Former President Donald Trump has named Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate, following months of speculation about who might join the former president as a running mate for the Republican nominee in 2024.
In announcing his selection, Trump said on Truth Social:
“After lengthy deliberation and consideration, and after 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. J.D. served our country honorably in the Marines, graduated summa cum laude from Ohio State University, and graduated from Yale Law School where he served as editor of the Yale Law Journal and president of the Yale Law Veterans Association. J.D.’s book, “Hillbilly Elegy,” championed the hardworking men and women of our country and was a best-seller and film. J.D. has had a highly successful business career in technology and finance, and now during this campaign he will focus on the people for whom he fought so brilliantly – American workers and farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and beyond…”
Vance, who rose to national fame with his best-selling autobiography “Hillbilly Elegy,” has served in the Senate for less than two years, but in his brief tenure the former venture capitalist from Ohio has established himself as one of President Trump’s most staunch defenders of his “Make America Great Again” agenda, particularly when it comes to foreign, trade and immigration policy.
Vance was an early critic of Trump but has grown to be personally close to the former president and his son, Donald Trump Jr., and has spoken highly of him. Vance has become a fixture in conservative media, frequently sparring with reporters on Capitol Hill and appearing with Trump at recent fundraisers and in court.
Vance, 39, would inject some millennial energy into a race that has an 81-year-old (Biden) and a 78-year-old (Trump) at the head of the major parties, and a debate with Harris would surely be heated.
In 2016, Vance was one of Trump’s harshest critics, calling the then-reality TV star a “total fraud” and a “moral bankruptcy” and calling him “the American Hitler.”
Senator Vance says President Trump’s performance in office has proven him wrong, and he has blasted liberals who turned his book into a bestseller seeking a window into understanding Trumpism.
If Trump wins a second term, the constitutional limit, his pick would likely become the Republican presidential front-runner four years from now, but that No. 2 would likely face immense pressure from Trump and his allies to remain loyal.
Trump turned on Vice President Pence after the first vice president rejected his boss’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election based on a false theory the then-president spread after his loss to Biden.
Pence has refused to endorse Trump this time.
Trump has said his No. 1 consideration in choosing a vice president is whether the person is qualified to take over as commander in chief.
But other factors were at play: Who could raise money? Who could perform well on television? Who would be most effective in a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris? With talk of the 2028 election coming up soon, who risks overshadowing Trump as a lame duck if elected in November? And who has “the looks”?
