(NewsNation) — Former President Donald Trump named Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate for the 2024 presidential ticket, just days after an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Trump announced his pick on Truth Social, praising Vance’s credentials and work in Ohio, saying that during the campaign, Vance “will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond.”
As a major candidate, Vance will be entitled to Secret Service protection.
The announcement came Monday as members of the party gathered in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention. Trump’s campaign revealed little about the presumptive GOP nominee’s top considerations until then, saying anyone who claimed to know specifics was “lying unless that person is named Donald J. Trump.”
Who is J.D. Vance?
Vance, who attended Yale law school, came to national prominence after writing his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” which painted a picture of his childhood being raised in a working-class, poverty-stricken area of the Appalachian mountains. While many people praised the book, which focused on themes of self-reliance, others criticized it for painting a stereotypical and inauthentic view of Appalachia.
Having only served in the Senate for two years, Vance is a relative newcomer to politics. Vance has worked to appeal to working-class voters, despite having worked as a venture capitalist prior to his service in the Senate.
Previously, Vance butted heads with Trump, at one point referring to him as “America’s Hitler.” The pair appear to have mended fences some time ago, with Vance recently making frequent appearances at Trump fundraisers and events.
Vance’s appeal to the working class and status as a relative newcomer to politics are similar to the appeal Trump has for many voters, making the choice a departure from traditional vice president picks that are usually picked in hopes of reaching new voter demographics. However, Vance does bring one important thing to the ticket and that’s youth. At 39, he is decades younger than both Trump and Biden, as well as being 20 years younger than Vice President Kamala Harris.
Reaction to Vance’s nomination
Doug Burgum, also rumored to be a contender for the role, applauded the nomination on X, praising Vance’s “small-town roots.”
The Democratic National Convention responded with a statement calling Vance an embodiment of MAGA “with an out-of-touch extreme agenda and plans to help Trump force his Project 2025 agenda on the American people.”
Trump rally shooting
The announcement comes after what is being investigated as an assassination attempt on the former president. On Saturday afternoon, a gunman opened fire at the former president while he was on stage during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania Trump and two spectators were injured and a firefighter was killed.
The former president was hit in the ear and rushed off stage by Secret Service, holding his first in the air while blood streamed down his face.
He was taken to a nearby hospital where the campaign reported he was “fine.” On Sunday he set off for Milwaukee to attend the RNC.
Trump’s campaign and legal battles
Prior to the assassination attempt, Trump has been carrying out his campaign efforts alongside ongoing legal troubles.
A New York jury found Trump guilty in May on all counts for falsifying business records to keep information from voters ahead of the 2016 election.
However, the fate of those verdicts is unclear, following the Supreme Court’s recent landmark decision granting former presidents broad immunity from prosecution.
Additionally, the federal case against him regarding classified documents seized at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida was dismissed Monday morning.
If Trump wins the 2024 election, conservative groups aim to implement a wide-ranging plan to dismantle federal government agencies.
The effort, born from the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, is dubbed “Project 2025” and serves as a guide to undo the “damage” its conceivers say liberal politicians have inflicted on America. Critics, however, have called Project 2025 extremist, “authoritarian” and dystopian.
Project 2025 aside, a potential second Trump presidency could look different with a new right-hand leader.
Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence
Trump served his first term alongside former Vice President Mike Pence, but the Indiana Republican announced in March he wouldn’t endorse Trump for the 2024 election. Once regarded as a loyal Trump defender, Pence distanced himself from the former president following the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.
Trump supporters rioted outside the Capitol after President Joe Biden’s victory and chanted “Hang Mike Pence,” while he and other lawmakers met to certify the 2020 election results.
Trump denies any wrongdoing concerning Jan. 6 and has continued to repeat false claims that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen.” Those issues are up in the air after the Supreme Court’s recent landmark decision granting former presidents broad immunity from prosecution.
Pence went on to launch his presidential campaign in June 2023, joining a crowded 2024 GOP primary field. In his announcement on X, the former vice president said, “Different times call for different leadership.”
Most recently, the two-time running mates butted heads over their stances on abortion.