J.D. Vance Is Donald Trump’s Pick for Vice President

On Monday, erstwhile president and existent Republican nominee for president Donald Trump officially named legislator J.D. Vance of Ohio arsenic his prime for vice president and moving mate.

“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of galore others, I person decided that the idiosyncratic champion suited to presume the presumption of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” wrote Trump successful a station connected Truth Social announcing his pick.

Vance has appeared connected the run trail successful enactment of Trump. In the hours pursuing the Trump rally shooting, Vance posted connected X saying, “The cardinal premise of the Biden run is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who indispensable beryllium stopped astatine each costs. That rhetoric led straight to President Trump's attempted assassination.”

Vance, however, wasn’t ever a Trump supporter. But helium has agelong had connections to Silicon Valley done his erstwhile beingness arsenic a task capitalist, including to long-time Trump protagonist and capitalist Peter Thiel. Since winning his Senate contention successful 2022, Vance has travel retired arsenic an ardent Trump protagonist and a professional of large tech companies, and could play a cardinal relation successful shaping however a Trump medication would attack the industry.

Vance’s 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy is astir increasing up successful poorness successful the Rust Belt, and helium branded himself arsenic idiosyncratic who understood–and could explain–the forces of discontent that led to Trump’s victory. At the time, Vance referred to himself arsenic a “never-Trump guy,” adjacent going truthful acold arsenic to speculate that Trump could beryllium “America’s Hitler” successful a 2016 substance message. The substance was made nationalist by a erstwhile Yale Law School classmate of Vance’s in 2022.

But since Trump’s 2016 victory, Vance has go much aligned with the erstwhile president. In a 2021 interview with Time, Vance explained his alteration of heart, saying helium “sort of got Trump’s issues from the beginning. I conscionable thought that this feline was not superior and was not going to beryllium capable to truly marque advancement connected the issues I cared about.”

During his Senate run successful 2022, Vance met with Trump, who aboriginal endorsed him. “Like immoderate others, J.D. Vance whitethorn person said immoderate not truthful large things astir maine successful the past, but helium gets it now, and I person seen that successful spades,” the former president said successful a connection astatine the time. Vance has since said that helium would not person voted to certify the results of the 2020 election, allowing states to nonstop aggregate electors, which erstwhile vice president Mike Pence refused to do.

Vance is nary alien to the satellite of tech and task capital, and has agelong had connections successful Silicon Valley. In 2020, helium started an Ohio-based task superior fund, Narya Capital. Billionaire and right-wing backer Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, Eric Schmidt, and Scott Dorsey were each investors. He besides worked for Thiel’s ain fund, Mithril Capital, and Thiel besides backed Vance’s palmy 2022 legislature run. In June, Vance attended a fundraising dinner for Trump, hosted by tech capitalist David Sacks.