Finance
Former US President and potential Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has picked J.D. Vance, a first-term Senator from Ohio whose wife is Indian-American, as his Vice President nominee.
Vance, 39, is 40 years younger than Trump and brings US military experience to the ticket. He is a former venture entrepreneur and the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” an autobiographical account of growing up in a working-class American community that initially gained him national notoriety. He is fresh to politics and was elected to the United States Senate in 2022, mostly thanks to Trump’s endorsement.
“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 wrote on Truth Social, a social media platform he owns.
“J.D. honorably served our Country in the Marine Corps, graduated from Ohio State University in two years, Summa Cum Laude, and is a Yale Law School Graduate, where he was Editor of The Yale Law Journal, and President of the Yale Law Veterans Association. J.D.’s book, ‘Hillbilly Elegy’, became a Major Bestseller and Movie, as it championed the hardworking men and women of our Country,” he added.
“J.D. has had a very successful business career in Technology and Finance, and now, during the Campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond…,” the former President posted on Truth Social.
Don Trump Jr., Vance’s most vocal supporter among Trump’s inner circle, told CNN that Vance was a “incredible” choice.
Vance is married to Indian-American Usha Vance, born Usha Chilukuri. She is a highly successful attorney. She clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. She grew up in San Diego, California, where education and hard work were valued highly. She attended Yale University and graduated from Yale Law School, like her husband.
Trump made the revelation shortly after the Republican convention began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when he and Vance were formally selected as the party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates, respectively.
Vance is expected to broaden Trump’s appeal among working-class voters given his own background, recounted in “Hillbilly Elegy”. His contacts forged while working in venture capital in San Francisco are also expected to bring donors to the ticket. Besides, he is also seen as an effective and erudite exponent of Trump’s MAGA — Make America Great Again — vision on TV.
Vance was not always a Trump supporter though. He famously called him “America’s Hitler” once and counted himself among NeverTrumpers. After the assassination attempt on Trump, he blamed President Joe Biden for it. “Today is not just some isolated incident,” he wrote on X, adding, “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
Source:IANS
