Former US President Donald Trump has announced Ohio Republican Senator J.D. Vance will be his running mate in the 2024 Election.
He announced his decision on his platform Truth Social and will formally announce it at the Republican National Convention, currently being held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The RNC is a political convention held every four years for party delegates to select their nominees for president and vice president.
Speculation on his choice for Vice President – having last chosen Mike Pence in 2016 and 2020 – has been the topic of conversation in political circles for weeks.
Mr Vance, 39, gained public attention after his 2016 bestselling memoir, ‘Hillbilly Elegy’, which was made into a movie in 2020.
The Yale Law School graduate was initially a Trump critic, but changed his tune and later received an endorsement from President Trump when he ran in 2022.
In his announcement on Truth Social, President Trump wrote: ‘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 Best Seller and Movie, as it championed the hardworking men and women of our Country.’
On X yesterday, Mr Vance praised President Trump for his bravery after the assassination attempt days ago. He wrote: ‘Courageous, United, and Defiant. This is leadership.’
Trump’s appearance at the RNC today was his first he survived a terrifying assassination attempt at one of his rallies.
The former US President, 78, was photographed grabbing his ear after shots rang out, with blood dripping from his right ear and down his cheek.
After security staff rushed to protect him, the huddle stayed down for around a minute before Trump got up and raised his fist in defiance.
After getting on his feet, he was escorted off stage and into a vehicle, which drove him away from the scene.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, has been identified as the shooter. He was shot and killed shortly after firing rounds towards the former president.
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