Donald Trump announced Monday that his 2024 running mate will be Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, a pick that comes as the Republican National Convention gets underway in Milwaukee.
In a post on Truth Social, the former president said Vance was “best suited” to serve as vice president, citing his Ivy League education and best-selling work, “Hillbilly Elegy,” which was both a book and Netflix movie.
The former president had narrowed his search for a vice president to just three candidates: Vance, Gov. Doug Burgum, R-N.D. and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
Though Vance once identified as a “Never Trump Guy,” he has emerged as a MAGA champion since running for office in 2022.
The former venture capitalist, before entering politics, had became a go-to commentator on poverty and unemployment in America’s rust belt. He has slowly but surely rebranded into a controversial right-wing politician, a position solidified when he ran for the Senate with Trump’s endorsement.
Throughout this election season, Vance has been one of Trump’s strongest supporters, participating in campaign and funding events.
When it comes to policy, Vance backs Trump’s radical stance on immigration and has said that, without stricter control on the Mexico-U.S. border, “we don’t have a country anymore.” Vance also opposes abortion and recently argued against the need for exceptions for rape and incest.
Vance also opposes U.S. support for Ukraine.
Following Saturday’s assassination attempt on Trump, Vance falsely accused the Biden administration for inciting the violence, which was carried out by a 20-year-old registered Republican.
“The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” he wrote on X. “That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
Both Rubio and Burgum were notified they would not be selected as on Monday before the announcement.
Like Vance, Burgum had previously rejected partnering with Trump. But after dropping out of the GOP presidential race in December, Burgum became a fierce advocate for the former president.
Of the three candidates, Rubio has had perhaps the tumultuous relationship with Trump, calling him “the most vulgar person to ever aspire to the presidency” back when they battled for the Republican candidacy in 2016.
But the former rivals had worked closely with one another in recent years and Trump endorsed Rubio this primary season. After Rubio spoke at a Trump rally on Tuesday, Trump, who in 2016 took to calling Rubio “Little Marco,” described the Florida senator as “certainly one of the people that we’re looking at” as a V.P. candidate.
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