Mitch Daniels has criticised JD Vance’s move away from the Republican Party’s traditional support for free-market economics, warning that the shift could create an opening for a new “pro-freedom” movement.
The former Indiana governor said the vice-president was wrong to attack the ideas of economist Milton Friedman, a leading advocate of free-market capitalism.
“I think they are in error,” Mr Daniels said in an interview. He acknowledged that free markets could unsettle established social structures, but argued that such disruption was an inherent part of a dynamic economy.
“It’s the only mechanism, in my view, for preserving the American dream, and that’s the most important element of our culture,” he said.
Mr Vance’s critics within the Republican Party say he has been edging towards a greater role for government in the economy, particularly through his defence of Donald Trump’s broad tariff programme.
Mr Vance has argued that the Trump administration is breaking with what he described as “40 years of a failed bipartisan consensus” in Washington which had harmed American workers and weakened the United States economy.
The approach is viewed by some as part of Mr Vance’s effort to develop a more populist and protectionist message ahead of a possible campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028.
Daniels sees opening for a “pro-freedom” party
Mr Daniels and Mr Vance were once politically close. Mr Vance described Daniels as his “political hero” in his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, and has previously sought his advice on whether to run for office.
Mr Daniels, who advised him against standing in 2018 because he believed it would be a difficult year for Republicans, now sees the evolution of the party under Mr Trump as a potential opportunity for an alternative political force.
“Whether that is the next iteration of this Republican Party or you find some other vehicle, I don’t know,” he said. “But I think that there’s a need, and as I say, there’s certainly, I think, a market for that viewpoint waiting to be expressed by somebody.”
He declined to say whether he still identified with the Republican Party, and avoided predicting whether Mr Vance could become the candidate to lead such a movement.
“It’s all TBD; I don’t know,” Mr Daniels said when asked about the vice-president.
Mr Daniels, who also served as director of the Office of Management and Budget under George W Bush, said Mr Trump had been both a “symptom” and “a propellant” of voters’ discontent.
He attributed the president’s political success to his ability to unite voters who felt “patronized, condescended, looked down on, ignored, disrespected”.
Mr Daniels has set out his case for free markets in his new book, Impatience Is a Virtue. He is now interim president of Purdue University, having led the institution for a decade before stepping down in 2022.
Mr Vance’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Mr Daniels’s remarks.
