Donald Trump has picked 39-year-old senator JD Vance, once a fierce critic, to be his vice presidential running mate, on the same day he was officially nominated as the US Republican Party's candidate for November's presidential elections.
Trump received the necessary majority of delegates' votes at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Monday, a national party meeting that began just two days after an attempt on Trump's life that shocked the country.
In what was his first public appearance following the assassination attempt on him, Trump joined the convention towards the end of the first day, to standing ovations and chants of "fight, fight, fight."
He did not address the crowd during his appearance, but is expected to speak at the convention on Thursday.
Trump, who was injured in the ear in Saturday's attack, wore a bandage across his right ear as he posed with Vance whom he had named as his vice presidential running mate a short while earlier.
"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 on his social media platform Truth Social.
Vance, once a scathing critic of Trump, has since wholeheartedly embraced him the former president and is now being touted as a future rising star within the Republican Party.
Today, Vance is seen as a hardliner. After Saturday's assassination attempt on Trump, he immediately blamed Trump's Democratic rival, incumbent President Joe Biden, personally for the attack. In the Senate in spring, he voted against the billions in aid for Ukraine.
If Trump wins the presidential elections in November, Vance would become one of the youngest vice presidents in US history.
Trump and Vance were the "most unifying and competitive ticket in political history," campaign advisors Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement.
"Donald J. Trump's record of success as a businessman and as a president who made America wealthy, safe, strong, and great again, coupled with J.D. Vance's inspirational biography, military service, and dedication to America's working families, will appeal to voters of all backgrounds across the country."
The November 5 election is set to be a rematch between Trump and Biden.
Vance wasn't an "unsual" pick for Trump, Biden said in an interview with NBC News on Monday.
"He's gonna surround himself with people who agree completely with him."
"He signed on to the - to the Trump agenda, which he should if he's running with Trump."
Current Vice President Kamala Harris is set to be Biden's running mate again. The Democratic ticket has however been thrown into some confusion by doubts about Biden's fitness for office.
The Democrats will meet for their convention in Chicago, Illinois, in mid-August.
Trump, who is the only president to have ever been impeached twice, has several criminal cases hanging over him.
High-profile Republicans and members of Trump's family are set to address the crowd over the four days of the convention.
Controversial topics that could alienate some moderate voters, such as abortion or the storming of the Capitol by Trump's supporters in January 2021, are set to be avoided at the convention, according to US media reports.
On Saturday, during a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, a shooter was able to climb to an elevated position with an assault rifle and fire a number of shots at Trump, causing panic to break out in the audience.
Trump, wounded in the ear and left bleeding, struck a defiant tone as he pumped his fist while being whisked off the stage.
A firefighter watching the rally was killed and two others seriously injured.
"By luck or by God, many people are saying it’s by God, I'm still here," Trump told the New York Post. "I'm not supposed to be here. I'm supposed to be dead."
The perpetrator, killed by Secret Service agents, was 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from nearby Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. His motive for the shooting is not yet clear, investigators said.
In the wake of the assassination attempt, Biden instructed the Secret Service to review security measures for his Republican rival's convention in Milwaukee.
The national party meeting kicked off on Monday under high security precautions. Numerous streets in the city of 577,000 on the western shore of Lake Michigan have been cordoned off.
Approaching the venue in the city centre requires undergoing a special security check.
In addition to the delegates, thousands of politicians, party members and press have travelled to Milwaukee for the convention, which will also see the adoption of the party platform as well as speeches expected from numerous high-ranking Republicans.
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