TRANSCRIPT
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for us to determine our nominee for the office of Vice President of the United States, Senator JD Vance."
That was Brenna Bird, Attorney General of the US state of Iowa, formally announcing senator James David Vance as Donald Trump's pick for his vice-presidential running mate in the upcoming election.
The announcement at the Republican National Convention comes just days after an assassination attempt on Trump last Sunday, a shocking twist in what's been an unpredictable election year.
The 39 year-old Senator Vance is half the age of the 78 year-old former president and represents what many Republicans see as the future of the party.
Ohio delegate and senate candidate Bernie Moreno describes him as embodying the party's ethos.
"To JD Vance, America First is not just a slogan, it's his north star. He has followed it every moment of his life and career. He knows what it's like to live in poverty, forgotten by Washington politicians. He is dedicated to ensure that no American is ever forgotten again. "
So who exactly is the senator from Ohio?
JD Vance swims in a sea of contradictions, something he's written about in his bestselling memoir 'Hillbilly Elegy'.
He came from a working class family in Ohio and joined the U-S marines out of high school before attending the prestigious Yale Law School and eventually making his millions as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley.
Andrew Smith, a professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire, says despite Mr Vance's current elite status he's politically valuable for his connection to working class America.
"I think the thing that's critical for Vance, the thing that makes him attractive to Trump and to Republicans, is that he's got a real blue-collar background. And even though he is a Yale-trained lawyer, an Ivy League lawyer, he has maintained this kind of credibility and ties to more rural parts of America."
While he is a staunch conservative, JD Vance was previously a pronounced critic of Donald Trump, comparing the former President to Hitler and branding him as "cultural heroin".
However, he then changed tack and worked hard to gain Donald Trump as an ally for his 2022 senate race, embracing the claims of a stolen election and becoming one of Mr Trump's most ardent defenders.
He has now been a senator for Ohio since January 2023.
He was one of several vice-presidential hopefuls who defended Trump outside his hush-money trial in New York in May of this year, calling the trial a sham and a plot by the Democrats.
"I'm here for the simple reason to show support for a friend. I think this trial is absolutely ridiculous, I think it's a sham prosecution. What's going on inside that courtroom is a threat to American democracy, ladies and gentlemen. We cannot have a country where you get to prosecute your political opponents instead of persuading voters. Joe Biden's entire strategy is to try to distract from inflation at home and war overseas with this sham trial."
Following an attempt on Donald Trump's life on Sunday, Mr Vance wrote on X that he believes President Joe Biden's rhetoric "led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination."
There is currently no evidence that the shooter was inspired by Joe Biden or rhetoric from the Democrats, and President Biden has now denied inciting violence in an interview with NBC News.
"How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a (former) president says things like he (Trump) says. Do you just not say anything because it may incite somebody? Look, I have not engaged in that rhetoric."
Meanwhile, when asked about Donald Trump's vice-presidential pick, President Biden says he views Senator Vance as the same as Mr Trump when it comes to policy.
"He’s a clone of Trump on the issues. So I don’t see any difference.”
So what are JD Vance's policy positions?
The senator's website says he is intent on banning abortion, even in cases of incest and rape, although he says there should be exceptions if the mother's life is in danger.
He's strongly opposed to supplying military aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia, however he is an advocate for US support of Israel's war in Gaza and has been funded by pro-Israeli lobbyists.
Senator Vance is also convinced that climate change is not a significant threat and describes himself as 'not in alignment' with the scientific consensus on the issue.
He also harbours the same hard-line immigration views as Donald Trump and wants to finish the construction of the wall on the US southern border with Mexico, despite criticising the project in 2016 as an oversimplistic solution.
Professor Andrew Smith, of the University of New Hampshire, says Senator Vance's previous strong criticism of Donald Trump is unlikely to be an issue, as long as he remains loyal to the former president.
“Trump is a very transactional person and if somebody is useful to him now, he'll go along with them, and forget maybe what was said in the past. We've seen this happen with other people who've been critical of Trump. So I don't think that's going to hurt him, but I think everybody knows that if he should disagree with Trump in the future, then that might be more problematic. One of the things that Trump does value is loyalty.”
Meanwhile, Republicans are celebrating JD Vance's selection, with Georgia's Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson hopeful that the young senator and former marine will inspire undecided voters.
"I think it was a fantastic pick. You look at our state, Georgia, and we are a military state, JD Vance brings together the military vote, you can bring together maybe some people that are disheartened. He can certainly bring together the independents for us."
