Trump selected Ohio Sen. JD Vance, a critic turned ally, as running mate after last-minute push from son

By Alison Main and Eric Bradner, CNN

(CNN) — Donald Trump has named US Sen. JD Vance as his running mate, further elevating the Ohio Republican who has adopted the former president’s populist agenda after years of pointed criticism of Trump.

“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,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

Trump’s selection came on the first day of the Republican National Convention and just two days after he survived an assassination attempt at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, over the weekend. On the floor of the convention, shortly after news of Vance’s selection broke, delegates celebrating the party’s ticket were writing Vance’s name onto Trump signs using markers.

Trump called Vance on Monday, to officially offer him the spot 20 minutes before the former president made the announcement on Truth Social, a source familiar with the process told CNN. The two had met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on Saturday, before the rally at which Trump was shot in the ear.

Ahead of Trump’s selection of Vance, the Ohio senator’s supporters, including Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. and conservative media figure Tucker Carlson, had argued that Vance has the strongest relationship with Trump of a group of finalists that also included Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and would be the most loyal selection, multiple sources familiar with the discussions said.

They made the case that Vance can appeal to working-class voters viewed as essential to winning the key battleground states in November, given his upbringing in a poor Rust Belt town in Ohio. They also pointed to his wife, Usha Chilukuri — the child of Indian immigrants — as being someone who could appeal to minority voters, the sources said.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, on the convention floor, described Trump’s selection of Vance as “a great day for Ohio.”

“He is consistent with Trump’s appeal to working men and women,” DeWine said, adding that he thought it was wise for Trump to pick someone younger. “Also, someone who shares his desire to expand the base of the Republican Party.”

A turnaround on Trump

Vance, a venture capitalist and the author of the best-selling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” was elected to the Senate in 2022 after receiving a boost from Trump in a contentious Republican primary.

It was a reversal from just six years earlier. Vance was a key voice in the “Never Trump” movement during the 2016 election and has a well-documented history of opposing the former president publicly.

CNN previously reported that Vance liked tweets in 2016 and 2017 that harshly criticized Trump and his policies — including one speculating that Vance could serve in a Hillary Clinton administration.

But he earned Trump’s endorsement in the 2022 Ohio Republican Senate primary after a concerted yearlong effort by Vance to embrace a new image as a leading MAGA proponent, courting the former president at meetings in Mar-a-Lago and through appearances on Fox News.

In a display of loyalty, Vance was one of several potential running mates and Republican lawmakers to stand by Trump’s side at a New York courthouse during his criminal hush money trial.

He’s also made clear that his view of the constitutional limits on a vice president’s role in certifying election results differs from that of former Vice President Mike Pence, who drew the ire of Trump in January 2021, when he opted not to interfere in the process of approving electoral votes for Joe Biden.

Vance told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in May that he was “extremely skeptical that Mike Pence’s life was ever in danger,” even though some members of the pro-Trump mob that broke into the US Capitol were calling for Pence to be hanged.

In a separate May interview on CNN, Vance said he would commit to accepting the 2024 election results “if it’s a free and fair election.”

“If you think there were problems, you have to be willing to pursue those problems and try to prosecute your case. And certainly, if we have a free and fair election, I’ll accept the results,” he told CNN’s Dana Bash.

There is no evidence of widespread election fraud in the 2020 election.

Vance’s persona has endeared him to the right wing of the Republican Party, including Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., who has hosted the Ohio Republican on his podcast and praised him publicly.

In Congress, Vance has been a vocal opponent of foreign aid, opposing legislation to send more aid from the US to Ukraine amid Russia’s war.

In addition to his MAGA credentials, Vance also brings ties to traditionally liberal-leaning Silicon Valley to the presidential ticket. He recently helped organize a fundraiser for Trump in San Francisco hosted by prominent tech venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya.

Democrats pounce on Trump’s pick

President Joe Biden, weighing in on Trump’s running mate selection for the first time late Monday afternoon, described Vance as a “clone” of Trump on policy matters.

“He’s a clone of Trump on the issues,” Biden said before boarding Air Force One. “A clone of Trump on the issues, so I don’t see any difference.”

Biden’s campaign cast Vance as a Trump enabler in the moments after he was announced as the vice presidential pick.

“Vance will do what Mike Pence wouldn’t on January 6: bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and no matter the harm to the American people,” Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement.

She described Vance as “one of the most far-right extremists in Washington,” pointing to previous endorsements and his friendship with  firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia.

Biden’s campaign also invoked Vance’s previous criticism of Trump in a fundraising appeal emailed to supporters Monday afternoon.

“How does a guy who used to say that Donald Trump and his policies were ‘reprehensible,’ become Donald Trump’s running mate? Through years of being a rubber-stamp for Donald Trump’s extreme, MAGA agenda. You might even say he’s the poster child for Project 2025,” the appeal said.

Democrats immediately signaled that they plan to highlight Vance’s previous comments on abortion, which have gone farther than Trump in pushing for national restrictions.

A day after Ohio voters approved a ballot measure to protect access to abortion last year, Vance urged Republicans to embrace a federal ban on abortion to more effectively make the case to voters about the GOP’s position.

In November 2023, Vance told CNN that Republicans need to focus on “persuasion” to sway voters towards their position, while arguing the GOP needs to press for a national standard banning abortion — either at 15 or 20 weeks — with some exceptions.

“It seems to suggest there needs to be some more interest in this building among Republicans in setting some sort of minimum national standard, whether that’s it’s 15 weeks or 20 weeks or the different ranges that are thrown out there,” Vance told CNN’s Manu Raju and Ted Barrett in the Capitol. “We keep giving into the idea that the federal Congress has no role in this matter. Because if it doesn’t it, then the pro-life movement is basically not gonna exist, I think, for the next couple of years.”

While Vance said he expected most states to adopt their own bans, “there’s some reason I think we should have some minimum national standard.”

Vance added: “I think that a majority of Americans would support a 15-week pain capable ban, assuming you had the exceptions, but then you’re still gonna have the gross majority of abortion policy banned at the state level. And I think that’s probably the kind of compromise we need to think about.”

Abortion could be a key issue if Vance and Vice President Kamala Harris meet for a debate.

Harris called Vance on Monday — but did not reach him and left a voicemail, a Biden campaign official said. She congratulated him on his selection, welcomed him to the race and express her hope that the two can meet in the vice-presidential debate proposed by CBS News.

Vance didn’t answer Harris’ phone call because it came from an unknown number, and he was unable to call back. Staff for Vance’s team was in touch with Harris’ team and working on setting up a call Monday night, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Kaitlan Collins, Alayna Treene, Veronica Stracqualursi, Betsy Klein, Kit Maher Manu Raju, MJ Lee and Abby Phillip contributed to this story.

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