MILWAUKEE — A Trump campaign spokesman spoke to Fox News Digital on Monday to explain why Trump ultimately chose Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate.
“We couldn’t be more excited about the selection of J.D. Vance as his running mate,” Caroline Sunshine, deputy communications director for Trump 2024, told Fox News Digital.
“You know, ever since President Trump came down that escalator in 2015, he’s said, I’m here to fight for America’s forgotten people. If you look at the Republican National Convention platform that our party just released, President Trump was heavily involved in drafting it, and at the top it says it’s dedicated to America’s forgotten people. J.D. Vance comes from the forgotten people community.”
Sunshine explained that Vance, who comes from a poor family in southwest Ohio, “has lived the American dream.”
Who is Trump’s running mate, JD Vance?
Former President Donald Trump and Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance. (Getty Images)
“He has served his country in the Marines,” Sunshine continued. “He enlisted shortly after the Twin Towers fell. Of course, he, like many of the veterans of the global war on terrorism of his generation, recognized that America should not be endlessly involved in foreign wars that are not in its own interest. He fully supports President Trump’s ambition to make this country prosperous, safe and strong again.”
Sunshine said part of Vance’s appeal is that he doesn’t pretend to identify with America’s “forgotten” people.
“A lot of politicians stand up at the podium and pretend they know what it means to be a great person,” Sunshine said. “Kamala Harris acts like she’s from Oakland. They pretend they know what it means to be from somewhere. J.D. Vance actually comes from a community of forgotten men and women. He instinctively understands those issues and those pains and I think he’ll be a really great asset to President Trump.”
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Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance is greeted by supporters as he arrives on the first day of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 15, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Seeger)
Sunshine praised Vance for his ability to garner support in key Rust Belt battleground states that many experts believe could decide the election outcome.
““He’s an extraordinary American,” Sunshine said. “He’s a public servant. That’s important to remember: President Trump didn’t get into politics for personal gain. President Trump has served this country. And we’re fortunate to have a running mate like J.D. Vance who is of his ilk, who loves this country, who has served and sacrificed for this country.”
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Republican Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, who President Trump nominated to be vice president, arrives on the first day of the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 15, 2024. Delegates, politicians and Republican enthusiasts are gathering in Milwaukee for the annual convention that will culminate with former President Donald Trump accepting the party’s presidential nomination. The Republican National Convention will run from July 15-18. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Trump announced the selection of Vance, a one-time critic of Trump who is now a leading proponent of the America First movement, in a Truth Social post on Monday as Republican delegates gathered at the party’s convention site in Milwaukee.
“After lengthy deliberation and consideration, and taking into account many other incredible talents, I have determined that the person best qualified to serve as Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio,” Trump wrote.
Trump stressed that on the campaign trail, Vance will “focus on the people he fought so well for – American workers and farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and far beyond.”
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Donald Trump on Monday nominated J.D. Vance as his 2024 presidential running mate. (Getty Images)
The Biden campaign quickly began attacking Vance on social media.
“Trump has selected far-right MAGA extremist JD Vance as his running mate,” Biden-Harris HQ said. Post to X“Vance repudiated the 2020 election, supported a nationwide abortion ban and voted against access to in vitro fertilization.”
“Here’s the story on J.D. Vance,” Biden campaign account Post to X, He also included fundraising links: “He talks big about workers, but now he and Trump are pushing for higher taxes on middle-class families and more tax cuts for the wealthy.”
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.
