The Influence of "Lord of the Rings" on JD Vance’s Political Views
"A significant portion of my conservative worldview was shaped by Tolkien."
TroibNews 
When Donald Trump chose JD Vance as his running mate, he promoted the first millennial to appear on a presidential ticket. This event marks Vance as the first politician who matured during the Iraq War and the Great Recession, an individual who grew up with the internet and whose political rise was concurrent with the emergence of the New Right conservatives.
Vance’s deep interest in Lord of the Rings stands out as a hallmark of his millennial identity. The trilogy of novels has been a favorite in geek culture for many years but became a major cultural phenomenon during Vance’s high school years, attributed to Peter Jackson’s film adaptations.
Tolkien’s fantasy epics have notably shaped Vance's worldview. In an archived episode of the defunct “Grounded” podcast from 2021, Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, who was seated next to Vance in Trump’s friends and family box at the convention Tuesday evening, asked him to name his favorite author.
“I would have to say Tolkien,” Vance said. “I’m a big Lord of the Rings guy, and I think, not realizing it at the time, but a lot of my conservative worldview was influenced by Tolkien growing up.” He added, “Big fan of C.S. Lewis — really sort of like that era of English writers. I think they were really interesting. They were grappling, in part because of World War II, with just very big problems.”
In the books, the future of civilization hinges on the quest to destroy The One Ring. While Frodo and Gollum struggle over this singular ring, true fans know there are 20 rings of power in total. Vance seems to be among these enthusiasts, naming the venture capital firm he founded in 2019 as Narya, after one of the rings worn by Gandalf. Similarly, his mentor Peter Thiel named his company Palantir after Saruman’s crystal ball in the series, and Vance has invested in Anduril, a defense startup named after Aragorn’s sword.
“By the time of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Narya has been entrusted to Gandalf to resist the corrupting influence of evil, preserve the world from decay, and give strength to its wielder,” said Tolkien enthusiast John Shelton, who serves as policy director for Advancing American Freedom, founded by former Vice President Mike Pence. “Gandalf, unlike the other great powers in Lord of the Rings, cared for the hobbits and other lowly people of Middle-Earth, and so it is unsurprising that Vance would see himself as a kind of Gandalf, caring for the forgotten people of his hometown, keeping a watchful eye on them against the corrupting effects of the world.”
It’s not particularly surprising that Lord of the Rings had a profound impact on Vance. The three films, released between 2001 and 2003 while Vance was in high school, grossed nearly $3 billion and garnered 28 Academy Award nominations with 17 wins. Luke Burgis, author and professor at Catholic University of America, suggested, “Vance’s appreciation of Tolkien is not unrelated to his conversion to Catholicism in 2019. Of the many ways that Tolkien’s work exemplifies the Catholic imagination, one is the relationship between the visible and the invisible. I think it’s fair to say that Vance believes there is real spiritual evil in this world, and it can become embodied in rites and rituals.” In a closed-door speech in September 2021, Vance said, “I believe the devil is real and that he works terrible things in our society.”
Burgis further mentioned that Vance likely absorbed from Tolkien “an apocalyptic frame of mind,” viewing a final, comprehensive battle between good and evil. A spokesperson for Vance did not respond to a request for comment on this perspective.
Tolkien wrote much of Middle Earth's mythology during his service in World War I trenches and developed the Rings novels while Britain was embroiled in World War II. The books carry an anti-war message. In *The Two Towers*, Tolkien wrote: “War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.”
Vance has expressed how his service in the Marines during the Iraq War shaped his isolationist, dovish foreign policy views. “I served my country honorably, and I saw when I went to Iraq that I had been lied to,” he once recounted. “[I saw] that promises of the foreign policy establishment of this country were a complete joke.”
However, his admiration of Lord of the Rings also contrasts with some of Tolkien’s perspectives on nation-states and global involvement. The books often depict the need for unity and collective action. Frodo's initial inclination to stay in the Shire is overturned by his realization that interconnected troubles affect everyone (akin to NATO’s involvement with Ukraine). In the story, various factions such as Rohan, Gondor, the elves, ents, and dwarves must unite and overcome petty disputes.
Vance’s love for Lord of the Rings aligns him with other right-wing nationalists globally. Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, for instance, has also expressed a deep appreciation for Tolkien’s work, stating, “I think that Tolkien could say better than us what conservatives believe in,” though her stance on aid to Ukraine differs from Vance’s.
Jessica Hooten Wilson, a professor and Tolkien scholar who spent time with Vance in 2019, suggested Vance might have derived the lesson that America, unlike Frodo, should avoid foreign interventions. “I think this is where Tolkien did not want his work called allegory because he didn't want one way of reading his text,” she said, emphasizing a need to learn from the text rather than imposing one's own views on it.
Rick Santorum, former senator and GOP presidential candidate, shares Vance's admiration for Tolkien but interprets it differently. He sees Tolkien’s message as one that necessitates confronting evil proactively. “I always dreamed I would get interviewed about Lord of the Rings,” Santorum said. “I'm a huge Tolkien fan,” he continued, emphasizing, “I'm also someone who believes that the message of Tolkien is that evil must be confronted.”
In summary, Vance is navigating intellectual and spiritual tensions as he settles into his political role. “He's been in office a year and a half. He's never been greatly involved in politics before this,” Santorum noted, suggesting that this might be one reason Trump selected him, recognizing Vance as a “smart guy but is still a work in progress.”
Vance has reportedly undergone a personal awakening since converting to Catholicism in 2019. Conservative writer Rod Dreher, who attended Vance’s initiation into the faith, observed that Vance “is thinking broadly about how all must join in the great struggle against darkness — there is no avoiding the struggle — and how God can use the humble and the lowborn to do great things.”
