US Elections 2024: Ohio Senator James David Vance said it was an honour to run alongside former US President Donald Trump for the upcoming presidential elections, hours after he was chosen as the vice presidential running mate at the Republican National Convention (RNC). At 39, Vance can be the youngest Vice President of America since Richard Nixon in 1953.
"Just overwhelmed with gratitude. What an honour it is to run alongside President Donald J. Trump. He delivered peace and prosperity once, and with your help, he'll do it again. Onward to victory!" he said on social media platform X.
Fierce critic-turned-loyal supporter
"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 JD Vance of the Great State of Ohio," Trump announced his VP pick on his Truth Social platform.
Vance, 39, was a fierce Trump critic in 2016 but has since become one of the former president's staunchest defenders, embracing his false claims that the 2020 election was marred by widespread fraud. After the announcement by Trump, Vance emerged on the convention floor with his Indian American wife Usha Chilukuri Vance, who traces her origins to Andhra Pradesh, and shook hands with delegates. He is due to address the convention and formally accept his nomination on Wednesday.
Who is JD Vance?
James David Vance was born in an impoverished Middletown, Ohio and served in Iraq as part of the US Marines. He won a scholarship to Yale Law School and worked as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley and is a prominent conservative voice. He rose to national fame with his 2016 bestseller "Hillbilly Elegy", which was positively received by the Trump family. However, Vance was not always so supportive and close to Trump.
In 2016, Vance was a fierce critic of Trump, calling him an "idiot" and saying he was "reprehensible." Vance also described himself as "never Trumper", and his stalwart loyalty to the former President has puzzled many - including Democrats who have accused him of being driven by opportunism. Vance also criticised Trump's racist rhetoric, saying he could be “America's Hitler.”
Why did Trump choose Vance?
Vance is now staunchly loyal to Trump and shares many of his opinions on key issues, a possible factor in his endorsement as running mate. He is also a close friend of Trump's eldest son Donald Trump Jr and can turn the tables on Democrats. Vance has been a vocal critic of US support for Ukraine and supports Trump's stance on Israel's war against Hamas.
He is also relatively young in a presidential competition between two oldest candidates in US history. Vance has an even harder stance than Trump on the issue of abortion and has advocated the former President's view on imposing tariffs on foreign imports and curbing immigration by building the border wall.
Moreover, Vance also sided with Trump's unsubstantiated claims about electoral fraud and agreed that free trade had hollowed out middle America by crushing domestic manufacturing and that the nation's leaders were too quick to get involved in foreign wars. Biden called Vance a "clone of Trump" on crucial issues.
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