Following months of speculation, shortly after the Republican National Convention began in Milwaukee on Monday, former President Donald Trump revealed who was his pick for vice president.
After reports confirmed that neither Governor of North Dakota Doug Burgum, or Senator Marco Rubio, were his picks, the former reality television star confirmed that Ohio Senator J.D. Vance would be his right-hand man; his previous vice president, Mike Pence, has refused to endorse the now convicted felon.
Announcing the news on Truth Social, he wrote: "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."
Though Vance was long a consideration, the choosing of such a far-right, often incendiary figure comes as a surprise particularly after Trump expressed his wishes of focusing on "unity" in light of the assassination attempt against him that took place on Saturday.
Below, catch up on just who the senator is, and his "hillbilly" background, which was adapted into an Oscar-nominated movie starring Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Gabriel Basso, and Freida Pinto.
Hillbilly Elegy
Vance, 39, first rose to prominence in 2016, when he released his New York Times bestselling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. In it, he tells the story of his childhood growing up in Appalachia after his family moved from Ohio to Kentucky, struggling with poverty and his mother's drug addiction.
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At the time, the book was criticized for his unfair portrayal of Appalachia, specifically his emphasis that the economic challenges plaguing the region were largely the inhabitants' fault or responsibility, as opposed to the result of systemic disadvantages, which, ironically, have historically stemmed from Republican policies that favor the rich.
The book and subsequent film, which got 25% on Rotten Tomatoes, further documents his journey leaving Appalachia; after graduating from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, and later attended Ohio State University.
After graduating in 2009, he attended Yale Law School. He worked in investment banking for several years, before launching his first campaign for public office in July 2021, which he won, and was sworn in as senator on January 3, 2023.
Controversies
Vance has a complicated history on both sides of the political aisle. In 2017, he became a CNN contributor, and was widely described as a Republican who eloquently offered insight to liberals into the mentality of right-wing voters throughout middle America.
He also previously was not a supporter of Trump's, who he has called an "idiot" and reportedly compared him to Adolf Hitler; he described himself as a "Never Trump guy," and lamented the rise of MAGA ideology. In 2016, writing for The Atlantic, he also compared him to an opioid, saying he was an "easy escape from the pain," and that: "To many, Donald Trump feels good, but he can't fix America's growing social and cultural crisis, and the eventual comedown will be harsh."
However he has since made a one-eighty towards the far-right that have left many of his colleagues, acquaintances, and the media bewildered, and has of course scrapped much of the evidence of his past scorn for Trump on social media. He has in turn come under fire repeatedly over several problematic statements, including a joke about the tragic, accidental shooting involving Alec Baldwin on the set of Rust, and other extreme, derogatory comments, including about victims of domestic abuse.
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Family Life
Vance met his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, while attending law school, when they formed a discussion group to discuss the "social decline in white America," per the New York Times. They tied the knot in 2014.
Usha, who was portrayed by Freida Pinto in Hillbilly Elegy, grew up in San Diego, and works as a civil litigator. From 2015 to 2017, she worked for law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson in both their Washington D.C. and San Francisco offices, where the Vance family was previously based, and in 2018, she had a brief stint as a law clerk for the Supreme Court, before returning to Munger, Tolles & Olson.
Vance and his wife are largely private about their personal life. They share three kids, sons Ewan, born in 2017, and Vivek, born in 2020, plus daughter Mirable, who was born in December of 2021.