In a new interview, former President Trump dismissed past criticism from his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), saying the senator “didn’t know me” at the time.
When asked by Fox News’ Jesse Watters why he picked Vance as his vice president, Trump replied, “There’s always been good chemistry between them.”
“JD wasn’t really my type at first, but he didn’t know me. And then as we got to know each other, he liked me more than he probably liked anybody,” Trump said. Pre-recorded interviewsaired Monday night on “Jesse Waters Primetime.”
“And he defended me. And he fought for working people as much as I fought for working people,” the president added. “We were a natural fit.”
The former president explained why he endorsed Vance for the 2022 Senate race, citing the senator’s memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” which details his experiences growing up surrounded by poverty and drug addiction in Ohio.
“And it was all about men working among women and how they’re not being treated fairly. And he was right in that regard,” Trump told Watters. “And I understood that probably better than anybody. And we’ve had a great relationship. And he had some serious competition.”
Shortly after Trump announced Vance as his running mate, critics were quick to point out the senator’s past attacks on the former president.
Vance has previously called Trump an “idiot” and “toxic”, and in 2016 described him as a “cultural heroin”. An article published in The Atlantic magazine.
“He makes some people feel better temporarily, but he can’t cure them, and one day they will realize that,” he wrote at the time.
In a 2016 social media post, Vance also addressed the revelations about Trump’s infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, writing, “Fellow Christians, you are all watching us. May the Lord help us as we apologize for this man.”
he Trump too As a “sarcastic jerk” and an “American Hitler.”
Vance later apologized for his comments and said he was “wrong” about Trump.
“I’ve been very clear on this … Look, I was wrong about him,” he said in a May interview on CNN when asked about his earlier statements. “I didn’t think he’d be a good president … And I’m very proud to have been proven wrong. That’s one of the reasons I’m working so hard to get him elected.”
