GOP presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump chose U.S. Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio as his vice presidential running mate today.
Once a virulent opponent of Trump, Vance, 39, became a Trump loyalist once he landed in the U.S. Senate in 2022.
Not long after Trump announced the pick on his Truth Social website, the party officially nominated Vance at the GOP National Convention underway in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Former Marine, Pro-Abortion Pill, Hate Trump
Vance came to fame after the publication of his biography, Hillbilly Elegy, the story about his upbringing in hardscrabble Middletown, Ohio, with a drug-addicted mother. Director Ron Howard turned the book into a moving film starring Glenn Close as Vance’ hard-as-nails grandmother, whose favorite movie is Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
A former Marine combat correspondent who served in Iraq, Vance attended Yale Law School and was editor of its law journal. It was there that he met his Indian wife, Usha Chilukuri. They have three children.
He converted to Catholicism in 2019.
Vance supports “access” to mifepristone, an abortion pill.
And Vance, again, was once an outspoken and sometimes over-the-top foe of Trump.
Among other things, he called Trump “reprehensible,” a “cynical a**hole” or “America’s Hitler,” as the Washington Post recalled today.
Other Vanceisms include:
- Trump is cultural heroin.
- To every complex problem, he promises a simple solution.
- I might have to hold my nose and vote for Hillary Clinton.
- But I think that I’m going to vote third party because I can’t stomach Trump. I think that he’s noxious and is leading the White working class to a very dark place.
- Fellow Christians, everyone is watching us when we apologize for this man.
- Trump makes people I care about afraid. Immigrants, Muslims, etc. Because of this I find him reprehensible. God wants better of us.
- I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy. I never liked him.
Trump’s Reason
Despite all that, Trump went ahead.
“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump wrote on Truth Social:
J.D. honorably served our Country in the Marine Corps, graduated from Ohio State University in two years, Summa Cum Laude, and is a Yale Law School Graduate, where he was Editor of The Yale Law Journal, and President of the Yale Law Veterans Association. J.D.’s book, “Hillbilly Elegy,” became a Major Best Seller and Movie, as it championed the hardworking men and women of our Country. J.D. has had a very successful business career in Technology and Finance, and now, during the Campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond.…
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.
Last week, Vance said one thing that will please conservatives: “America is not just an idea. America is a nation. It is a group of people with a common history and a common future.”
The Biden Campaign told The Hill that Vice President Kamala Harris called Vance to congratulate him and challenge him to a debate.
On Instagram, Trump’s son, Eric, zinged former Vice President Mike Pence:
