JD Vance, former US President Donald Trump’s running mate, has defended his 2021 remarks where he referred to Democratic politicians as a “bunch of childless cat ladies with miserable lives”.

JD Vance, who appeared on The Megyn Kelly Show on Friday, said “Obviously, it was a sarcastic comment. I’ve got nothing against cats. People are focusing so much on the sarcasm and not on the substance of what I actually said.”

“The simple point that I made is that having children, becoming a father, becoming a mother, I really do think it changes your perspective in a pretty profound way,” he told The Megyn Kelly Show.

“This is not about criticizing people who for various reasons don’t have kids. This is about criticizing the Democratic party for becoming anti-family and anti-child,” he said.

JD Vance had singled out Kamala Harris, now the Democratic Presidential nominee, among others during a 2021 interview and said those without offspring, especially “childless cat ladies”, had no “direct stake” in the country.

Speaking to Tucker Carlson on Fox News, he had said the US was being run by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.”

Vance’s comments have drawn sexism charges ahead of the US Presidential elections that the Republicans were touted to win until President Joe Biden bowed out from the race.

Kamala Harris’s lack of biological children has been regarded as an issue by the Republicans, but she has received support from politicians, celebrities, and from her own family. Her supporters also pointed out that no US president has ever physically given birth, since all have been men.

Kerstin Emhoff, the mother of Harris’ stepchildren, has slammed the attacks on the Vice President as “baseless” in a statement to CNN.

“For over 10 years, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has been a co-parent with Doug and I. I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it,” she said.

Vance, 39, was tapped by Trump days after a failed assassination attempt on the former president upended what had already been a chaotic presidential contest.

An old comment by Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance – suggesting childless women are less fit to govern – has sparked a volley of criticism, the latest snap coming from actor Jennifer Aniston.

Vance had singled out Kamala Harris, now the Democratic Presidential nominee, among others during a 2021 interview and said those without offspring, especially “childless cat ladies”, had no “direct stake” in the country.

Speaking to Tucker Carlson on Fox News, he had said the US was being run by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.”

“It’s just a basic fact. You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC; the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children. And how does it make any sense that we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it?” Vance was heard saying in the resurfaced clip.

Kamala Harris has two stepchildren, Cole and Ella, with her husband Doug Emhoff and his first wife Kerstin Emhoff.

Vance’s comments have drawn sexism charges ahead of the US Presidential elections that the Republicans were touted to win until President Joe Biden bowed out from the race.

Ms Aniston, pointing to her own infertility that she has been vocal about in the past, shared a screenshot of the clip on Instagram stories and said she couldn’t believe this was coming from a potential US vice president.

“All I can say is…Mr. Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day. I hope she will not need to turn to IVF as a second option. Because you are trying to take that away from her, too,” Ms Aniston wrote in her post.

Kamala Harris’s lack of biological children has been regarded as an issue by the Republicans, but she has received support from politicians, celebrities, and from her own family. Her supporters also pointed out that no US president has ever physically given birth, since all have been men.

Kerstin Emhoff, the mother of Harris’ stepchildren, has slammed the attacks on the Vice President as “baseless” in a statement to CNN.

“For over 10 years, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has been a co-parent with Doug and I. I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it,” she said.

“I love my three parents. How can you be ‘childless’ when you have cutie pie kids like cole and I,” wrote Ella, 25, on Instagram.

“It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad. My God, they went after ‘cat people,’ good luck with that,” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz told MSNBC.

“Now, what the hell?” asked talk show host Whoopi Goldberg.

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, speaks during Faith & Freedom Coalition’s God & Country Breakfast on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee.
| Photo Credit: AP

J.D. Vance, the Republican candidate for U.S. Vice President, weaved the story of his childhood struggle in a decrepit white working class community in Ohio into America First politics, vowing to regenerate manufacturing jobs in the country and avoid U.S. entanglement in global conflicts. “Our jobs were sent overseas and our children were sent to war,” Mr. Vance, 39, who has emerged as the poster boy of the American working class, told the Republican National Convention on Wednesday.

Also Read | U.K. Deputy PM dismisses ‘Islamist’ nuclear state jibe by Trump VP pick Vance

His Indian-origin wife Usha introduced the VP candidate — U.S. Senator from Ohio — at the convention as someone who realised the American dream. “He has the same ambition for all Americans,” she said recalling how Mr. Vance learnt to cook Indian vegetarian food and embraced her family of Indian immigrant parents and sister. “That JD and I could meet and fall in love is testament to this great country,” she said.

