DEKYAS NEWS World Breaking News and Trusted Source
Related Articles
Donald Trump’s running mate for vice president, Sen. J.D. Vance, presented himself to the nation Wednesday night as the son of a forgotten industrial town in Ohio who, if elected in November, will fight for the working class.
Vance, 39, described his difficult childhood, from the U.S. Marines, to Yale Law School, to venture capitalism, and finally to the U.S. Senate. He introduced himself to Americans and used his story to show that he understands their daily struggles.
“I grew up in Middletown, Ohio, a small town where people spoke their minds, built with their own hands, and loved God, their family, their community and their country with all their hearts,” Vance said as he formally accepted his party’s nomination at the Republican Party Convention in Milwaukee.
“But it was also a place that had been pushed aside and forgotten by the American ruling class in Washington.”
Donald Trump has named JD Vance as his running mate for vice president. The junior senator from Ohio is a fervent supporter, but that wasn’t always the case. The National breaks down how he went from ‘never Trump’ to the former US president’s top pick for the job.
He accused “career politicians” like US President Joe Biden – who Vance said has been in politics longer than he has been alive – of destroying communities like his with ill-fated trade policies and foreign wars.
“President Trump’s vision is so simple and yet so powerful,” he said. “We are done, ladies and gentlemen, serving Wall Street. We are going to serve the working man.”
In a sign of his potential value to the ticket, he also repeatedly appealed to the working class and middle class in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, particularly three Rust Belt swing states that will likely decide the Nov. 5 election.
Vance described his grandmother, “Mamaw,” who raised him while his mother struggled with addiction, and he acknowledged his mother, Beverly, who was there to hear him speak.
“I’m proud to say that tonight my mother is here, 10 years clean and sober,” Vance said. “I love you, Mom.”
A visibly moved Beverly Vance mouthed, “I love you, JD,” as delegates gave her a standing ovation.
Vance described his grandmother as someone who not only “loved the Lord” but also “loved the F-word.”
“She was an old woman who could barely walk, but she was tough as nails,” Vance said.
Rapid rise to vice presidential nomination
Vance’s primetime debut, less than two years after he first took public office, was the pinnacle of a career that coincided with his transformation from a fierce critic of Trump to one of his most devoted defenders.
He is one of many high-profile Republicans, such as US Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, who have shifted from critic to loyalist, underscoring Trump’s rise to power within the party.
Running mate expert Christopher Devine says JD Vance is “the least qualified vice presidential candidate we’ve ever had.” He tells Power & Politics that the choice could cost Trump votes in the November election.
Author of the bestselling memoir Elegy of the HillbillyVance has helped translate Trump’s populist instincts into a policy agenda that would retreat the US from its dominant role on a global scale.
As the first millennial on a major party’s platform, he is well-positioned to continue Trump’s Make America Great Again movement beyond a potential second term.
In his speech, he adopted many of the core tenets of Trumpism, promising to prioritize domestic manufacturing over Chinese imports and warning allies that they would no longer get a “free ride” on securing world peace.
Vance opposes military aid to Ukraine and defends 78-year-old Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat to Biden.
He has argued that the government should do more to help the working class by restricting imports, raising the minimum wage and cracking down on corporate largesse. Those positions, which run counter to the Republican Party’s traditional pro-business stance, nevertheless closely follow Trump’s platform.
Democrats have already turned on Vance, highlighting his strict anti-abortion stance and claiming he will pursue a far-right agenda if in office.
At the end of his speech, Vance thanked Trump for “the confidence he has placed in me” and pledged to give Americans the best, regardless of party affiliation.
Biden was forced to suspend campaigning on Wednesday after testing positive for COVID-19.
The illness compounded the 81-year-old president’s woes after three tumultuous weeks in which he struggled to convince panicked Democrats that he can still beat Trump following a lackluster debate performance late last month.
