"Hillbilly Elegy" director Ron Howard said that he was "very surprised and disappointed" by GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance’s political rhetoric after not knowing about the candidate’s political beliefs.

The two-time Academy Award winner Howard recalled that he and Vance did not discuss politics during the development of the film.

"Well, we didn’t talk a lot of politics when we were making the movie because I was interested in his upbringing and that survival tale," Howard told Deadline at the Toronto International Film Festival.  

He continued, "That’s what we mostly focused on."

"However, based on the conversations that we had during that time, I just have to say I’m very surprised and disappointed by much of the rhetoric that I’m reading and hearing," he added. "People do change, and I assume that’s the case. Well, it’s on record."

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"Hillbilly Elegy" was released in November 2020 on Netflix.

The movie shows the uprising of a young boy raised in a humble Appalachian town and ascending to Yale Law School. The movie was adapted from "Hillibilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis," which was written by Vance in 2016 and became a New York Times Bestseller.

The movie starred Amy Adams, Glenn Close and Gabriel Basso.

Vance is a venture capitalist, author and politician. The author-turned politician defeated his Democratic opponent, Tim Ryan, in Ohio’s Senate race in the 2022 Midterm elections.

The "Happy Days" star Howard doubled down that Vance never mentioned his political views. He went on to say that "that was then," yet apparently the Ohio senator and running mate of former President Donald Trump clearly changed.

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"When we spoke around the time that I knew him, he was not involved in politics or claimed to be particularly interested," Howard said. 

Since jumping into the 2024 presidential race, Vance has caught flak for a resurfaced 2021 comment, when he said that "we're effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies."

The senator, however, says that the statement was taken out of context. 

While Vance continues to defend himself, Democrats have criticized the comment since he was selected as Trump's 2024 running mate.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called it "offensive," while Oprah Winfrey highlighted it in her speech at the Democratic National Convention.

A high-ranking leader within the United States Secret Service (USSS) has been asked to retire, Fox News has learned. 

Michael Plati, the office of protective operations assistant director, has been asked to retire from his position, and he is ending his tenure with the service in the coming days.

The decision is reportedly linked with the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania — a security failure that has sent shock waves through all levels of the agency.

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The USSS is preparing to brief Congress in the coming days about lessons learned from the July 13 attempt on Trump's life.

Plati was asked to step down by senior leadership, including acting Director Ronald Rowe.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the USSS for comment and is awaiting its response. 

An agent who asked to remain anonymous was not happy about Plati's retirement. "Mike Plati is known for his integrity and honesty, qualities that are especially commendable at his level of leadership within the Secret Service," the agent told Fox News.

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USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned under mounting pressure on July 23 following the assassination attempt on the former president, Fox News confirmed. 

The Department of Defense (DOD) has since offered the USSS "additional assistance" in protecting political figures that require personal security.

Anthony Guglielmi, U.S. Secret Service chief of communications, announced last month that the DOD will provide "additional assistance including logistics, transportation, and communications, through the 2024 campaign season."