What Vance Sees in Huey Long

History The Kingfish is a worthy model for right-wing populists. At a steel plant in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio last week, J.D. Vance invoked the memory of a “great Southern populist.” “His name was Huey Long,” the vice president said, “and he once said ‘Every Man a King’ was the goal of his political program.” Noting that Long—the Depression-era Louisiana governor and U.S. senator popularly known as the Kingfish—was “an interesting guy, kind of a crazy guy,” Vance connected his program with the Trump administration’s agenda: But no man is a king if their castle is under siege by criminals. No man is a king if they can’t take their family out to dinner without being mugged or having their car jacked. And of course, ending the Biden border invasion was a big part of why we have change