United States: Anticipating a future where the Republican Party is led by former President Trump and his fervent MAGA followers, Trump has selected 39-year-old Senate JD Vance of Ohio as his vice-presidential candidate for the GOP’s 2024 national ticket.
In a much-anticipated and high-stakes declaration on Monday, during the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin’s largest city, Trump announced he would join forces with one of his staunchest Senate allies and a former critic who has evolved into a prominent America First advocate, according to reports by Fox News.
“After extensive deliberation and thought, and evaluating the remarkable talents of many others, I have determined that the most suitable individual for the role of Vice President of the United States is Senator JD Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump revealed on his Truth Social platform.
Trump highlighted that Vance will prioritize advocating for American workers and farmers from Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and beyond while on the campaign trail.
Vance made an appearance on the convention floor at the Fiserv Forum, where the four-day Republican National Convention commenced. He greeted friends and supporters in the Ohio delegation during the vice-presidential nomination roll call.
Vance, a former venture capitalist and the author of the bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” before entering politics, was among a few top contenders for the running mate position. This group also included North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, as per reports by Fox News.
Though Vance is from Ohio, a once-battleground state that Trump won comfortably in both the 2016 and 2020 elections, experts suggest his selection will bolster Trump’s appeal among working-class Democrats, particularly across the Rust Belt, who might otherwise support President Biden.
Raised in a working-class family in a small southwestern Ohio town, Vance experienced parental divorce and his mother’s prolonged struggles with substance abuse, resulting in his maternal grandparents helping to raise him.
After high school, Vance enlisted in the US Marine Corps and served in the Iraq War. He later graduated from Ohio State University and obtained a law degree from Yale University.
Vance, residing in Cincinnati, moved to San Francisco post-law school, working as a principal in a venture capital firm owned by billionaire Peter Thiel, who later became a major financial backer of Vance’s successful 2020 Senate campaign.
Trump’s endorsement of Vance just days before the 2022 GOP Senate primary propelled him to victory in a fiercely competitive nomination race.
“Look, I was wrong about Donald Trump. I didn’t think he would be a good president,” Vance told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview last month. “He was a great president, and it’s one of the reasons I’m working so hard to ensure he gets a second term.”
In the Senate, Vance has been a vocal proponent of Trump’s America First agenda and has opposed US aid to Ukraine, according to FOX News.
During the vice-presidential vetting process, Vance had a strong ally in Donald Trump, the former president’s eldest son and a prominent figure in the MAGA movement.
The elder Trump has also developed a rapport with Vance, likening him to “a young Abraham Lincoln” during a conversation with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade last week, following a report suggesting Trump’s dislike for Vance’s facial hair.
“No. I’ve never heard that one,” Trump said when questioned about the report. “He looks good… He looks like a young Abraham Lincoln.”
Minutes after the announcement, Trump’s campaign released a new image and logo for the GOP’s 2024 national ticket.
Vice President Kamala Harris reached out to Vance, leaving a message to congratulate him on his selection, welcome him to the race, and express hope for a vice-presidential debate, according to the Biden campaign.
President Biden, reacting to Vance’s nomination, wrote in a social media fundraising appeal, “Here’s the deal about JD Vance. He talks a big game about working people. But now, he and Trump want to raise taxes on middle-class families while pushing more tax cuts for the rich.”
“Well, I don’t intend to let them,” the president asserted.
The Biden campaign quickly characterized Vance as a MAGA movement champion, as per Fox News.
Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon stated that “Trump picked JD Vance as his running mate because Vance will do what Mike Pence wouldn’t on January 6: enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and harming the American people.”
Fox News reported earlier on Monday afternoon that Burgum and Rubio were informed ahead of Vance’s announcement that they would not be named the running mate.
In a social media post, Burgum wrote that Vance’s “small-town roots and service to the country make him a powerful voice for the America First Agenda. I look forward to campaigning for the Trump-Vance ticket to Make America Great Again!”