JD Vance’s involvement in politics has thrust his family into the spotlight. But even before he became Donald Trump’s Vice President, Vance shared details about his family with the public in his 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy. In the book, Vance wrote about his upbringing, which included details about his mom’s substance abuse.
Now, his mom, Beverly Aikins, has been sober for about 10 years. She now speaks to different groups about substance abuse and recovery. During a recent interview with the Cincinnati Enquirer, Aikins said, “I’ve been put on the map by [Vance], and I’m taking advantage of it.”
JD Vance previously shared some disturbing details about his childhood.
During one particularly bad incident during Vance’s childhood, he “said something or some conversation topic really ignited [his mom’s] temper” while they were on the road. “Then she just sped up, and she kept on saying, ‘I’m just going to crash this car and kill us both,'” Vance recalled during an interview with NBC News in 2017.
In his memoir, he wrote that his mom allegedly sped up to “what seemed like a hundred miles per hour.” He got out of the car, his mom was arrested, and he went on to live with his grandparents, Bonnie and James Vance.
During an interview with Megyn Kelly, Vance recalled feeling “relieved” when his mom was arrested because he “just wanted that situation to end.”
His mom found one line in the memoir particularly ‘heartbreaking.’
Vance told his mom about his book a week before it was published, she told the Cincinnati Enquirer. He admitted that what he wrote about her was not exactly “favorable” and said he could “cancel” it if she wanted. She gave him the go-ahead to publish it, and they continued to have a strained relationship.
One line in the book was particularly difficult for her to read. “There’s a line in the book — ‘My mother, a woman I wished I’d never met,'” Aikins told the publication, adding that it was “heartbreaking.”
She still can’t deal with seeing people insult her son.
Since then, their relationship has improved. And given that it can be hard to go on social media without seeing memes about her son, Aikins has taken breaks from social media. She told the publication that she knows “people are allowed to have differences in opinion” and “it’s OK.” But still, she doesn’t think of Vance as “a politician.”
“I see him as my child,” she said.
They don’t necessarily see eye to eye.
One of Aikins’ recent speaking events was hosted by an Ohio Republican women’s group. However, she is not trying to promote a particular political agenda. She also admitted that she doesn’t always agree with her son.
Describing herself as “not political,” Vance’s mom said she has “a few different opinions than he does and we agree to disagree.”
“JD and I don’t agree on everything,” she stated. “We just don’t.”
