notably Palantir founder Peter Thiel.

The Billionaire Pipeline That Built JD Vance

According to Forbes, Thiel—worth $7.9 billion—poured more than $15 million into groups backing Vance’s Senate campaign. Their relationship dates back to Vance’s days at Yale Law School, where he described one of Thiel’s guest lectures as a “turning point.” Thiel later hired him at his venture firm, Mithril Capital, giving Vance a prestigious résumé line before launching him into the political spotlight.

But Thiel’s support comes with baggage. Palantir, his flagship company, amasses vast troves of data on Americans, develops surveillance tools used in immigration raids, and manufactures military technology—most controversially for Israel’s defense apparatus. Critics are increasingly alarmed that Trump-aligned Republicans are deepening ties with a company built on monitoring civilians.

And when Vance is asked whether this corporate–political entanglement troubles him, he waves it off, insisting people wrongly think he’s “in bed with Palantir.” That denial has done little to calm skepticism.

Growing Backlash From the Right and Left

While progressives have long warned about Thiel’s anti-democratic ideology, the criticism is now coming from inside Vance’s own ideological tent.

Prominent conservative voices like Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan—usually champions of right-wing populism—have warned about Palantir’s sprawling data collection and creeping surveillance capabilities. Rogan even called the company “creepy,” a rare moment of agreement with his political opposites.

Columnist Arwa Mahdawi of The Guardian argues that Vance’s associations with Thiel may be fatal to his 2028 presidential hopes. Not only does Vance lack charisma and authenticity, she notes, but his political identity is tethered to a billionaire who openly questions democracy, opposes women’s suffrage, and publicly muses about a futuristic techno-authoritarian state.

Factor in the GOP’s discomfort with Vance’s non-white, non-Christian spouse, and the senator’s standing within his own party becomes even more strained.

A Candidate Out of Step With His Own Base

Vance’s ideological opportunism—once condemning Trump, now clinging to him—already undermines his trustworthiness among Republican voters. But it’s his entanglement with a shadowy data-mining empire that increasingly alarms both libertarians and mainstream conservatives.

As scrutiny intensifies, Vance tries to laugh it off. But the political ground beneath him is shrinking, and his billionaire benefactors can no longer shield him from the backlash they helped create.

If Vance truly has presidential ambitions for 2028, he’ll face not just a skeptical electorate, but a growing revolt from within his own movement.

And no amount of tech money can fix a candidate who feels engineered, not elected.