JD Vance, Trump’s VP pick: Five things to know about the former marine and author

JD Vance once said Donald Trump could be ‘America’s Hitler’ but has since morphed into a strong ally — with a rich and powerful backer.

US Senator from Ohio and Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance gives a thumbs up as he arrives during the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

JD Vance is Donald Trump’s pick for vice president. The senator, who became famous for Hillbilly Elegy, a memoir about his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, has since blazed a political path for himself as a staunch conservative and Trump ally.

Here are five things you need to know about Mr Vance.

1. He gained prominence as a bestselling author.

Hillbilly Elegy, a rumination on the problems facing his hometown and growing up in working-class America, became a commercial smash, and later was a Ron Howard-directed film. The memoir helped Vance pitch himself to voters as he began to rise in politics.

2. He used to be a critic of Trump.

Mr Vance in 2016 said Mr Trump could be “America’s Hitler.” But since then, the senator has morphed into a strong ally of Mr Trump. He has echoed Mr Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was rigged.

Vance promoting his memoir Hillbilly Elegy. Picture: Naomi McColloch

The cover of Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance.

3. He was in the Marine Corps.

Mr Vance joined the Marines after high school, and he has said that the experience gave him a distaste for unnecessary foreign entanglements. In the Senate, Mr Vance has helped lead the opposition to foreign aid for Ukraine. Trump, for his part, wasn’t as aggressive as Mr Vance on the issue.

4. He has only been in Congress for two years.

Mr Vance, 39 years old, was elected to the Senate in 2022. He defeated Tim Ryan, a Democrat and longtime Ohio representative, for the seat. Mr Trump endorsed Mr Vance in that election, helping him win during a crowded election cycle.

JD Vance is nominated for the office of Vice President on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

5. He was also a venture capitalist and knows wealthy donors.

Before coming to Congress, Mr Vance graduated from the Ohio State University and Yale Law School, and was a principal at venture capitalist Peter Thiel’s firm in 2016 and 2017. Thiel spent millions on Mr Vance’s Senate run. Those relationships have helped him hold his own among influential political donors.

The Wall Street Journal