Vanity Fair
Condé Nast's American culture-and-politics magazine, founded 1913, folded 1936, revived 1983. In Sept 2026 Chris Whipple's "God And Vance At Yale" carried Carlson's claim that Trump ordered the Epstein-files cover-up. Mark Guiducci became global editorial director in June 2025.
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- Country
- United States
- Known for
- American magazine covering culture, politics, business, and celebrity; a Condé Nast flagship publication
- Founded
- 1913; published until 1936, when it was folded into Vogue; revived in 1983
- Publisher
- Condé Nast
- Current editor
- Mark Guiducci, named global editorial director on June 10, 2025 (effective June 30), succeeding Radhika Jones
- Editorial refocus
- In August 2025 Guiducci told staff the magazine would cut news aggregation, reviews, and trade coverage and re-center on "money, politics, and style"
- The September 2026 Vance profile
- Chris Whipple's "God And Vance At Yale," published September 16, 2026, on Vice President J.D. Vance's Yale Law School years
- Carlson's Epstein claim
- On the record in the profile, Tucker Carlson said the order to keep the Epstein files sealed "came from Trump"; the White House denied it
Overview
Vanity Fair is Condé Nast’s American magazine of culture, politics, business, and celebrity — founded in 1913, folded into Vogue in 1936, and revived in 1983 as one of the company’s flagship publications (Pentagram). In September 2026 it produced one of the year’s most consequential pieces of political reporting: Chris Whipple’s “God And Vance At Yale,” a profile of Vice President J.D. Vance that contained both a revelation about his 2016 outreach to Hillary Clinton’s campaign and Tucker Carlson’s on-the-record claim that President Trump personally ordered the Jeffrey Epstein files covered up (NPR). The piece landed early in the tenure of Mark Guiducci, named the magazine’s first global editorial director in June 2025, and it reads as a statement of what he wants the magazine to be (MediaPost).
“God And Vance At Yale”
On September 16, 2026, Vanity Fair published Chris Whipple’s feature on Vance’s years at Yale Law School. Vance declined to sit for the piece — despite having given roughly 33 interviews for “Communion,” his book-length project — which makes the reported portrait entirely a reconstruction from the people around him (NPR).
The piece’s human core is not the bombshells but a mentor: Yale Law professor Amy Chua, the “Tiger Mother” author, who “immediately pegged” Vance as someone going places, helped turn his early musings into Hillbilly Elegy, and befriended Usha Chilukuri, the classmate who would become his wife (NPR). It was at Yale that Vance converted to Catholicism, and Whipple frames the law school’s class of roughly 2010–2013 — classmates included Vivek Ramaswamy, Elbridge Colby, and Nate Ellis — as a cohort that is now, in his phrase, “running the country” (NPR).
The two bombshells
The first concerned 2016. After Trump won the Republican nomination, Vance — then a prominent “Never Trump” voice — reached out through an intermediary to the Clinton campaign. His message, as Whipple reports it: “I hate Hillary, but I hate Trump more. He can’t be elected.” His advice was tactical: “get Hillary to the blue wall Midwestern states. Stop hanging out with Beyonce in Miami.” He also contacted Clinton aide Jake Sullivan directly after the “deplorables” remark to warn that it might be a problem (NPR). Vance’s office pushed back hard: spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk told the magazine, “We 100 percent reject the characterization that he was trying to help Hillary win,” and Vance personally denies it — though Whipple, asked about the denial, answered simply, “the reporting speaks for itself” (thedailybs.com; NPR).
