This blog is originally appeared at CNN Politics

In a recent interview, Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance suggested that White upper- and middle-class students might be motivated to identify as transgender to improve their chances of getting into prestigious colleges.

“Think about the incentives,” Vance told podcast host Joe Rogan. “If you’re a middle-class or upper-middle-class White parent, and the only thing you care about is whether your child gets into Harvard or Yale, the path to that has gotten a lot harder for many upper-middle-class kids. But one way they can engage with the DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) system is by becoming trans. Is there a dynamic where, if you identify as trans, it becomes a way to reject your White privilege?”

Vance argued that in today’s “hyper-woke” culture, choosing to identify as nonbinary or gender nonconforming could serve as a social signal. “That’s the only way available in the current mindset to reject your White privilege,” he added.

However, studies show that transgender students, especially those facing discrimination and lack of support in earlier education, are actually less likely to have access to higher education, let alone be admitted to Ivy League schools. This stands in stark contrast to Vance’s suggestion that adopting a trans identity might provide a competitive advantage for college admissions.

J.D. Vance recently sat down for an extensive interview with Joe Rogan, just days after former President Donald Trump did the same. Trump’s nearly three-hour appearance followed years of Rogan stating he would not host the former president, and it came in the final stretch of the presidential campaign. Both Trump and Vance have used podcasts, rallies, and other platforms to make their closing arguments to voters ahead of the election.

While Vice President Kamala Harris has yet to appear on Rogan’s podcast, the host expressed on X (formerly Twitter) that he “really hopes” to make it happen, noting that Harris’s campaign has not ruled out the possibility of an appearance.

During the interview, Vance spoke about a friend he described as a “gay Reagan Democrat,” someone who rejects progressive ideologies. He suggested that the Trump-Vance ticket could appeal to what he called the “normal gay guy vote.”

“Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if me and Trump won just the normal gay guy vote,” Vance said. “They just want to be left the hell alone.”

Vance also shared a conversation he had with a “very conservative” woman from Mississippi during a congressional delegation trip to the Paris Air Show. According to Vance, she expressed the view that Paris was more conservative than some U.S. cities. He recounted her shock at seeing a man in a miniskirt, describing it as an example of behavior she considered inappropriate.

“Oh my God, this is not empowerment. This is not respecting lifestyle choices. We’re letting a grown man walk around in a mini skirt in broad daylight,” Vance said. “If that’s what you’re doing, you’re a pervert. And I want, I want all of us to say, whatever your political persuasion, just say, ‘No, that’s weird, right?’ You’re not allowed to walk down the street and flash children in the middle of the world’s or the America’s biggest city.”

Vance also touched on the issue of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, stating that while most Americans are open-minded about “lifestyle choices,” he believes this crosses a line. He then speculated that Democrats may want to keep Americans in “poor health and overweight” to promote more liberal politics.

“Have you seen all these studies that basically connect testosterone levels in young men with conservative politics?” Vance asked. “Maybe that’s what’s going on. Maybe that’s why the Democrats want us all to be, you know, poor health and overweight because that means we’re going to be – no, it means we’re going to be more liberal.”

Vance’s campaign did not provide clarification on which studies he was referencing.

In other parts of the interview, Vance confirmed that Chinese hackers had targeted both his and Trump’s phone data, exploiting vulnerabilities in U.S. telecommunications networks.

“Maybe they got some stuff. We’ll find out eventually. I try not to worry too much about sh*t I can’t control,” Vance said. “Luckily, I’m a pretty boring guy, so I don’t think that they got really anything.” He added that he takes precautions, using encrypted messaging apps like Signal and iMessage to safeguard his communications.

CNN previously reported that Chinese hackers had targeted individuals affiliated with the Trump-Vance and Harris-Walz campaigns as part of a larger cyber-espionage effort aimed at high-profile U.S. targets. These hackers sought to gain access to phone communications of current and former senior U.S. officials, a key objective for foreign intelligence agencies.

During his conversation with Joe Rogan, Vance, who said Trump’s phone had also likely been compromised, explained how the hackers accessed their devices. According to Vance, the hackers used a vulnerability in the telecommunications infrastructure developed after the Patriot Act.

“What I’ve been told is that this Chinese hacker group used the backdoor telecom infrastructure… and that’s how they got into the Verizon network and AT&T network,” Vance said.

Although U.S. law enforcement’s ability to conduct court-authorized surveillance on telecom networks predates the Patriot Act, the post-9/11 laws strengthened these capabilities and deepened the relationship between law enforcement agencies and telecom companies.

The Chinese government has denied any involvement in hacking U.S. telecom systems. The cybersecurity community has identified the group responsible for the breach as “Salt Typhoon,” describing them as a sophisticated and elusive threat. Investigations into the hacks are ongoing.

Vance joked about the group’s name, saying, “It’s a pretty badass name. If they have anything on me, I can’t be too pissed off at them. At least they named themselves Salt Typhoon.”

In another segment of the interview, Vance addressed the potential legal consequences surrounding out-of-state abortions in light of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. He expressed his opposition to the idea of women being prosecuted for seeking abortions in states where the procedure remains legal, even if they live in a state where abortion is restricted.

“I don’t like the idea, to be clear, of people getting arrested for freely moving around the country,” Vance told Rogan.

In his conversation with Joe Rogan, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance addressed the issue of women traveling across state lines to obtain abortions, noting that while he had heard the idea framed as a “threat,” he had not seen it actively enforced.

As CNN previously reported, Vance had expressed support in 2022 for the idea of a national ban on abortion, viewing it as a necessary measure to prevent women from crossing state borders to seek abortions in states where the procedure remains legal.

Rogan brought up the notion that the debate over abortion had evolved, pointing out that for many, the reversal of Roe v. Wade was a dramatic shift, particularly with “religious men” now playing a prominent role in dictating women’s reproductive choices.

“Yeah. No, look, I mean, again, I understand that,” Vance responded, acknowledging the concerns raised by abortion rights advocates. “I understand the pushback against that, but I think, like with so many other issues, you can go too far, and it becomes about celebrating something that, at the very best, if you grant every argument of the pro-choice side, is a neutral thing—not something to be celebrated.”

Rogan countered, “I think there’s very few people that are celebrating, though.”

Vance then explained that while he recognizes the “autonomy value” in the pro-choice argument—that men should not be dictating what women do with their bodies—he emphasized that the value of life must also be considered in the debate.