Vice President JD Vance has often claimed that he comes from a Scotch-Irish background, proudly referring to himself as a “Scotch-Irish hillbilly” in speeches and in his best-selling memoir Hillbilly Elegy.
But a recent investigation by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland has cast serious doubt on that claim.
The DUP, a political party that strongly supports British ties and has deep cultural links to the Protestant Scots who settled in Northern Ireland during the 1600s, hoped to trace Vance’s roots back to Ulster. They even planned to celebrate his supposed heritage by presenting him with a report during his U.S. visit for St. Patrick’s Day.
However, a Freedom of Information request by The Times revealed that the researchers hired to dig into Vance’s family history couldn’t find solid evidence connecting his ancestry to Northern Ireland. They admitted they had “hit a brick wall” and couldn’t prove any direct family line linking him to Ulster.
This isn’t the first time Vance has been questioned about his background. When Hillbilly Elegy came out in 2016, many people from the Appalachian region said he was not truly one of them. Even though he talked about growing up in a struggling Appalachian community, Vance was actually raised in Middletown, Ohio, a suburban town that’s not even considered part of the Appalachian region by the official Appalachian Regional Commission.
Critics said he exaggerated his background to appear more relatable during a time when people were trying to understand why so many working-class white Americans supported Donald Trump.
Vance used his story and family struggles to position himself as a kind of spokesperson for the Appalachian region. But people from that area, including historians and activists, pushed back.
They said he oversimplified and misrepresented their culture. For example, Vance often talked about white “Scotch-Irish” heritage as if it was the dominant or only story in Appalachia.
But the truth is, Appalachia has always been more diverse. Black communities, as well as people with Italian, Polish, German, and Jewish backgrounds, have all played a role in shaping the culture of the region.
Even though Vance’s grandparents did come from eastern Kentucky, a part of true Appalachia, his own personal experience growing up in suburban Ohio didn’t match the rural, mountain life he often described. Many felt he used that identity as a political tool, especially as he went from being a Trump critic once comparing Trump to Hitler—to becoming one of Trump’s closest allies and now serving as Vice President.
The doubts raised by the DUP’s research just add another layer to the ongoing debate about whether JD Vance’s personal narrative is based more on political strategy than actual family history.
