MILWAUKEE — In introducing himself to Republican loyalists for the first time Wednesday night as Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance drew parallels between his impoverished upbringing and voters in middle-America who were integral to delivering the former president to the White House eight years ago.
And he seemed to marvel at the journey he took from boyhood in the “cast aside” steel town of Middletown, Ohio, to his perch onstage at the Republican National Convention here, where he formally accepted the nomination to join a ticket of a man he previously criticized when he first came into the public eye as the author of the bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.”
“President Trump represents America’s last quest to restore what, if lost, may never be found again: a country where a working class boy born far from the halls of power can stand on this stage as the next vice president of the United States of America,” Vance said. His wife, Usha Vance, and the former president’s eldest son Don Jr. spoke previously to introduce him.
