Support truly
independent journalism
JD Vance reiterated his love for America, telling supporters “we are united to win,” as he gave his first official speech as Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate.
The 39-year-old Ohio Senator and now MAGA loyalist hailed “a day of celebration” in light of the failed assassination attempt of Donald Trump, as he officially accepted the nomination for the GOP vice presidential candidate.
Vance made his remarks on day three of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Chants of “Joe must go!’ rang out throughout the convention center during his speech.
“Instead of a day of celebration, this could have been a day of heartache and mourning. For the last eight years, President Trump has given everything he has to fight for the people of our country,” Vance told crowds.
“I want all Americans to go and watch the video of a would be assassin coming a quarter of an inch from taking his life. Consider the lies they told you about Donald Trump, and then look at that photo of him defiant, fist in the air.
“When Donald Trump rose to his feet in that Pennsylvania field, all of America stood with him.”
He added: “My message to you, my fellow Republicans, is we love this country and we are united to win.”
Vance was introduced by his wife – Usha Vance, who described her husband as “a meat and potatoes guy” who liked playing with puppies and watching the movie Babe.
A relative newcomer, Vance initially made a name for himself with his bestselling 2016 book, Hillbilly Elegy, a memoir of his upbringing in a poor, white Appalachian community. Though he was once a vocal critic of Trump – reportedly once referring to him as “America’s Hitler” – Vance has cozied up to the former president and adopted many of his policies.
At 39, Vance is one of the GOP’s newest rising stars — and also one of the quickest ladder-climbers in recent political history.
The first-term senator is just a year and a half into his six-year Senate term, the first elected position Vance has ever held. He came from behind to win a commanding victory in the 2022 Ohio Republican Senate primary, then won a closer victory over his Democratic opponent Tim Ryan in the November election that year.
Since then, he has carved out a reputation as an economic populist, one that has sometimes brushed up against the conservatism of his party’s old guard.
His unique brand of Republicanism was particularly on display when he visited a United Autoworkers picket line in 2023, something seen as sacrilege among economic conservatives who take a hostile stance towards unions and organized labor.
That appearance was snidely mocked at the time by Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, a Democrat from his home state, who remarked to Vance, “first time?” as he arrived at the picket line.
His victories in the Ohio Senate primary and general election came largely thanks to the endorsement of Donald Trump in April of 2022.
Vance won the support of the former president over one of his Republican rivals, Josh Mandel, who unlike Vance was already serving in government as Ohio’s treasurer.
Another factor responsible for his abrupt ascension into Trumpworld politics was Donald Trump Jr, who along with Vance’s wife introduced the senator to the convention on Wednesday. Trump Jr became a close, public ally of Vance around the same time as he wrapped up the endorsement from Jr’s father, and that alliance is thought to have also contributed to Vance edging out conservatives with longer resumes including Senator Marco Rubio and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.
Pundits have said that Vance will unquestioningly help advance Trump’s hard-right agenda if the pair manage to take the White House in November.
