Former President Donald Trump on Monday named his running mate in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
The presumptive Republican nominee's pick for Vice President is J.D. Vance (R-OH).
"After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others," Trump announced on Truth Social, "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 applauded Vance's service with the Marine Corps, his Yale Law School degree, business acumen and the movie based on his book "Hillbilly Elegy."
"Now, during the Campaign," Trump wrote, "[Vance] 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."
Trump, 78, made the announcement after months of speculation on the opening day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
In recent weeks two names were floated as top contenders: Vance (R-OH) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL).
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Vance, 39, has transitioned from a fierce Trump critic who once described him as "cultural heroin" to a full-on supporter who even donned a blue blazer and red tie to stand next to the former president at his historic criminal trial.
Rubio, 53, is a political veteran who challenged Trump for the Republican nomination in 2016 and has since reconciled with his political foe after a back-and-forth of insults over claims of spray tans, pants-wetting and small hands. Sources announced Rubio was informed Monday that he was dropped from consideration.
Other potential running mates options included Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and loyalists such as Kristi Noem, Elise Stefanik, and Kari Lake.
Noem's chances were likely doomed by an admission in her newly released book that she fatally and purposefully shot her family dog in a gravel pit.
