Trump picks Ohio's JD Vance as VP running mate
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has selected U.S. Senator and bestselling author J.D. Vance to be his vice presidential running mate.
In an announcement posted to Truth Social on Monday afternoon, the former president said he selected Vance as his vice president following much discernment.
“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,” stated Trump.
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“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.”
Trump went on to note that Vance “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.”
Born and raised in Middletown, Ohio, the 39-year-old Vance garnered national attention with his bestselling book Hillbilly Elegy, which was released in 2016 and later adapted into a movie.
The book focuses on the decline of white working-class Americans in the post-war era, as seen with the experiences of Vance’s grandparents, who were natives of rural Appalachia.
“Vance’s grandparents, aunt, uncle, sister, and, most of all, his mother, struggled profoundly with the demands of their new middle-class life, and were never able to fully escape the legacy of abuse, alcoholism, poverty, and trauma so characteristic of their part of America,” explained the official synopsis.
“A deeply moving memoir with its share of humor and vividly colorful figures, Hillbilly Elegy is the story of how upward mobility really feels. And it is an urgent and troubling meditation on the loss of the American dream for a large segment of this country.”
An Iraq War veteran, Vance was elected to the Senate in 2022, defeating Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the retirement of Republican Rob Portman.
"I am overwhelmed with gratitude," Vance stated to his supporters after confirming his 2022 victory, as quoted by NBC News. "Whether you voted for me or not … the thing that I promise to do is go to the United States Senate and fight every single day for the people of Ohio."