The couple met as classmates at Yale Law School. Mr. Vance blamed illegal inflow of people into the U.S. for a runaway crisis in housing and inflation even as he made it clear that immigration was integral to being American. “We are a people with a shared history and a shared future. In short, we are a nation… As part of that tradition, we welcome newcomers. When we allow newcomers into our American family, we allow them on our terms — that is the way we preserve the continuity of this project,” Mr. Vance said, pointing out that his wife’s family “genuinely enriched” the U.S.

Mr. Vance was raised by his grandmother who he said loved God and the F word. His single mother had fallen to addiction even as jobs and factories disappeared from the community to global trade. In his acceptance speech, Mr. Vance linked the decline of his family and the community directly to U.S. President Joe Biden.

Forgotten by rulers

“It was also a place that had been cast aside and forgotten by America’s ruling class in Washington. When I was in grade four, a career politician by the name of Joe Biden supported NAFTA — a bad trade deal that sent countless good jobs to Mexico. When I was a sophomore in high school that same career politician named Joe Biden gave China a sweetheart trade deal that destroyed even more good American middle class manufacturing jobs; when I was a senior in high school that same Joe Biden supported the disastrous invasion of Iraq and at each step of the way in small towns like mine and Ohio or next door in Pennsylvania or Michigan in States all across our country, jobs were sent overseas and our children were sent to war,” Mr. Vance said, as the crowd chanted “Joe must go.” The America First nationalism mobilised by Mr. Trump has found a perfect champion in Mr. Vance, who dialled up the anger against trade and war with his personal tales of struggle and survival. Mr. Vance’s 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy was a bestselling book and later a film.

Also Read | J.D. Vance introduces himself as Trump’s running mate and makes direct appeal to his native Rust Belt

Mr. Vance, who served as a marine in Iraq, said American soldiers would be sent to war only when they must. Allies will have to pay a fair share for joint defence, and there will be “no more free rides for nations that betray the generosity of the American tax payer”. The VP candidate has been a strong opponent of U.S. aid to Ukraine, and Mr. Trump has said Taiwan will have to pay the U.S. for its defence. “From Iraq to Afghanistan… America’s ruling class wrote the cheque and communities like mine paid the price,” said Mr. Vance, adding that a new Trump presidency will be focused on the welfare of the American working class.

Usha Chilukuri Vance, the wife of JD Vance, at the Republican National Convention said that neither JD Vance nor she expected to find themselves in this position on Thursday. “But it’s hard to imagine a more powerful example of the American Dream,” she added, introducing her husband after Donald Trump named him his running mate for the US presidential polls.

Future Second Lady Usha Vance: “Neither J.D. nor I expected to find ourselves in this position — but it’s hard to imagine a more powerful example of the American Dream.”

FULL REMARKS: pic.twitter.com/JJgdJbem0H

— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) July 18, 2024

Usha, born to immigrant parents from Andhra Pradesh, shared their story from the stage of the RNC. Recounting their first meeting and the journey that led them to this moment, she said “There was only one thing to do, to explain, from the heart, why I love and admire JD, why I stand here beside him today, and why he will make a great Vice President of the United States.”

She shared how they met at the law school, where JD was a “working-class student” who had “overcome childhood traumas” and served in Iraq as a Marine. “A tough Marine who had served in Iraq but whose idea of a good time was playing with puppies,” she said.

Usha shed light on the Ohio senator’s curious and enthusiastic approach to their differences when they first met, including his adaptation to her vegetarian diet and learning to cook Indian food from her mother. “Although he is a meat and potato kind of guy, he adapted to my vegetarian diet and learnt to cook Indian food from my mother,” she said.

JD and Usha Vance met at Yale Law School and married in 2014. The couple has three children together – Ewan, 6, Vivek, 4, and Mirabel, 2.

JD Vance also delivered a powerful speech at the RNC, talking about his roots in small-town Ohio and the economic challenges communities across the Rust Belt faced. He spoke about the struggles of small towns in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and other states, where jobs have been sent overseas and children have been sent to war.