The second came from Tucker Carlson, on the record. Carlson told Whipple that in the summer of 2025 he pressed Trump to release all the Epstein files: “My position from the beginning with Trump, I said it to Trump, was, ‘I don’t understand why you would ever keep any of this stuff secret.’” He got, he said, “a bunch of different answers.” But in the end, Carlson said, “it came from Trump directly” — and when Whipple asked what exactly had come directly from the president, Carlson answered: “The order to cover it up came from Trump.” Asked why, Carlson said Trump gave “a long, very emotional explanation that this was all a plot against him, like Russiagate” (NPR; internewsgroup.com). The White House denied the claim: spokeswoman Lauren Bis said Trump has been “totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein,” crediting him with releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with a House Oversight Committee subpoena, signing the transparency act, and calling for investigations into Epstein’s Democratic associates (headlinereporter.com). The allegation stands as Carlson’s account of a private conversation, attributed and disputed — which is how this profile presents it.
A new editor’s magazine
The piece arrived barely a year into a new era. On June 10, 2025, Condé Nast named Mark Guiducci as Vanity Fair’s global editorial director — a newly created position, effective June 30 — succeeding Radhika Jones, who had led the magazine for seven years (MediaPost). Guiducci had started his career at Vanity Fair as an assistant to the managing editor, served as editor in chief of Garage magazine from 2017 to 2020, and since 2020 had been creative editorial director of Vogue, Condé Nast’s largest title, where he launched Vogue World and the publication’s TikTok channel (MediaPost).
A little over a month into the job, Guiducci put his stamp on the title in a staff memo: Vanity Fair would re-center its coverage on entertainment, celebrities, and culture along with “money, politics, and style,” while cutting back “news aggregation, reviews and trade coverage” and phasing out editorial verticals including The Hive and Hollywood Daily (Editor & Publisher). A long, reported political profile of the sitting vice president — built on original sourcing and on-the-record accusations — is that refocus in action.
A century of Vanity Fair
The modern magazine is the second incarnation. Vanity Fair was founded in 1913 under founding editor Frank “Crownie” Crowninshield and published until 1936, when it was folded into Vogue; it was revived in 1983 and became one of Condé Nast’s flagship publications, celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2013 (Pentagram). Its editors have included Tina Brown and Graydon Carter, and a 1914 mission statement declared: “Take a dozen or so cultivated men and women… sit them down to dinner. What will these people say? Vanity Fair is that dinner!” (Pentagram).
The talent it has published reads as a roll call of twentieth-century letters and image-making: writers Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Gertrude Stein, P. G. Wodehouse, D. H. Lawrence, Aldous Huxley, Dominick Dunne, and Christopher Hitchens; photographers Cecil Beaton, Man Ray, Edward Steichen, Annie Leibovitz, and Mario Testino; illustrators Miguel Covarrubias, Edward Sorel, Bruce McCall, and Robert Risko (Pentagram).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not present the contents of “God And Vance At Yale” as read directly: the piece sits behind Vanity Fair’s paywall, and the account here is verified through NPR’s full-length interview with its author. It does not assert that Vance tried to help Clinton win in 2016 — his office rejects that characterization, and both positions are given. It does not present Carlson’s Epstein claim as established fact: it is Carlson’s attributed account of a private conversation with Trump, which the White House denies. It does not give circulation or digital-audience figures, which were not verified. And it does not claim the Hillary Clinton outreach went beyond what Whipple reported — one intermediary conversation, campaign advice, and a direct contact with Jake Sullivan.
Timeline
- 1913
- Vanity Fair is founded, with Frank "Crownie" Crowninshield as its founding editor.
- 1936
- Publication ceases and the magazine is folded into Vogue.
- 1983
- The magazine is revived and returns as one of Condé Nast's flagship publications.
- 2013
- Vanity Fair celebrates its 100th anniversary; Pentagram designs a commemorative book with the magazine's editors.
- 2025-06
- Condé Nast names Mark Guiducci — previously Vogue's creative editorial director — as Vanity Fair's first global editorial director, effective June 30, succeeding Radhika Jones.
- 2025-08
- Guiducci tells staff the magazine will cut news aggregation, reviews, and trade coverage and refocus on "money, politics, and style."
