Sen J.D. Vance Is Trump’s Pick for Vice President

Donald Trump has chosen Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) to be his running mate, wagering that the young senator will bring fresh energy to the Republican ticket and ensure that the movement Trump began nearly a decade ago can live on after him. Sen Vance is a political newcomer who entered the Senate in 2023, but he has spent that time methodically ascending the conservative firmament. Once an acerbic Trump critic—attacking Trump as “reprehensible” and calling him “cultural heroin”—he won Trump’s backing in his 2022 Senate race by wholly embracing his politics and his lies about a stolen election. The endorsement lifted him above a crowded field, and ultimately to the Senate. Vance, a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley who became best known for writing the memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” did not forget it. He quickly emerged as a top defender of the former president in the halls of Congress and on television, taking his cues from Trump while frequently bucking the priorities of Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the chamber’s longtime Republican leader. Trump announced his choice in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, as the Republican National Convention was getting underway in Milwaukee. He said that Sen Vance was “the person best suited” to be his potential vice president. He highlighted Vance’s time in the Marine Corps and his memoir, saying he believed Sen Vance was a champion for hardworking people, particularly the workers and farmers in a number of key swing states.