In a new interview, former President Trump said he picked Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate because there was a “natural chemistry” between the two.
Asked why he chose Vance in an interview on Fox News’ “Jesse Waters Primetime” that aired Monday, Trump said, “We’ve always had good chemistry.”
“And originally J.D. for “He liked me,” Trump continued, noting that Vance was not a fan of his, “but he didn’t know me. And then when we got to know each other, he liked me more than anybody. And he defended me, and he fought for working people as much as I fought for working people. We just had a natural chemistry.”
In explaining his selection, Trump also noted that he had committed to endorsing Vance and his best-selling autobiography, “Hillbilly Elegy,” in 2022.
“I actually supported him in the Ohio Senate race, and he won against a very tough opponent,” Trump said. “He wrote a book, which you all know became a classic, and it was about working men and women and how they weren’t being treated fairly, and he was right about that. I understood that probably better than anybody. And we’ve had a great relationship.”
“He had some very strong competitors, all of them great people,” Trump said, referring to his shortlist of running mates, many of whom had more government experience than Vance.
When Watters pointed out that Vance “beat out a lot of fine people,” Vance nodded and repeated, “Very fine people.”
The interview, recorded on Saturday before Biden dropped out of the race, marks Trump’s first on-camera interview since the shooting and also the first on-camera interview with his running mate, Vance.
