JD Vance is one of Trump’s strongest supporters, sharing many policy views and visions with the former US president.
“After much consideration and consideration of the talents of many individuals, I have decided that the most suitable person to serve as Vice President of the United States is Senator JD Vance of the great state of Ohio,” former US President Donald Trump announced on the social network Truth Social on July 15.
Mr Trump’s announcement ends months of speculation within the Republican Party about his vice presidential running mate. The race for the position has become more intense in recent weeks, with heavyweights such as Senator Marco Rubio and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who are considered to have greater influence in the Republican Party.
Senator JD Vance at a press conference in New York in May. Photo: AP
Therefore, Mr. Trump’s choice of Vance, 39 years old, as his running mate in the race to conquer the White House surprised many people. What was even more surprising about this choice was that Vance had expressed a fierce “anti-Trump” stance.
When Trump announced his candidacy in 2016, Vance described him as “toxic” and “deplorable,” and declared himself a “never Trumper.”
He also called on Republicans not to defend Trump after the release of an “Access Hollywood” recording in which the Republican presidential candidate bragged about how he could freely touch women’s private parts because he was a “star.”
“Christians, the world is watching. As we apologize on behalf of this man, may God save us,” Vance wrote in a social media post at the time.
For someone who values loyalty as much as Trump, such criticism could mean that Vance will never have a chance to rise in the Republican Party he dominates. But observers say that despite being a political outsider, Vance has been very “up-to-date” and knows how to change his views to go with the Trump wave.
Vance began to defend Trump after he won the presidency, becoming one of his most ardent supporters ever since. He supported Trump’s reelection in 2020, and Trump endorsed Vance when he ran for the Senate in Ohio in 2022.
The senator deleted all of his previous posts about Trump and expressed regret for posting them. Vance reiterated in a May interview with CNN that his previous criticism of former President Trump was “completely wrong.”
“I don’t think he’s going to be a good president. And I’m very, very proud to be proven wrong. That’s one of the reasons I’m working so hard to get him elected,” he said.
Trump and his advisers seem to have realized that picking Vance as his running mate would be the best move to win over skeptics of the former president to Trump. “I would be a good example,” Vance admitted.
Vance has also enthusiastically supported Trump’s claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election and has called the criminal charges against the former president politically motivated.
Vance’s loyalty was on full display just two hours after the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Trump in Pennsylvania.
In a post that has angered Democrats but is sure to win sympathy from the former president, Vance wrote that the moral responsibility lies with President Joe Biden.
“The central premise of Biden’s campaign is that President Donald Trump is a fascist dictator who must be stopped at all costs. That ideology has led directly to the plot to assassinate President Trump,” he wrote on social media X.
The statement contrasts Vance with Mike Pence, Trump’s former vice president, who broke sharply with Trump when he called on him not to certify the 2020 election results.
After entering politics, Vance also became friends with Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who is a peer. This may have been one of the important reasons for Vance’s selection. Trump Jr. recommended Vance to his father, saying that the senator “shared the same political vision” as Trump.
Former President Donald Trump and JD Vance at a midterm election campaign event on November 7, 2022 in Dayton, Ohio. Photo: Reuters
Another advantage Vance has is youth. When paired with the 78-year-old former president, Vance’s youthfulness will provide a sense of “continuity,” according to pollster Frank Luntz.
Many say that if Trump is re-elected and completes a second term, the Republican Party will have to find someone to carry on his legacy, and Vance seems like the obvious choice. Vance will be just 40 years old on inauguration day, and he would be the third-youngest vice president ever to serve in the United States if elected.
As the youngest of the candidates Trump considered, Vance is expected to bring youth to the Republican Party as it searches for the next generation of leadership.
On the other hand, Ohio is also one of the most important states in the competition for control of the US Senate and Vance becoming the vice presidential candidate will bring great opportunities for the Republican candidate here, Luntz noted.
Vance could also benefit from his brand recognition. The Ohio senator made a splash when a memoir he wrote hit the New York Times bestseller list in 2016. It was later adapted into a movie, released in 2020.
On foreign policy, Vance has also been a staunch supporter of former President Trump’s views. He led the effort to block aid to Ukraine, saying that competition with China should be a higher priority.
In an interview earlier this year, Vance asserted that he “doesn’t care what happens to Ukraine.”
Vance’s appeal to Trump is likely to be that he can appeal to white working-class voters in many areas, especially in key battleground states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
His ability to empathize with the working class was demonstrated in his 2016 memoir, which chronicled his growing up in the post-industrial “rust belt” of Ohio.
Vance also shares Trump’s views on tariffs, who has pledged to impose a 10% tax on all foreign imports, despite warnings from economists that it would spur inflation and cost American consumers.
He also echoed Trump’s views on immigration, supporting the completion of the southern border wall with Mexico and opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Republican sources said Trump frequently mentioned Vance’s qualifications, youth and loyalty in discussions, and the former president believed that by choosing someone like Vance, his new vice president would not openly turn against him, as Mike Pence did.
“Vance has been a staunch Trump supporter since the 2022 midterm elections, when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis emerged as a promising replacement for Trump. He also stood up for the former president in the Senate,” an Ohio Republican official explained Trump’s choice for vice president.
