Trump Announces J.D. Vance as VP Pick

Trump Announces J.D. Vance as VP Pick

Former U.S. President Donald Trump announced Monday that United States Senator James Donald “J.D.” Vance is his pick for Vice President on the 2024 Republican ticket. 

Vance has served as the junior Senator from Ohio since 2023, after defeating Democrat Tim Ryan in the general election in November 2022.

Trump made his pick known on the first day of the Republican National Convention.  

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The political development comes on the heels of the attempted assassination of Trump on the campaign trail on Saturday. 

ABC reported, “While Trump stresses unity, VP hopefuls and allies blame Biden for shooting:

"Today is not just some isolated incident," Vance wrote on X. "The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump's attempted assassination."

 

BIO:

Vance is a Republican U.S. Senator representing Ohio since 2023. Born James Donald Bowman on August 2, 1984, in Middletown, Ohio, Vance rose to prominence with his 2016 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," which became a New York Times bestseller and was later adapted into a Netflix film.

He grew up in a working-class family with Appalachian roots. Raised primarily by his grandparents due to his mother's struggles with substance abuse, he credits his grandmother, whom he called "Mamaw," for providing stability and encouragement.

After graduating from Middletown High School in 2003, Vance enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving in Iraq as a combat correspondent. Following his military service, he attended Ohio State University, graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Philosophy in 2009. He then earned his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 2013.

Before entering politics, Vance worked as a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP and in investment firms. He also founded "Our Ohio Renewal," a nonprofit organization aimed at addressing social and economic issues in Ohio.

In 2016, in an interview with Charlie Rose that same year, Vance said he was a "never Trump guy" and never liked him.

In 2021, CNN reported on now-deleted tweets and comments from Vance in 2016 attacking the former president and calling him "reprehensible."

In 2021, Vance launched his first political campaign for Ohio's Senate seat. He won the Republican nomination in May 2022, bolstered by an endorsement from former President Donald Trump. In the November 2022 general election, he defeated Democratic nominee Tim Ryan.

As a Senator, Vance serves on several committees, including Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; and the Special Committee on Aging. He has been involved in various legislative efforts, including proposing bills on border security, tax reform, and postal service matters.

Vance's political positions often align with conservative viewpoints, and he has been known to engage in debates on issues such as U.S. aid to Ukraine and immigration policy. He continues to be a prominent voice in Republican politics, balancing his role as a senator with his background as an author and commentator on rural sociology and working-class issues.

This article included content provided by Perplexity.com