With JD Vance pick at VP, Trump tries to shape GOP for years to come

MILWAUKEE — Former President Donald Trump ended the speculation over his choice for vice president Monday afternoon, as the Republican National Convention officially kicked off here.

In picking Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, Trump signaled loud and clear that he is focused not just on winning a second term. He’s also thinking about his legacy.

The announcement came two days after the assassination attempt against Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Trump was wounded during the shooting, with blood running across his face before Secret Service agents rushed him off the stage.

The close call is no doubt behind the Monday announcement. Observers I spoke with at the convention thought Trump would draw out the VP pick “Apprentice”-style until Wednesday.

“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 .

While Vance, the author of “ Hillbilly Elegy ,” was once a strong critic of Trump, in the past few years, he has wholeheartedly joined the MAGA bandwagon.

RNC is here: Trump could have died. Now Republicans have one job at RNC in Milwaukee.

Vance has appeal in battleground states – and he's young

Trump also highlighted Vance’s appeal in the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where the election could very well be decided.

Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt said Vance will resonate with voters in his state. He said Vance’s defense of the “forgotten man,” his military service ( he served in the Marine Corps ) and the fact he’s a Midwesterner will play in his favor.

But it is Vance’s loyalty to Trump that is likely one of his most attractive attributes to the former president. Vance also is a talented communicator who is popular with Trump’s base.

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Vance, who turns 40 on Aug. 2 , would be one of country’s youngest vice presidents and in a position to carry on Trump’s policies and style, possibly for decades.

To put his age in perspective, Trump, now 78 , was 38 when Vance was born. And Vance is four decades younger than President Joe Biden.

Vance gets a head start on 2028 nomination

Trump can serve only one more term, so his vice presidential choice is seen as especially important. On Monday, Vance suddenly became the Republican front-runner for the 2028 presidential nomination.

"This pick is about one thing and one thing only – solidifying Trump's political legacy,” GOP strategist Dennis Lennox told me. “This is a passing of the torch. J.D. Vance has become the heir apparent to succeed Trump as leader of the populist, national-conservatism movement that has dominated the Republican Party for the last nine years.”

Lennox, in attendance at the convention, said that if Trump and Vance win in November, the Republican nomination four years from now is in effect a done deal .

“It's inconceivable that a Vice President Vance as President Trump's heir apparent wouldn’t clear the field of any potential opponents,” he said. “There would be no path for any other Republican to defeat him."

It's Vance: Trump's VP pick cements his MAGA succession plan

Conservatives like myself who don’t identify with the MAGA turn the party has taken under Trump had hoped for a vice presidential nominee who would have broader appeal and sought to unify the GOP in an important election year.

Conservative stars like Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin or former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley would have been great choices. But that’s not the path Trump chose.

Now, the Republican Party must turn to the next major task at hand: making sure Biden is a one-term president.

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: With JD Vance pick at VP, Trump tries to shape GOP for years to come