He vowed to be a champion for these forgotten communities, promising to never forget his humble beginnings. “I promise you this: I will be a vice president who never forgets where he came from,” JD said.

“To the people of Middletown, Ohio, and all the forgotten communities in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and every corner of our nation, I will fight for you, I will stand with you, and I will never forget the struggles we face.”

JD Vance introduced himself to a national audience on July 17 after being chosen as Donald Trump’s running mate, sharing the story of his hardscrabble upbringing and making the case that his party best understands the challenges facing struggling Americans.

Speaking to a packed arena at the Republican National Convention, the Ohio senator cast himself as a fighter for a forgotten working class, making a direct appeal to the Rust Belt voters who helped drive Mr. Trump’s surprise 2016 victory and voicing their anger and frustration.

“In small towns like mine in Ohio, or next door in Pennsylvania, or in Michigan, in states all across our country, jobs were sent overseas and children were sent to war,” he said.

“To the people of Middletown, Ohio, and all the forgotten communities in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and every corner of our nation, I promise you this,” he said. “I will be a vice president who never forgets where he came from.”

The 39-year-old Ohio senator is a relative political unknown, having served in the Senate for less than two years. He rapidly morphed in recent years from a bitter critic of the former President to an aggressive defender and is now positioned to become the future leader of the party and the torch-bearer of Mr. Trump’s “Make America Great Again” political movement.

The first millennial to join the top of a major party ticket, Mr. Vance enters the race as questions about the age of the men at the top — 78-year-old Mr. Trump and 81-year-old President Joe Biden — have been high on the list of voters’ concerns. He also joins Mr. Trump after an assassination attempt against the former President — in which Mr. Trump came perhaps millimetres from death or serious injury — underscoring the importance of a potential successor.

But Mr. Trump’s decision to choose Mr. Vance wasn’t about picking a running mate or the next Vice President, said Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, who introduced the senator at a fundraiser earlier on July 17.

“Donald Trump picked a man in J.D. Vance that is the future of the country, the future of the Republican Party, the future of the America First movement,” he said.

In his speech, Mr. Vance shared his story of growing up poor in Kentucky and Ohio, his mother addicted to drugs and his father absent. He later joined the Marines, graduated from Yale Law School, and went on to the highest levels of U.S. politics — an embodiment of an American dream he said is in now in short supply.

“Never in my wildest imagination could I have believed that I’d be standing here tonight,” he said.

Mr. Vance gained prominence following the publication of his bestselling 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” which tells the story of his blue-collar roots. The book became a must-read for those seeking to understand the cultural forces that propelled Trump to the White House that year. Mr. Vance spent years as a Trump critic, assailing the former President with insults, before he changed his mind.

Mr. Vance, who had never attended, let alone spoken at a previous Republican convention, spent much of his speech talking up Mr. Trump and going after Mr. Biden, using his relative youth to draw a contrast with the 81-year-old President.

Mr. Vance says he was in fourth grade when “a career politician by the name of Joe Biden supported NAFTA, a bad trade deal that sent countless good American manufacturing jobs to Mexico.”

“Joe Biden has been a politician in Washington as long as I’ve been alive,” he added. “For half a century, he’s been a champion of every single policy initiative to make America weaker and poorer.”

The crowd inside the convention hall welcomed Vance warmly. They erupted into chants of “Mamaw!” in honour of his grandmother, and chanted “J.D.’s Mom!” after he introduced his mother, a former addict who has been sober for 10 years.

Mr. Vance was introduced on July 17 night by his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, who talked of the stark difference between how she and her husband grew up — she was a middle-class immigrant from San Diego, and he is from a low-income Appalachian family. She called him “a meat and potatoes kind of guy” who respected her vegetarian diet and learned to cook Indian food for her mother.

Mr. Trump, again wearing a bandage over his injured ear, watched Mr. Vance speak from his family box and was often seen smiling.

Most Americans — and Republicans — didn’t know much about Mr. Vance before July 17 night. According to a new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which was conducted before Trump selected the freshman senator as his choice, 6 in 10 Americans don’t know enough about him to have formed an opinion. That includes 61% of Republicans.

Democrats have attacked Mr. Vance for his past support for a national abortion ban, his criticism of U.S. involvement in Ukraine, and his eagerness to blame Democrats for Trump’s assassination attempt. But the young senator steered clear of such controversies in his remarks, which were light on the red-meat conservative attacks that convention audiences typically expect.

