Trump picks US senator JD Vance as running mate

Republican candidate Donald Trump has selected Ohio senator JD Vance as his running mate in the 2024 US elections.

The former president made the announcement on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Monday evening.

“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 wrote.

“J.D. honorably 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. J.D.’s book, “Hillbilly Elegy,” became a Major Best Seller and Movie, as it championed the hardworking men and women of our Country.

“J.D. has had a very successful business career in Technology and Finance, and now, during the Campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond….,” the statement concluded.

Vance, a one-time critic of Trump, wrote the bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” in 2016, which chronicles his experiences growing up in poverty in Appalachia and was later adapted into a film

According to Politico, Vance has made disparaging comments about Trump and his supporters, likening their enthusiasm to a heroin addiction and even wondering if Trump was akin to “America’s Hitler.”

Politico also reports that Vance has also called himself a “Never Trump guy” and labelled Trump “an idiot,” while revealing that he did not vote for Trump in the 2016 election.

Vance has transformed himself into a Trump loyalist in recent years, culminating in a coveted endorsement from the former president in the 2022 Ohio Senate race.

Vance’s candidacy starts with a significant visibility challenge, with a CNN/SSRS poll revealing that 56% of voters were unfamiliar with him, and an additional 15% had no opinion about him.