JD Vance: What to know about Trump’s pick for vice president
Former President Donald Trump announced Sen. JD Vance as his vice president pick on the first day of the Republican National Convention on Monday. Vance will deliver the keynote address on Wednesday night, shortly after being introduced by his wife Usha.
Vance, who has served as a junior U.S. senator in Ohio since 2023, rose to prominence in 2016 with his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy.
Vance has been viewed as the frontrunner, with high-profile vocal support from people like Donald Trump Jr. Earlier this morning, three black SUVs with government license plates were seen outside of Vance’s home, encouraging rumors he would be named the nominee.
"It's an incredible pick," Donald Trump Jr. told CNN at the RNC, referring to Vance. "He's an incredible guy with an incredible story."
Here’s what to know about Trump’s vice president pick.
Who is JD Vance?
If elected, Vance, 39, would be one of the youngest vice presidents in U.S. history.
In 2016, he published a memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, which described his being brought up in poverty in America’s Rust Belt and being surrounded by violence, drug use and addiction from a young age. The book received mainstream attention and was later adapted into a 2020 movie starring Amy Adams and Glenn Close.
He enlisted in the Marine Corps after high school and served in Iraq. Vance attended Ohio State University before going to Yale Law School, graduating in 2013. He initially worked at a law firm before moving to San Francisco to work in venture capital and worked with Peter Thiel’s firm until 2017.
In 2021, Vance decided to enter the race for an Ohio senate seat, which was one of the most competitive GOP primaries that year. It was during his campaign that he apologized for previous comments he had made about Trump and started publicly supporting him, which resulted in Trump endorsing Vance for the position.
Who is Usha Vance?
Vance's wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, is set to address the convention Wednesday night shortly before her husband does.
She is a lawyer with a prestigious résumé that includes clerking for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. When Trump made his vice presidential announcement, Usha said she would leave her role at the corporate law firm Munger Tolles & Olson.
A daughter of Indian immigrants, she grew up in a suburb of San Diego, according to the New York Times.
They reportedly met in 2013, when they were both students at Yale Law School.
Married since 2014, the couple has three children.
What’s Vance’s history with Trump?
Throughout his years in the public eye, Vance has drastically changed his tune on his feelings toward Trump.
Early in his career, Vance was vocal about his dislike for the former president. Throughout 2016, Vance told Charlie Rose he “never liked” Trump; wrote in a New York Times op-ed that Trump was “unfit for our nation’s highest office”; in an Atlantic op-ed described Trump as “cultural heroin”; said he couldn’t “stomach Trump” in an interview with NPR; and posted multiple tweets — since deleted but uncovered by CNN — that described Trump as “reprehensible” and confirmed Vance did not vote for him in the 2016 election.
Some of the most critical comments about Trump came from leaked Facebook messages between Vance and his former roommate in which Vance said Trump might be “America’s Hitler.”
Five years later, while running for the Ohio senate seat, Vance changed his tune. “I’ve been very open about the fact that I did say those critical things, and I regret them. I regret being wrong about the guy,” he told Fox News in 2021.
Last month, Vance reiterated that he “was wrong about Donald Trump.” In another interview with Fox News, he said, “He was a great president, and it's one of the reasons why I'm working so hard to make sure he gets a second term."
What's his voting record and stance on the issues?
Abortion: Vance describes himself on his campaign website as "100% pro-life" and has argued against rape and incest exceptions for abortion laws. He has specified that he does think there should be exceptions if the mother's life is in danger. He praised the Supreme Court for overturning Roe v. Wade and agreed with Trump that there shouldn't be a national abortion ban but that it should be left up to the states.
Climate change: Vance does not believe the climate crisis exists and has called electric vehicle production a “scam.” He is a strong supporter of the oil and gas industry and opposes wind and solar energy sources.
2020 election results: Vance does not accept the results of the 2020 presidential election, which was won by President Joe Biden. He told ABC News in February that if he were vice president at the time instead of Mike Pence, he would not have certified Biden's win.
Jan. 6: Vance has dismissed the idea that Trump was responsible for instigating the attack in which a mob stormed the Capitol at Trump's urging in an attempt to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election results.
Immigration: Similar to Trump, Vance wants to finish building a border wall and has said he opposes "every attempt to grant amnesty" to immigrants who come to the U.S. illegally.
LGBTQ rights: Vance opposed a bill protecting gay and interracial marriage rights, calling the legislation a "bizarre distraction" from other issues. He describes gender-affirming care for minors as “gruesome, irreversible operations.”
Military aid: Vance has openly been critical of the U.S. sending military aid to Ukraine. In an interview with former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, Vance said, "I’ve got to be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.” Vance has supported sending more funding to Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war.
