THE NEW YORK TIMES: A political newcomer and former Trump critic turned ally, the senator is an ambitious, telegenic ideologue who relishes the spotlight and has already shown he can energize donors.
Former President Donald J. Trump has chosen Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio to be his running mate, wagering that the young senator will bring fresh energy to the Republican ticket and ensure that the movement Mr. Trump began nearly a decade ago can live on after him.
Mr. Vance, 39, is a political newcomer who entered the Senate only last year, but he has spent that time methodically ascending the conservative firmament. Once an acerbic Trump critic — attacking Mr. Trump as “reprehensible” and calling him “cultural heroin” — he won Mr. Trump’s backing in his 2022 Senate race by wholly embracing his politics and his lies about a stolen election. The endorsement lifted him above a crowded field, and ultimately to the Senate.
Mr. Vance, a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley who became best known for writing the memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” did not forget it. He quickly emerged as a top defender of the former president in the halls of Congress and on television, taking his cues from Mr. Trump while frequently bucking the priorities of Senator Mitch McConnell, the chamber’s longtime Republican leader. » | Michael Gold, Reporting from Milwaukee | Monday, July 15, 2024
