Former President Donald Trump has chosen Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio to be his vice presidential running mate this November.
Trump announced his VP pick on social media just before he was to accept the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday.
Trump wrote, “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.”
He said of Vance that he had “honourably 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.”
The former president noted that Vance’s book, “Hillbilly Elegy,” was a bestseller that “championed the hardworking men and women of our Country.” And he pointed to Vance’s previous career as a venture capitalist.
Sources confirmed before Vance’s selection was announced that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who were also considered to be top contenders for the No. 2 job, were informed that they had not been chosen.
Although Vance wasn’t at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally where a shooter attempted the former president’s life, the senator expressed his concern and support for the president from Ohio. He also shared fundraising information for the families of those who were killed or injured at the rally.
“Courageous, United, and Defiant. This is leadership,” Vance wrote on X over the weekend after Trump asked Americans to remain “resilient” in their faith and “defiant in the face of wickedness.”
Vance has frequently joined Trump on the campaign trail and was long considered to be on the shortlist of VP contenders. Vance and his wife, Usha, were spotted leaving their Ohio home Monday morning, a sign that Vance might be the pick.
