Conservative commentator and former U.S. Senator Jim DeMint is accusing Wall Street Journal columnist Kim Strassel of suffering from a case of “Vance Derangement,” after she labeled Vice President JD Vance an “anticapitalist” in a recent column.
In a piece published by The Daily Wire, DeMint — who chairs the Conservative Partnership Institute and served on President Trump’s Economic Recovery Taskforce — argued that Strassel’s charge is not only unsupported but directly contradicted by Vance’s legislative record and his role in advancing the administration’s economic agenda.
“The label appears entirely pretextual,” DeMint wrote, adding that the accusation appears to stem from Vance’s recent praise of Alexander Hamilton, the nation’s first Treasury Secretary and a central architect of America’s commercial system.
Missed Meeting Sparks Criticism
The dispute began when Strassel criticized Vance for missing a meeting on Capitol Hill shortly before his wife, Usha, gave birth to the couple’s fourth child. DeMint called the criticism “misplaced on its face” and noted that Strassel doubled down rather than acknowledging the context.
Strassel, long considered one of the more dependable conservative voices at the Journal, has drawn increasing ire from Trump allies in recent months. DeMint drew a parallel between her treatment of Vance and the broader “Trump Derangement Syndrome” seen in 2016, suggesting that some establishment conservatives now find it easier to target the vice president than the president himself.
DeMint Cites Vance’s Record
DeMint pointed to Vance’s central role in passing the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), the administration’s flagship tax and deregulation package. “Outside of President Trump himself, no one was more instrumental in the passage and public promotion of the landmark One Big Beautiful Bill,” he wrote, noting that Vance has spent months making the case for tax relief and cutting federal red tape.
He also highlighted Vance’s Senate record, including a perfect 100 percent score from the Club for Growth, which awarded him its Defender of Economic Freedom Award in 2024. Only eight senators received the honor.
“That record is not the mark of an anticapitalist. It is the mark of a conservative who takes wasteful spending and limited government seriously,” DeMint wrote.
During the Biden administration, Vance repeatedly voted against sprawling spending bills and foreign aid packages, including the $95 billion supplemental that the Journal’s editorial page backed. Those votes, DeMint argued, set Vance apart from many Republicans and reflected a genuine skepticism of government expansion.
Broader Critique of the Journal
DeMint broadened his attack to the Wall Street Journal editorial page itself, accusing it of a long history of dismissing conservatives who break with corporate-friendly orthodoxy. He cited the paper’s treatment of the Tea Party and, more recently, the MAGA movement, arguing the page has often prioritized business convenience over the interests of American families — especially on issues like immigration and spending.
Trade is another flashpoint. DeMint defended the administration’s tariff policies, arguing that free markets do not require surrendering the nation’s industrial base or working families to the lowest global bidder. He invoked Hamilton and Abraham Lincoln as examples of leaders who balanced openness with national strength.
“The more the Wall Street Journal editorial board resorts to these strained and unsupported attacks, the more it risks exhausting the patience of the remaining readers who look to it for serious conservative analysis,” DeMint warned.
Strassel has not yet publicly responded to DeMint’s critique. The Wall Street Journal did not immediately return a request for comment.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/jim-demint-the-wall-street-journals-outbreak-of-vance-derangement