JD Vance, a venture capitalist turned Ohio senator who rose to fame with his 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy, once described himself as a “never Trumper”, calling the then – candidate Donald Trump in 2016 an “idiot”, “cultural heroin” and a potential “American Hitler”.
Now the two men are running mates – and the connection seems to be borne of personal affinity rather than cold political calculation.
Here’s what to know about the former president’s choice for his vice-presidential candidate:
Vance will be loyal and can turn the tables on Democrats
This was on display within two hours of Saturday’s failed assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. In a post that provoked fury among Democrats but surely earned Trump’s gratitude, Vance wrote on Twitter/X that the moral responsibility lay with Joe Biden. “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” he posted. “That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
That kind of vocal backing stands him in stark contrast with Trump’s former vice-president, Mike Pence, who broke decisively and bitterly with the then president by resisting his entreaties not to certify Biden’s 2020 election victory in the US Congress, leading to the 6 January 2021 storming of the Capitol by a mob.
In addition, Vance has become a close friend of Trump’s eldest son, Donald Jr, who made the case for him to be the running mate on the grounds that he shared his father’s political vision.
He will support Trump’s nationalist foreign policy
Vance has been a leading opponent of US aid to Ukraine, saying defence against China should be a much bigger priority, a position that aligns him with the man who is now his political patron.
In an interview on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast earlier this year, he said: “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.”
He may also have been chosen for his youth
In an election between the two oldest main candidates in US history, Vance – at a relatively youthful 39 – could end up becoming one of America’s youngest vice-presidents. He would not, however, be the youngest. That distinction is held by John Breckenridge, who was 36 years and 47 days when he took office as vice-president to James Buchanan in 1857.
Vance could conceivably become the country’s youngest ever president if Trump, 78, were to die in office or step down before the end of his term. The youngest president on entering the White House was Theodore Roosevelt, who was 42 when he ascended to the position after the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901. At 39, Vance is already old enough to be president under the terms of the US constitution, which mandates the minimum age to be 35.
His profile rather than his Ohio origins are probably what makes him politically attractive to Trump
Although Ohio, which Vance represents as a senator, has traditionally been a swing state, Trump won it by eight points in 2020, having captured it against Hillary Clinton in 2016, and is expected to hold it again in November.
Vance’s attractions to Trump more likely lie in his appeal to white working class voters across a wider geographical area – particularly in genuine battleground states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
His ability to identify with and articulate working class frustrations are evidenced in his personal memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, which chronicles his upbringing in the post-industrial Ohio rust-belt and in the Appalachians.
Vance’s abortion views are likely to turn off many female voters
He has articulated much harder line policies than Trump, who says states should determine their own policies on abortion. In contrast, Vance opposes the practice even in case of rape or incest, although he has stopped short of saying there should be a national ban and has said exceptions should be allowed when the mother’s life is at risk. Nevertheless, when he ran for Senate in 2022, his website carried a headline on the subject that read: Ban Abortion.
He will be his master’s voice on tariffs and immigration
Vance, like Trump, has argued for “broad-based tariffs”, a position in line with Trump, who is promising a 10% across-the-board tariff on all foreign imports, despite warnings from economists that it will fuel inflation. He also echoes Trump on immigration, advocating the completion of the border wall on the southern frontier with Mexico and opposing an amnesty for illegal immigrants.
