Trump Picks J.D. Vance as VP Candidate After Reality TV-Style Drama

Former President Donald Trump picked Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) as his running mate Monday after bringing his veepstakes down to the wire ahead at the RNC in Milwaukee.

He’d built tension around the upcoming pick for his running mate through the day with the field being whittled down one by one in the hours before announcing on Truth Social he’d chosen the 39-year-old Vance.

“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,” he wrote. “J.D.’s book, ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ became a Major Best Seller and Movie, as it championed the hardworking men and women of our Country.”

The drama began when sources confirmed to multiple outlets that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who was already in Milwaukee, had received a lunchtime call from the Trump campaign informing him he wouldn’t be joining the ticket.

Mere minutes after news of Rubio’s call came out, Fox News and CBS News reported that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, also already in Wisconsin, had received a similar call, further shrinking Trump’s list of potential picks.

Multiple sources familiar with the process had earlier told The Daily Beast that Rubio’s status as a Florida resident became a problem as talks progressed, given that the Constitution forbids running mates from the same state. Rubio had said he would be willing to change his residence.

Burgum had been backed by Rupert Murdoch, the billionaire media mogul, who was reported to have been personally lobbying Trump to pick the former tech executive.

That left Sen. Vance (R-OH) as the clear favorite to be called on to join the ticket, with other longshot possibilities including Nikki Haley, Trump’s longest lasting primary foe, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, having a slimmer of a chance.

Both Haley and Youngkin would have been seen as more moderate picks compared to Vance, who often uses brash, aggressive rhetoric similar to that of the former president.

How J.D. Vance Went From Liberal Darling to Trump’s VP PickJ.D. POWER

Mini Racker, Nico Hines

That sort of rhetoric is somewhat new for Vance, however. He was once a moderate Republican, who was fawned over by some in liberal circles. He called Trump an “idiot” and said he was “reprehensible” during the 2016 campaign, and privately compared him to Hitler.

Now, however, Vance is a staunch defender of the former president, with some serious ties to deep-pocketed donors. Specifically, it was the conservative billionaire Peter Thiel who bankrolled Vance’s ascendency to the U.S. Senate and his place on the presidential ticket is sure to garner some extra dough to Trump’s camp—money that’s desperately needed.

Vance is also a pal with the 46-year-old Donald Trump Jr., to the degree they reportedly talk and text “nearly daily.” The president’s son appeared to be thrilled with his dad’s pick on Monday.

“President Trump has one of the most dynamic, young leaders in the country in [Vance],” he posted to X, adding that Burgum and Rubio were also both “incredible patriots.”

It’s been rumored Don Jr.’s relationship with Vance may have been what got him over the line as VP. Even if there was no behind-closed-doors convincing, the president’s son has sung Vance’s praises for months—ramping up his fawning as the veepstakes came to a close.

“Stop what you’re doing and watch this right now if you want to know what America First is all about,” Don Jr. posted to X last week, sharing a clip of Vance speaking at a National Conservatism event. A week earlier, he outright declared on his podcast that Vance would be his VP pick if the decision were his.

“If we’re talking the VP stakes, what are you guys thinking right now?” he asked on a live chat feed of his listeners. “You know, everyone knows, I’ve sort of been for JD Vance.”

Perhaps we’ll know more about the younger Trump’s influence if his dad successfully returns to the White House. On the same podcast episode, Don Jr. suggested that Burgum, who he called a “smart guy,” would make a great Energy secretary—a position he may soon hold should Trump top Biden.

In that episode, Don Jr. added that Rubio was too much of a Washington insider to be a solid running mate for his dad.

“And so, there is something about having someone from outside of the establishment to sort of further protect you from that establishment,” he said.

Neither Rubio nor Burgum appeared to be too upset by their snub. Mere minutes after Trump’s VP announcement, Rubio posted to social media, “#TrumpVance2024!!!”

Burgum delivered a more lengthy endorsement of the newly-formed ticket that didn’t include him.

“[Trump] is the strongest leader to enter the political arena in modern American history!” he wrote in a statement on X. “Today he selected @JdVance1 as his running mate, whose small town roots and service to country make him a powerful voice for the America First Agenda. I look forward to campaigning for the Trump-Vance ticket to Make America Great Again!”