Trump Names J.D. Vance as Running Mate For 2024 Election

AP Photo/Jeff Dean

Former President Donald Trump said Monday that J.D. Vance , a senator of Ohio, will be his running mate for the 2024 presidential election.

“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 J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Screenshot

The revelation of Trump’s pick came on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and just days after the former president was shot in the ear in an attempted assassination at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The gunman, who killed one rally-goer and critically wounded two others, was shot dead by police after opening fire on the crowd.

Vance was catapulted onto the national stage thanks to his best-selling memoir Hillbilly Elegy , which was turned into a film starring Glenn Close and Amy Adams . He was a fierce critic of Trump during the 2016 presidential election campaign — comparing him to Adolf Hitler and suggesting he was guilty of sexual assault — but emerged as one of his most prominent supporters as he mounted a campaign for the Senate as a Republican.

Vance languished in third place in the polls during the senate primary until an endorsement from Trump catapulted him into first. He won the nomination and then the general election. As a first term senator , Vance has paired support for Trump with a populist economic message and opposition to U.S. support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.

In the wake of the assassination attempt on Trump, as the former president urged “unity” in the face of the violence, Vance issued several controversial posts on X, formerly Twitter, pinning blame for the shooting “directly” on President Joe Biden .

Vance is slated to speak at the RNC this week. The VP pick is scheduled to speak on Wednesday night, following a speech by Donald Trump Jr. , who has been a fervent advocate of Vance to join his father’s ticket.