- 2026-09-16
- Chris Whipple's feature "God And Vance At Yale" is published, profiling Vice President J.D. Vance's Yale Law School years and carrying Tucker Carlson's on-the-record claim about the Epstein files.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- The "God And Vance At Yale" feature sits behind Vanity Fair's paywall; this profile's account of its contents is verified through NPR's full-length interview with the piece's author, not the article text itself.
- The verbatim wording of the Taylor Van Kirk and Lauren Bis responses is reported by tier3 outlets and attributed as such, not asserted as Vanity Fair's own text.
- Whether Vance's 2016 outreach to the Clinton campaign constituted "trying to help Hillary win" is disputed: his office rejects the characterization, and both positions are presented here.
- Current circulation and digital-audience figures were not verified and are not claimed.
Sources
7 sources (1 tier 1, 3 tier 2, 3 tier 3), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
Seven sources, each fetched and read in full: NPR (Sept 16, 2026 — the full transcript of Chris Whipple's interview about the Vance piece, the primary source for its contents), MediaPost (June 10, 2025 — the Condé Nast announcement of Mark Guiducci's appointment), Editor & Publisher carrying Variety (Aug 13, 2025 — Guiducci's editorial refocus memo), Pentagram (the centenary-book page built with Vanity Fair's editors — magazine history), internewsgroup.com (corroborating Carlson's verbatim quotes), headlinereporter.com (corroborating Carlson's quotes and the White House response), and thedailybs.com (Vance's office response). Search snippets were used only as leads; every cited claim was verified on the full page.
- Supports: Publication of "God And Vance At Yale" on Sept 16, 2026; Whipple interviewed by Leila Fadel; the 2016 Clinton-campaign back-channel (intermediary quote, blue-wall advice, Beyoncé in Miami, Jake Sullivan contact after "deplorables"); Amy Chua's mentorship of Vance at Yale Law and her role in Hillbilly Elegy; Vance's Yale conversion to Catholicism; the Yale Law classmate cohort now in power; Vance declining to sit for the piece despite ~33 "Communion" interviews; Carlson's on-the-record Epstein claim and the Russiagate explanation; Vance's denial via Whipple. Open original source
- Supports: Condé Nast naming Mark Guiducci global editorial director of Vanity Fair (newly created position, effective June 30, 2025); oversight across US, UK, France, Italy, Spain editions; his Vogue creative-editorial-director role since 2020 and career start as assistant to Vanity Fair's managing editor; Garage editor-in-chief; Anna Wintour's and Guiducci's quoted statements. Open original source
- Supports: Guiducci's August 2025 staff memo re-centering coverage on entertainment, celebrities, culture, "money, politics and style"; scaling back news aggregation, reviews, trade coverage; phasing out verticals including The Hive and Hollywood Daily. Open original source
- Vanity Fair 100 Years Tier 2Supports: Founded 1913; published until 1936 (folded into Vogue); revived 1983; Condé Nast flagship; 100th anniversary in 2013; founding editor Frank "Crownie" Crowninshield; editors Tina Brown and Graydon Carter; the 1914 mission statement ("Vanity Fair is that dinner!"); writers (Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Gertrude Stein, P. G. Wodehouse, D. H. Lawrence, Aldous Huxley, Dominick Dunne, Christopher Hitchens); photographers (Cecil Beaton, Man Ray, Edward Steichen, Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino); illustrators (Miguel Covarrubias, Edward Sorel, Bruce McCall, Robert Risko); Graydon Carter's collaboration on the book. Open original source
- Supports: Corroborating Carlson's verbatim Vanity Fair quotes on pressing Trump in summer 2025, "the order to cover it up came from Trump," and the Russiagate-style explanation; dating the profile to September 16, 2026. Open original source
- Supports: Corroborating Carlson's verbatim quotes; White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis's response ("totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein," thousands of pages released, Oversight subpoena cooperation, transparency act, calls for investigations into Epstein's Democratic friends). Open original source
- Supports: Vance spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk's response ("We 100 percent reject the characterization that he was trying to help Hillary win"), as told to Vanity Fair; details of the intermediary's account. Open original source
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