JD Vance discusses Senate run in first interview since bid: Many in GOP 'think voters are bigoted or stupid'

Author and businessman J.D. Vance joined "Tucker Carlson Tonight" for his first interview since announcing a Republican bid for the U.S. Senate earlier Thursday.

"I think so far a lot of them are frustrated, and a little upset with me because I actually say what's true—which is many of these people don't care about their own voters, they think they're either bigoted or they think they're stupid," Vance said. "They don't understand their job in this country is to protect their own voters to serve their best interests. So a lot of established Republicans, just like a lot of the mainstream press and corporate media, they're against me … and it's fine." Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, is retiring in 2022, and the race has already garnered several candidates on both sides of the aisle including Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, former Ohio Republican chair Jane Timken, and former GOP State Treasurer Joshua Mandel.  Vance's 2016 memoir tells the story of his upbringing in a struggling steel mill city and his roots in Appalachian Kentucky. The book became a New York Times bestseller and was made into a Netflix film.