Former US President and GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump on Monday named US Senator JD Vance as his running mate at the Republican National Convention. The convention opened less than 48 hours after Trump was the target of a shocking assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.
Who is JD Vance?
JD Vance, 39, is a Republican born and raised in Middletown, Ohio. He joined the Marines, served in Iraq, and later earned degrees from Ohio State University and Yale Law School. He also worked as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley.
Vance gained recognition with his memoir, the 2016 bestseller “Hillbilly Elegy,” which was published as Trump first ran for president.
After Trump won the 2016 election, Vance returned to Ohio and established an anti-opioid charity. He also became a popular speaker at Republican events, where his personal story, including the hardships due to his mother’s drug addiction, resonated with many.
Initially a “never Trump” Republican in 2016, Vance had called Trump “dangerous” and “unfit” for office. He also criticized Trump’s racist rhetoric, saying he could be “America’s Hitler.” However, by 2021, Vance had changed his stance, citing Trump’s accomplishments as president, and both men downplayed Vance’s past criticism.
Once elected, Vance became a staunch Trump ally on Capitol Hill, consistently defending Trump’s policies and actions.
Vance’s wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, is a lawyer who clerked for future Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he served as an appeals court judge in Washington, and later for Chief Justice John Roberts. The couple has three children.
