Trump Picks His Past 'Critic' JD Vance As Running Mate After Securing Formal Republican Nomination For Top Post
Trump chose Ohio Senator JD Vance as his presidential running mate two days after he narrowly survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.
Former United States President Donald Trump chose Ohio Senator JD Vance as his presidential running mate. This comes as the Republican Party officially nominated Trump to run again for the top post on Monday at the beginning of the party’s national convention in Milwaukee.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform and said, "As Vice President, J.D. will continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our troops, and will do everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN."
The four-day convention started in downtown Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum two days after the former US President narrowly survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.
According to news agency Reuters, Trump is due to formally accept the party's nomination in a prime-time speech on Thursday and will challenge Joe Biden in the presidential elections set to be held on November 5.
Trump's shortlist included candidates such as JD Vance, Doug Burgum, and Marco Rubio.
Before picking his choice, Vance, Trump held meetings with the top contenders, all of whom had submitted their bios and photographs to the convention organisers, AP reported.
Born in southern Ohio, JD Vance was a fierce Trump critic in 2016 but has since become one of his staunchest defenders, as reported by Reuters. He embraced his false claims that the 2020 presidential polls were marred by fraud.
According to Reuters, Vance called the Republican presidential candidate an "idiot" publicly and said that he was "reprehensible." He also compared him to Adolf Hitler.
Despite Republicans and Democrats calling him an opportunist and raising questions about him, Trump and many of his advisers see Vance’s transformation as genuine.
Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming told Reuters that Vance shifted his views on the former US President because “he saw the successes that President Trump as president brought to the country.”
Vance's vocal opposition to U.S. aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia has impressed Trump's most conservative allies. "He understands what Trump is running on and, unlike the rest of the Republican Party in Washington, agrees with it," conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, a vocal Vance supporter, told Reuters.
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