Republican candidate for the 2024 US presidential election, Donald Trump, announced that he had nominated Ohio Representative J.D. Vance as his presidential candidate at the Republican National Convention (RNC) that began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Monday. Former President Trump announced the decision in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Key highlights
- Donald Trump has nominated Ohio Congressman J.D. Vance as his running mate for the 2024 US elections.
- Vance served in the Marines, worked as an attorney for several years and was elected to the Ohio State Senate in 2021.
- He criticized Trump during the 2016 election, calling the 78-year-old Trump “American Hitler”, but has since changed his stance.
Donald TrumpRepublican candidate 2024 US ElectionElected to the Ohio House of Representatives J.D. Vance His choice of candidate for the Republican National Convention election wasRepublican National Committee) kicked off on Monday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The former president announced the decision in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
A former military journalist, Vance studied politics and philosophy at Ohio State University after his military service. It was during his time at Ohio State that he first entered politics, working for Republican Senator Bob Schuler of Ohio.
After graduating from Ohio State, Vance enrolled in Yale Law School and worked at several law firms from 2013 to 2016. His book, “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and a Culture in Crisis,” was published in 2016. Vance said that Yale professor and author Amy Chua convinced him to write the memoir.
In December, Vance, who was living in San Francisco at the time, decided to return to his home state of Ohio to start a nonprofit and run for office, but before entering politics, he worked for a few more years in a variety of roles, including as an investment partner, a CNN contributor and the founder of a venture capital firm.
He first ran for the Ohio Senate seat in 2021, winning the Republican nomination with the endorsement of Donald Trump, before defeating Democrat Tim Ryan to win the seat.
Vance has been a fierce critic of Donald Trump since he first ran for president. He has described Trump’s policies as “ranging from immoral to absurd.” He has called the 78-year-old Trump a “cultural heroin” and a “drug for the masses.” In a private Facebook message, he even called Trump “the American Hitler.”
However, after Donald Trump was elected president, Vance changed his position and supported the former president in the 2020 election. He doubled down on the claims of election fraud that Trump made following the 2020 US election, which he lost to Joe Biden.
So in just over eight years, he went from Trump critic to Trump supporter to Trump running mate. Now the two will be campaigning side by side, urging voters to vote Republican in November’s election.
President Trump announced J.D. Vance as his running mate in November, saying in a post on Truth Social that Vance would be the “best choice” to be his running mate.
“After lengthy deliberations and consideration, and after taking into account many other extraordinary talents, I have determined that the person best qualified to serve as Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio,” Trump wrote.
