When President Trump named JD Vance as the vice-presidential nominee, as his pick to be vice president if he wins, can you talk about your response, informed by your response to Hillbilly Elegy?
NANCY ISENBERG: Yeah. Hi. I wasn’t completely surprised, because I did write a review that I think didn’t go along with the general chatting class consensus that this — that Hillbilly Elegy was somehow a revelation or told us the truth about the people who were supporting Trump. I’m more skeptical. I was skeptical from the beginning, because memoirs are about self-fashioning.
The strongest message in Hillbilly Elegy, which is the one that was echoed last night at the Republican convention, is the self-made man myth. This is the myth that somehow America creates opportunities, and just like Benjamin Franklin, you can fashion yourself, and you can rise the ladder to success. And this is very much something that JD Vance, I think, believes in. It is a part of his memoir.
— source democracynow.org | Jul 18, 2024