Top Republicans warned Trump on JD Vance

Several leading Republicans warned Donald Trump not to pick JD Vance as his running mate, ­arguing he was untested.

Senior Republicans tried to dissuade Donald Trump from picking JD Vance as his running mate. Picture: Getty Images

Several leading Republicans warned Donald Trump not to pick JD Vance as his running mate, ­arguing he was untested and that several previous comments could undermine the campaign.

Once a so-called “never Trumper”, Senator Vance previously described the former president as “America’s Hitler” but has since come back into the fold. He is said to be especially close to Don Trump Jr, the former president’s eldest son.

Senator Vance, 39, has represented his home state of Ohio for less than two years. On Mr Trump’s plane to Milwaukee for the Republican convention two weeks ago, Lindsey Graham is reported to have lobbied against the senator, arguing he was too inexperienced to be vice-president.

Like others who contacted Mr Trump, Senator Graham argued Florida senator Marco Rubio would be a better bet and would be more likely to attract support from the Hispanic community, which could determine the outcome of the election in some states.

Other leading party figures, as well as donors, are believed to have made the same case, suggesting ­either Senator Rubio or Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin would be a stronger choice.

The former president is understood to have settled on Senator Vance some weeks before, however. He listened to each of those advocating for other candidates but was not swayed.

Senator Vance has had a difficult start to being a running mate. He has been attacked for previous comments about childless women, while emails and text messages he sent to a friend between 2014 and 2017, in which he attacked Mr Trump’s “racism” and called him a “morally reprehensible human being”, have also surfaced.

Mr Trump put loyalty at the top of his list of priorities, and appears to have accepted Senator Vance’s change of heart.

Some who tried to persuade him to pick an alternative candidate pointed out Senator Vance brought little to the campaign in terms of new voters. Those close to the Trump campaign say states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, all of which are likely to be pivotal, are part of the rust belt, the post-industrial region of the US, and are similar to Ohio.

Mr Trump told a meeting in Milwaukee that selecting Senator Vance had been like choosing a candidate on The Apprentice, the reality television show he used to host, according to The Washington Post. He also said his running mate was “going to be a superstar in the future”.

Senator Vance is already a strong contender for the Republican nomination in 2028, which may also be making some senior party insiders nervous.

Senator Vance’s wife, Usha, is also reported to have been critical of Mr Trump. Unnamed friends told The New York Times she “found the incursion on the Capitol, and Mr Trump’s role in it, to be deeply disturbing”.

The Times