United States: Donald Trump picks former critic JD Vance as vice-presidential candidate
The Ohio senator had earlier described the former president as a ‘total fraud’ and ‘America’s Hitler’.
![United States: Donald Trump picks former critic JD Vance as vice-presidential candidate](https://sc0.blr1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/article/202167-pgozuvxrcm-1721111284.jpg)
Former United States President Donald Trump selected Ohio Senator JD Vance as his candidate for the position of vice-president on Monday.
Elections for the posts of president and vice-president of the United States will be held in November. Trump was officially named as the Republican Party’s presidential candidate on Monday.
Trump made the announcement ahead of the Republican National Convention in the city of Milwaukee. Hours later, Vance formally received the nomination at the convention, the Associated Press reported.
The Republican National Convention was Trump’s first public appearance after he survived an assassination attempt on Saturday.
Vance said he was “just overwhelmed with gratitude” to be named as the former United States president’s running mate. “He [Trump] delivered peace and prosperity once, and with your help, he'll do it again,” the Republican vice-presidential candidate said on X.
Just overwhelmed with gratitude.
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) July 16, 2024
What an honor it is to run alongside President Donald J. Trump. He delivered peace and prosperity once, and with your help, he'll do it again.
Onward to victory!
Vance is a venture capitalist and author who first came into prominence in 2016 with his memoir Hillbilly Elegy. He was elected as a senator from Ohio for the first time in 2022 during the midterm elections that year.
Vance had earlier been a strident critic of Trump, describing him as a “total fraud” and “America’s Hitler”, according to AP. He, however, later said he had been proven wrong by Trump’s performance as the United States president.
Vance’s wife, Usha Chilukuri, is a lawyer and the daughter of Indian immigrants.