(CNN) — Donald Trump has named US Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate, further elevating the Ohio Republican who has adopted the former president’s populist agenda after years of pointed criticism of Trump.
“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 said on his Truth Social platform.
Trump’s selection came on the first day of the Republican National Convention and just two days after he survived an assassination attempt at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, over the weekend. Vance met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club on Saturday before the rally, a source familiar with the meeting told CNN.
Vance, a venture capitalist and the author of the best-selling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” was elected to the Senate in 2022 after receiving a boost from Trump in a contentious Republican primary.
It was a reversal from just six years earlier. Vance was a key voice in the “Never Trump” movement during the 2016 election and has a well-documented history of opposing the former president publicly.
CNN previously reported that Vance liked tweets in 2016 and 2017 that harshly criticized Trump and his policies — including one speculating that Vance could serve in a Hillary Clinton administration.
But he earned Trump’s endorsement in the 2022 Ohio Republican Senate primary after a concerted yearlong effort by Vance to embrace a new image as a leading MAGA proponent, courting the former president at meetings in Mar-a-Lago and through appearances on Fox News.
In a display of loyalty, Vance was one of several potential running mates and Republican lawmakers to stand by Trump’s side at a New York courthouse during his criminal hush money trial.
He’s also made clear that his view of the constitutional limits on a vice president’s role in certifying election results differs from that of former Vice President Mike Pence, who drew the ire of Trump in January 2021, when he opted not to interfere in the process of approving electoral votes for Joe Biden.
Vance told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in May that he was “extremely skeptical that Mike Pence’s life was ever in danger,” even though some members of the pro-Trump mob that broke into the US Capitol were calling for Pence to be hanged.
In a separate May interview on CNN, Vance said he would commit to accepting the 2024 election results “if it’s a free and fair election.”
“If you think there were problems, you have to be willing to pursue those problems and try to prosecute your case. And certainly, if we have a free and fair election, I’ll accept the results,” he told CNN’s Dana Bash.
There is no evidence of widespread election fraud in the 2020 election.
Vance’s persona has endeared him to the right wing of the Republican Party, including Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., who has hosted the Ohio Republican on his podcast and praised him publicly.
In Congress, Vance has been a vocal opponent of foreign aid, opposing legislation to send more aid from the US to Ukraine amid Russia’s war.
In addition to his MAGA credentials, Vance also brings ties to traditionally liberal-leaning Silicon Valley to the presidential ticket. He recently helped organize a fundraiser for Trump in San Francisco hosted by prominent tech venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya.
CNN’s Kristen Holmes contributed to this story.
The-CNN-Wire
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