Former President Donald Trump chose Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio as his running mate, a one-time critic turned staunch supporter and the first millennial to serve on a major party ticket at a time of serious concern about the aging of America’s political leadership.
“After lengthy deliberation and consideration, and taking into account many other incredible talents, I have decided that the person best qualified to serve as Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio,” Trump said in a post on his Truth social network as the Republican National Convention got underway in Milwaukee.
In other action throughout the day, cheering GOP delegates formally nominated Trump as their presidential candidate at the opening of the Republican National Convention on Monday, officially ensuring that the long-thought frontrunner will lead the Republican Party for a third consecutive election.
Vance, 39, the vice presidential nominee, rose to national prominence with the publication of his autobiography, “Hillbilly Elegy,” in 2016. He was elected to the Senate in 2022 and has been one of the most staunch supporters of the former president’s “Make America Great Again” agenda, particularly on trade, foreign policy and immigration issues.
But he has little experience in domestic politics and joins the Trump campaign at an unusual time: The assassination attempt at a rally on Sunday has destabilized the race, drawing new attention to the country’s crude political rhetoric and underscoring the importance of a man who is so close to winning the presidency.
Vance himself faced criticism after the shooting for a post on X suggesting President Joe Biden was to blame for the violence.
“The Biden campaign’s central premise is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” Vance wrote. “This rhetoric led directly to the assassination attempt on President Trump.”
Police officials have not yet determined a motive for the shooting.
Pick will energize Trump’s loyal supporters
Trump said Vance “will focus on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American workers and farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and further afield” – several of those Midwestern states are expected to play key roles in the November election.
Trump and Vance spoke about 20 minutes before the Truth Social post, and Trump formally offered Vance the job, according to a person familiar with the call, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation.
The other candidates on Trump’s shortlist, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, were informed early Monday afternoon that they were not Trump’s picks, according to people familiar with the conversations.
Conversations between Rubio and the Trump campaign over the past 10 days have focused on residency concerns and how to account for the fact that the two men live in the same state, according to a person familiar with the private meetings who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Trump campaign wanted to be 100% sure the issue wouldn’t result in a drawn-out legal battle, and Rubio didn’t want to relocate his family, the people said.
Trump spent months vetting the candidates, trying to gauge how they performed on television, at fundraisers and on the stage at rallies. Several, including Burgum and Vance, sat in on Trump’s hush-money criminal trial in New York. Others were at last month’s debate, where Biden’s disastrous performance upended the campaign and sparked widespread calls for him to step aside in favor of a younger candidate.
The selection is sure to energize Trump’s loyal base, and Vance has become a fixture in conservative media circles and frequently engages in discussions with Capitol Hill reporters, helping to position himself as a leader who could succeed Trump in the 2028 presidential election and into the future.
But the selection means that two white people will lead the Republican nominee field at a time when Trump is seeking to win over black and Latino voters.
In “Hillbilly Elegy,” Vance detailed life in an Appalachian community that had seceded from the Democratic Party, many of whose residents felt disconnected from the everyday struggles of the time. The book became a bestseller but was criticized for oversimplifying rural life and ignoring the role of racism in modern politics.
Vance has previously been a strong critic of Trump.
Vance’s fame has grown in tandem with Trump’s unlikely rise from reality TV star to Republican nominee and ultimately president. Early in Trump’s political career, Vance described him as a “total con man,” a “moral bankrupt” and an “American Hitler.”
But like many Republicans who searched for meaning in the Trump era, Vance eventually changed his tune: He said Trump’s performance in office proved him wrong, and he became one of Trump’s staunchest defenders.
“I didn’t think he’d be a good president,” Vance told Fox News Channel recently. “He’s been a great president, and that’s one of the reasons I’m trying so hard to give him a second term.”
Vance’s turnaround paid off when he won Trump’s coveted endorsement in the 2022 race for an open Senate seat and won a crowded Republican primary and a closely fought Democratic general election. He is close to Trump’s son, Donald Jr.
Vance is now a staunch supporter of Trump, challenging the validity of criminal charges and civil judgments against him and questioning the results of the 2020 election.
He told ABC News in February that if he had been vice president on January 6, 2021, he would have told states that Trump contested Biden’s win “that they needed to have multiple electoral votes, and then Congress would take it from there.”
“Many people, including myself, believe there were many problems with the 2020 election, and this is the legitimate way to address it,” he said.
Many states enacted emergency measures four years ago to allow people to vote safely during the coronavirus pandemic, but judges, election officials from both parties and President Trump’s own attorney general have concluded there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Vance’s relationship with Trump is symbiotic.
Vance’s book brought him national fame.
Vance’s book, subtitled “A Memoir of a Family and a Culture in Crisis,” was hailed for its insights into Trump’s popularity in middle America, where manufacturing job losses and the opioid crisis have pushed many families like Vance’s into poverty, abuse and addiction.
The story of Vance’s difficult childhood in Middletown, Ohio, where he was born, and the hills of eastern Kentucky, where his family lived, also captivated Hollywood: Director Ron Howard produced the 2020 film, starring Amy Adams as Vance’s mother and Glenn Close as Vance’s beloved “Mamaw.”
Encouraged by his grandmother, Mr. Vance enlisted in the Marines, served in the Iraq War, and graduated from Ohio State University and Yale Law School. He then joined an investment firm in Silicon Valley before returning to Ohio to start a nonprofit that aims to develop a treatment for opioid addiction that he says could be rolled out nationwide.
Ultimately, Ohio Renewal failed in its mission and was shut down. During the 2022 election campaign, then-Democratic rival U.S. Representative Tim Ryan accused Vance of being a front for his political ambitions. Ryan pointed to reports that the charity had paid Vance’s political advisers and conducted polls, even as its actual efforts to combat addiction had largely failed. Vance denied the portrayal.
As a senator, Vance has demonstrated a willingness to work across party lines: He and Ohio’s senior senator, Democrat Sherrod Brown, have worked together on a number of issues important to the state, including fighting for funding for Intel’s $20 billion semiconductor factory in central Ohio and introducing a rail safety bill in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment and fire.
