Indeed. What I took from it is that Vance wants to be part of the old money elite but can't be because he wasn't born to it. In that sense he's soul mate to Trump.Lots of deep psychology there, much of it on point, but simply put his love/hate relationship with his mother ends in him always being loyal to mom no matter what. That's what Trump sees and wants. What JD has in mind long term and what he's willing to compromise to get it ain't all that hard to figure out either given his chosen career path.
Edit: credit to your "best lapdog" hypothesis, though, it's quite plausible.