MSNBC host Rachel Maddow expressed concern about former President Trump’s choice of Sen. J.D. Vance as vice president and complained about the far-right’s embrace of “The Lord of the Rings.”
On the third day of the Republican National Convention, Maddow commented on Vance’s ties to former PayPal CEO and Republican donor Peter Thiel, noting that “Thiel named his company after a character from J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ book.”
“‘The Lord of the Rings’ is kind of the favorite universe for a lot of far-right and alt-right figures, both in Europe and in the US, to name things and cultural references. Peter Thiel, for example, has named all these things after Tolkien characters with his company Palantir and so on,” Maddow said.
What you need to know about J.D. Vance: From bestselling author to Trump’s running mate
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow expressed concern about J.D. Vance becoming President Trump’s vice president, arguing that the name of his venture capital firm is part of a sinister trend.
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“Like his mentor Peter Thiel, who gave him all the work in the world, when Vance started his own venture capital firm with the help of Peter Thiel, he named it after the Lord of the Rings. He called it Naria, Naria, which is easy to remember because it’s ‘Aryan,’ but you move the n forward,” she continued. “Apparently the word has something to do with the elves and the rings in the Lord of the Rings series, but I don’t know.”
The MSNBC host appeared to be trying to draw a parallel between the venture capital firm Nariya and “Aryan,” an archaic term that has been linked to far-right racial ideology; One of the Rings of Power In Lord of the Rings lore, this refers specifically to the ring of fire bestowed upon the Elven King.
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Vance took center stage at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, speaking at length about his humble upbringing in Ohio and his rise to prominence in American politics.
Vance also touched on Trump’s “America First” policies, promising to make allies pay their fair share for world peace rather than betraying “the generosity of the American taxpayer.” On foreign policy, he promised that the administration would send military personnel to war “only when necessary.”
Fox News’ Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