“Think about it: Who would have imagined that sad, scared little Ohio boy living in a wreck of a family would have come through it all, and risen to the gates of supreme political power? What might God be doing with him? J.D. Vance might be Frodo of the Hollers, a veritable hillbilly hobbit.”
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
Vance’s deep interest in Lord of the Rings stands out as a hallmark of his millennial identity. The trilogy of novels has been a favorite in geek culture for many years but became a major cultural phenomenon during Vance’s high school years, attributed to Peter Jackson’s film adaptations.
Tolkien’s fantasy epics have notably shaped Vance's worldview. In an archived episode of the defunct “Grounded” podcast from 2021, Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, who was seated next to Vance in Trump’s friends and family box at the convention Tuesday evening, asked him to name his favorite author.
“I would have to say Tolkien,” Vance said. “I’m a big Lord of the Rings guy, and I think, not realizing it at the time, but a lot of my conservative worldview was influenced by Tolkien growing up.” He added, “Big fan of C.S. Lewis — really sort of like that era of English writers. I think they were really interesting. They were grappling, in part because of World War II, with just very big problems.”
In the books, the future of civilization hinges on the quest to destroy The One Ring. While Frodo and Gollum struggle over this singular ring, true fans know there are 20 rings of power in total. Vance seems to be among these enthusiasts, naming the venture capital firm he founded in 2019 as Narya, after one of the rings worn by Gandalf. Similarly, his mentor Peter Thiel named his company Palantir after Saruman’s crystal ball in the series, and Vance has invested in Anduril, a defense startup named after Aragorn’s sword.
“By the time of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Narya has been entrusted to Gandalf to resist the corrupting influence of evil, preserve the world from decay, and give strength to its wielder,” said Tolkien enthusiast John Shelton, who serves as policy director for Advancing American Freedom, founded by former Vice President Mike Pence. “Gandalf, unlike the other great powers in Lord of the Rings, cared for the hobbits and other lowly people of Middle-Earth, and so it is unsurprising that Vance would see himself as a kind of Gandalf, caring for the forgotten people of his hometown, keeping a watchful eye on them against the corrupting effects of the world.”
It’s not particularly surprising that Lord of the Rings had a profound impact on Vance. The three films, released between 2001 and 2003 while Vance was in high school, grossed nearly $3 billion and garnered 28 Academy Award nominations with 17 wins. Luke Burgis, author and professor at Catholic University of America, suggested, “Vance’s appreciation of Tolkien is not unrelated to his conversion to Catholicism in 2019. Of the many ways that Tolkien’s work exemplifies the Catholic imagination, one is the relationship between the visible and the invisible. I think it’s fair to say that Vance believes there is real spiritual evil in this world, and it can become embodied in rites and rituals.” In a closed-door speech in September 2021, Vance said, “I believe the devil is real and that he works terrible things in our society.”
Burgis further mentioned that Vance likely absorbed from Tolkien “an apocalyptic frame of mind,” viewing a final, comprehensive battle between good and evil. A spokesperson for Vance did not respond to a request for comment on this perspective.
Tolkien wrote much of Middle Earth's mythology during his service in World War I trenches and developed the Rings novels while Britain was embroiled in World War II. The books carry an anti-war message. In *The Two Towers*, Tolkien wrote: “War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.”
Vance has expressed how his service in the Marines during the Iraq War shaped his isolationist, dovish foreign policy views. “I served my country honorably, and I saw when I went to Iraq that I had been lied to,” he once recounted. “[I saw] that promises of the foreign policy establishment of this country were a complete joke.”
However, his admiration of Lord of the Rings also contrasts with some of Tolkien’s perspectives on nation-states and global involvement. The books often depict the need for unity and collective action. Frodo's initial inclination to stay in the Shire is overturned by his realization that interconnected troubles affect everyone (akin to NATO’s involvement with Ukraine). In the story, various factions such as Rohan, Gondor, the elves, ents, and dwarves must unite and overcome petty disputes.
Vance’s love for Lord of the Rings aligns him with other right-wing nationalists globally. Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, for instance, has also expressed a deep appreciation for Tolkien’s work, stating, “I think that Tolkien could say better than us what conservatives believe in,” though her stance on aid to Ukraine differs from Vance’s.
Jessica Hooten Wilson, a professor and Tolkien scholar who spent time with Vance in 2019, suggested Vance might have derived the lesson that America, unlike Frodo, should avoid foreign interventions. “I think this is where Tolkien did not want his work called allegory because he didn't want one way of reading his text,” she said, emphasizing a need to learn from the text rather than imposing one's own views on it.
Rick Santorum, former senator and GOP presidential candidate, shares Vance's admiration for Tolkien but interprets it differently. He sees Tolkien’s message as one that necessitates confronting evil proactively. “I always dreamed I would get interviewed about Lord of the Rings,” Santorum said. “I'm a huge Tolkien fan,” he continued, emphasizing, “I'm also someone who believes that the message of Tolkien is that evil must be confronted.”
In summary, Vance is navigating intellectual and spiritual tensions as he settles into his political role. “He's been in office a year and a half. He's never been greatly involved in politics before this,” Santorum noted, suggesting that this might be one reason Trump selected him, recognizing Vance as a “smart guy but is still a work in progress.”
Vance has reportedly undergone a personal awakening since converting to Catholicism in 2019. Conservative writer Rod Dreher, who attended Vance’s initiation into the faith, observed that Vance “is thinking broadly about how all must join in the great struggle against darkness — there is no avoiding the struggle — and how God can use the humble and the lowborn to do great things.”
“Think about it: Who would have imagined that sad, scared little Ohio boy living in a wreck of a family would have come through it all, and risen to the gates of supreme political power? What might God be doing with him? J.D. Vance might be Frodo of the Hollers, a veritable hillbilly hobbit.”
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
