Vaughn Hillyard
Journalist Vaughn Hillyard was born on 4th March 1991, in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, and is known for his political features for NBC News. After matriculating from Thunderbird High School in Phoenix, he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in journalism from Arizona State University.
[embedded content]
Career
According to online sources, Vaughn became interested in journalism when he was in the third grade, and his elementary teacher, Donna Hicks, started a school newspaper. In a previous Instagram post, the reporter mourned Donna’s death, writing: ‘She heard every student, encouraged and lifted up each of us… That’s who she was and that’s what she dedicated her life to doing.’
Vaughn’s teachers have clearly been influential figures in his life, as his elementary school band teacher, Jackie Thrasher, ran for the Arizona State House; the journalist considers Jackie to be his first political profile, as he presumably interviewed her for the school newspaper.
Vaughn’s career beginnings saw him work as an editorial assistant for the Arizona State Office of Bureau and Land Management. Between 2010 and 2011, he worked as a reporter for azcentral.com, and The Arizona Republic. In 2011, he began a multimedia internship at the Investigate Reporting Workshop, while also working as a political fact checker for TV station KPNX in Phoenix.
After finishing his internship, Vaughn was hired as an assignment editor at KPNX, but left a year later to work as a reporter for Cronkite News, for another internship, this time at the New York News Bureau. Following years of hard work, Vaughn’s efforts paid off, as he began working at NBC News in July 2013.
Being a political journalist is no easy feat in America: so far, Vaughn has travelled to over fifty states to cover Trump and Biden’s administrations, Mike Pence’s Vice-Presidential campaign, and to interview dozens of relatively high-profile figures. In 2021, he became a correspondent at the news station, a step up from his previous position as associate producer and political reporter.
Personal Life
Not much is known about David and Mickey Hillyard, Vaughn’s parents, but he previously shared that he comes from a sports-loving family, and would attend many games with his parents and grandparents. In fact, his unique name is inspired by Charlie Sheen’s character, Ricky Vaughn, in the late-80s sports comedy “Major League”.
The NBC correspondent is open about his sexuality and went Instagram official with longtime boyfriend Devan Cayea in August 2022. According to the journalist, he and Devan had already been together for two years, and became engaged during a romantic road trip to Montana. Instead of engagement rings, Devan and Vaughn wore matching bracelets which they proudly displayed in one of Vaughn’s Instagram photos announcing the big news.
In late October 2023, Vaughn and Devan tied the knot in a sweet and simple wedding ceremony attended by their loved ones. The NBC correspondent and his husband have declined sharing the inside details of their big day, but it’s clear that neither wanted to waste any time in exchanging their vows.
Although Devan isn’t exactly a well-known public figure, he and Vaughn have a lot in common. Devan currently works as New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s director of strategic planning and scheduling, and he previously worked for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Amy Klobuchar. In the past, Devan was also on the transition team for Senator. Alex Padilla.
The political expert matriculated from Oneonta High School, and studied an international relations and affairs degree at American University. Devan, who is also fluent in French, landed his first job as a field organizer and executive assistant for the Democratic National Committee shortly after graduating. According to online sources, he’s inspired by Hillary Clinton and other prominent figures in the political landscape.
Scandals
Vaughn has managed to steer clear of controversy until now, but in August 2022 he made national headlines after publicly confronting Arizona’s Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. Kari, who once worked as a local news anchor and supported Obama, explosively claimed that ‘we’re already detecting some stealing going on’, adding that she wouldn’t let ‘them’ steal an election.
On the eve of the election, Vaughn asked Kari if she was concerned about undermining Americans’ faith in the electoral process. Referring to herself in the third person, Kari said she would help bring honest elections back to America, to which Vaughn replied: ‘You haven’t even laid out any fraud or irregularities.’
The exchange between Vaughn and Kari got pretty heated, so much so that Kari accused Vaughn of destroying America and trying to steal the spotlight. ‘The last person on the planet Earth I would tell about what we discovered is you and MSDNC,’ she griped.
Months later, it was reported that Kari had lost the race for Arizona governor against Democrat Katie Hobbs, and Vaughn launched a rant against the politician on a morning news program. According to the journalist, Kari’s candidacy was based on outlandish conspiracy theories. ‘When she wonders how she lost this race – look at it,’ he said. ‘This is the third election cycle in a row in which Arizonans rejected Trumpism.’
Vaughn’s comments didn’t end there. He added that Kari had called her Democratic opponent a pervert, suggested criminal charges for individuals who oversaw the 2020 COVID responses in Arizona, and campaigned alongside Steve Bannon, a staunch Pizzagate campaigner and former White House Chief strategist. (The Pizzagate conspiracy theory famously claimed that Hillary and Bill Clinton were involved in an undercover human trafficking and child sex ring).
Continuing his speech, Vaughn added that Kari allegedly accused Cindy McCain of trying to end America, labeled the media the ‘scourge of the Earth’, and described political commentator Dinesh D’Souza as one of the greatest American patriots of all time. ‘If that doesn’t sound like Donald Trump, I don’t know what does,’ the journalist said.
Although anti-Trumpers such as former congressman Joe Walsh praised Vaughn on social media, he was met by vitriol from Republicans. However, the Arizonan stands firm in his political beliefs, and prides himself on saying what’s on his mind, no matter what. Based on legal cases around the US since 2020, he certainly has nothing to worry about on that score!
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
A P
