MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — Donald Trump announced Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate on Monday on the first day of the Republican National Convention, ending months of speculation about who would receive his vice presidential nomination.
Vance is a fresh member of Congress; he has less than two years of experience as a senator and has voted against major bipartisan bills throughout his tenure in the upper house.
Before becoming a U.S. congressman, Vance served in the Marine Corps during the Iraq War, worked as a venture capitalist, and wrote a book about his childhood in Appalachia. He holds a law degree from Yale University.
“After much thought and consideration, and taking into account the tremendous talents of many others, I have concluded that the person best qualified to serve as Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the great State of Ohio,” Trump, who will be nominated as the Republican presidential candidate for 2024 on Thursday evening, posted on social media.
“JD has had a very successful business career in technology and finance and will now focus his campaign heavily on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American workers and farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and far beyond…” Trump added.
Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence has distanced himself from him since the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, so Trump will have to choose another person as his candidate on the ballot this year.
Pence was at the Capitol that day when a pro-Trump mob attacked police officers, entered the building and disrupted Congress’s certification of the Electoral College votes for President Joe Biden.
Pence criticized the changes in the Republican Party under Trump’s leadership, including Rejection of the development of the platform on the topic of abortion this year.
