JD Vance Left His Venmo Public and There's Some Wild Stuff in There

Vance's former campaign manager had a transaction for "Back waxing & Happy Ending."

Open Book

You'd think an operator as smooth as JD Vance — Yale alumnus, Ohio Senator, and now Donald Trump's running mate — would be more mindful about his social media use.

Wired got a hold of Vance's Venmo account and took a peek into his contact list, which shows the breadth and depth of his deep connections with the rich and powerful of the United States, despite his personal brand as an underrepresented figure from rural America, fighting against out-of-touch elites.

In reality, the payment app shows a range of powerful connections, from Tucker Carlson to Yale Law School classmates in high places, tech executives, the superrich, and conservative operatives connected with The Heritage Foundation's notorious Project 2025, whose aim is to mold the federal government into a more starkly right wing apparatus. In other words, his gilded personal connections should raise the eyebrows of anybody who thinks of him as legitimately working class.

There are also personal connections that just look embarrassing. Take his connection Jordan Wiggins, who once ran Vance's successful Senate campaign, and according to Wired had transactions crudely described as "adult 🎥" and "Back waxing & Happy Ending." (Wiggins didn't respond to Wired's request for comment, but made his account private after the magazine reached out.)

Private Eye

Beyond the specifics of Vance's Venmo, the incident goes to show that nothing is ever private when it comes to technology like social media.

Case in point is the infamous example of US Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida, whose Venmo showed that he had paid a now-convicted sex trafficker, who then gave money to three women. Gaetz is alleged to have had sex with one of the women, who was 17 years old at the time.

You'd think that such a spectacular explosion of scandal would make anybody — especially the well-connected — cautious about their social media use. But that's a no, as seen in the situation with Vance and his former campaign manager.

Even if you aren't a well-connected senator who's one step away from becoming vice president, you should be more mindful about social media use and anything involving online transactions.

Not only can your activities become public, but hackers can exploit the bread crumbs of information in apps like Venmo and make you a target for a scam, among other thievery.

More on Venmo: Congressman's Sex Scandal Explodes Because He Left Venmo Transactions on Public