Trump finally selects JD Vance as 2024 Republican vice presidential candidate
The 45th United States president, Donald Trump has picked first-term Ohio Senator James David Vance as his running mate, placing a young, ideological ally alongside him on the Republican ticket for the 2024 presidential elections.
Trump announced Vance as his running mate on Monday, July 15, writing on Truth Social that the Ohio Republican is “the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States.”
Born in Middleton, Ohio, Vance rose to fame through his 2016 book, “Hillbilly Elegy.” He evolved from a “never-Trump guy” to one of Trump’s strongest surrogates in eight years.
Serving in the Marine Corps, he later attended Ohio State University and eventually graduated from Yale Law School. He was a corporate lawyer who later worked in the tech industry as a venture capitalist.
In 2016, Vance released his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” which shared his story of growing up in poverty in America’s Rust Belt and being surrounded by violence and addiction.
Trump’s decision caps off months of speculation, seeing the former President elevate a 39-year-old first-term senator whose roughly year and a half tenure in the Senate has seen him emerge as a staunch ideological ally of the former president.
“As Vice President, J.D. will continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our Troops, and will do everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
The Trump campaign wasted no time promoting the former president’s pick, posting an ad on social media featuring a montage of Vance praising Trump.
“I am proud that I have been an ally of Donald Trump’s in Washington, D.C.,” Vance says in one of the clips in the ad.
The campaign is also fundraising off of the announcement, saying in a campaign email Monday afternoon that Trump “always knew” he “needed” Vance on his side.
President Joe Biden’s campaign released a statement on Vance being named Trump’s vice presidential pick, slamming Vance as someone who will further Trump’s “extreme MAGA agenda.”
“Donald Trump picked J.D. Vance as his running mate because Vance will do what Mike Pence wouldn’t on January 6: bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and no matter the harm to the American people,” Biden Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon wrote in a statement.
Vice presidential hopefuls Sen. Marco Rubio and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum both issued their support for the Republican ticket.
Following the announcement, Rubio posted to social media “#TrumpVance2024!!!”
In a social media post, Burgum said he looks forward to being on the campaign trail for the new Trump-Vance ticket. He also complimented Vance for his small-town roots and service to the county.
