JD Vance was once a vocal critic of Donald Trump (File)
Former US President Donald Trump on Monday announced US Senator JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate for the November presidential election. The announcement came ahead of the former president’s surprise appearance at the Republican National Convention, just two days after he survived an attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, will join Trump in challenging President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming elections.
Who is JD Vance?
1. JD Vance was born James David Bowman in Middletown, Ohio, to a mother who struggled with addiction. His father left the family when Vance was a toddler. He grew up with his grandparents; his grandmother “Mamaw” was a “blue dog” Democrat and a devout Christian who owned 19 pistols.
2. Vance served in the U.S. Marine Corps after high school, including a tour in the Iraq War. He then pursued higher education, graduating from Ohio State University and Yale Law School. Until 2017, he worked at a venture capital firm.
3. Before Vance entered politics, he gained national attention with his memoirs Hillbilly elegy, which was later adapted into a Netflix film.
4. JD Vance is married to Usha Chilukuri Vance, who is of Indian descent. They met at Yale Law School and married in Kentucky in 2014. In addition to a traditional ceremony, they had a separate Hindu ceremony led by a Hindu priest. They have three children.
5. Vance was once an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, calling him an “idiot” and “reprehensible” and comparing him to Hitler in previous interviews in 2016. However, he has now transformed into one of Trump’s steadfast allies and rarely misses an opportunity to defend him. Although his name had long been mentioned as a potential political candidate, Vance seized the opportunity to run for Ohio’s Senate seat in 2022 after Republican Senator Rob Portman decided not to seek re-election. His campaign struggled initially but gained momentum after receiving a $10 million donation from his former boss, Peter Thiel. Despite being in a predominantly Republican state, Vance’s past criticism of Donald Trump posed a hurdle to his election. He managed to make things right with the former president over his past comments and secure Trump’s support.