Bond across party lines

US senator JD Vance and UK MP David Lammy build a personal bond across party lines, guided by shared life stories and faith.

The unlikely bond between JD Vance and David Lammy

JD Vance noted that Lammy and he come from different political spectrums, but Lammy has been kind enough to make time on a visit to Washington and they got to know each other a little better. Since that first meeting, when Lammy was in opposition and Vance had just been elected to the US Senate, they have met regularly, including at the new Pope's inauguration in May. Last week, Lammy told the Guardian that he, Vance and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner bonded over drinks at Villa Taverna, the US ambassador's residence in Rome, describing the moment as a warm hour and a half. Lammy pointed to their shared experiences of difficult upbringings, noting that they and Rayner are not just working-class politicians but people who faced family challenges. Vance shared his own story of an absent father and a mother with a drug addiction, which he writes about in Hillbilly Elegy, while Lammy recounted his path from Harvard to public life. The two men have also connected over their Christian faith, with Vance converting to Catholicism and sharing Mass with Lammy during a visit to Washington, DC earlier this year. They have both publicly shifted their tone about Donald Trump, moving from sharp early criticisms to more nuanced positions.

What starts as a personal rapport across a broad political divide can quietly recalibrate how politicians relate to one another in public life. The bond rests on shared adversity and a common sense of faith, two factors that can humanize public figures who often seem defined by their policy positions. If this friendship translates into more constructive dialogue with an eye toward shared interests — such as veterans’ issues, economic resilience, and transatlantic collaboration — it could broaden the space for cooperative diplomacy. Yet the episode also risks appearing performative if it does not translate into tangible policy or if it turns into a shield for shifting positions. In short, friendships like this matter less for immediate policy shifts and more for signaling a climate where empathy can trump caricature in political discourse.

Highlights

Cross border ties rarely settle policy, but they can soften the tone for future clashes.