Mr. Biden’s campaign responded with a blistering statement calling Vance “unprepared, unqualified, and willing to do anything Donald Trump demands.”

“Tonight, J.D. Vance, the poster boy for Project 2025, took center stage. But it’s working families and the middle class who will suffer if he’s allowed to stay there,” said Michael Tyler, Biden campaign communication director.

Convention organizers had stressed a theme of unity, even before Mr. Trump survived an attempted assassination at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13. Mr. Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election and the subsequent attack on the U.S. Capitol, officials said, would be absent from the stage.

But that changed with former White House official Peter Navarro, who was greeted with a standing ovation hours after being released from a Miami prison where he served four months for defying a subpoena from the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of the former president’s supporter.

“If they can come for me, if they can come for Donald Trump, be careful. They will come for you,” he said in a fiery speech, comparing his legal troubles to those faced by Mr. Trump, who earlier this year was convicted on 34 felony charges in his criminal hush money trial.

Also spotted on the floor of the convention: Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign chair, and Roger Stone, who were both convicted as part of the investigation into Russia’s meddling in that election. Trump pardoned both Manafort and Stone.

Beyond Mr. Vance’s primetime speech, the Republican Party focused on July 17 on a theme of American global strength.

In a particularly powerful moment, the relatives of service members killed during Mr. Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan took the stage, holding photographs of their loved ones.

Christy Shamblin, whose daughter-in-law Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee died in the attack, spoke of the six hours she said Trump spent with her family in Bedminster, New Jersey and “spoke to us in a way that made us feel understood.”

“Donald Trump carried the weight for a few hours with me. And for the first time since Nicole’s death I felt I wasn’t alone in my grief,” she said.

Herman Lopez, whose son, Marine Cpl. Hunter Lopez, was among those killed, read aloud the names of all 13 U.S. service members who died in the Aug. 26, 2021, attack.

Also featured were the parents of Omer Neutra, one of eight Americans still being held hostage in Gaza after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

His parents, Ronen and Orna, said Mr. Trump called them after their son, a soldier in the Israeli army, was captured, and offered support. As they spoke, the crowd chanted “Bring them home!”

New Delhi:

Usha Chilukuri Vance, wife of JD Vance, Donald Trump’s vice-presidential pick, spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee where she revealed her husband’s culinary skills in Indian cuisine.

Describing him as a “meat and potatoes” kind of guy, she mentioned his newfound ability to cook Indian food.

Recalling their meeting at Yale Law School, Ms Vance portrayed their relationship as “a testament to this great country”.

“We started as friends,” she said. “He was then, as he is now, the most interesting person I knew – a working class guy who had overcome childhood traumas that I could barely fathom to end up at Yale Law School, a tough marine who had served in Iraq, but who enjoys spending his leisure time playing with puppies and watching the movie ‘Babe’.”

Ms Vance also highlighted the diverse backgrounds they come from.

JD Vance has acknowledged the influence of his Hindu wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, on his personal and spiritual life.

In an interview with Fox News, he explained how his wife’s Hindu faith had been pivotal in guiding him through challenges and reconciling his Catholic beliefs.

Previously, JD Vance has often credited Usha for supporting his success. During a 2020 interview with The Megyn Kelly Show, Vance described his wife as a “strong female voice” that grounds him. “Usha definitely brings me back to earth. If I get a little too confident or proud, I remind myself that she’s way more accomplished than I am,” he had said.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is seen during the Republican National Convention on July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee.
| Photo Credit: AP

Analysis

Leaders, including many former critics and challengers, rallied behind Donald Trump on the second day of the Republican National Convention, several of them attributing to god his escape from an assassination attempt on July 13. Several of them cited the Bible, and suggested a divine plan in Mr. Trump’s leadership of the party. “I saw President Trump, a dear friend escape death by mere inches, and my thoughts immediately turned to the book of Isaiah..That says no weapon formed against you shall prosper,” Ben Carson, an African American leader who was an opponent of Mr. Trump in the 2016 primary and later a member of his Cabinet, said.

Two other primary opponents of Mr. Trump in 2016, Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, and Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders were also among those cited godly plans in Mr. Trump’s escape from death, which has become a key talking point among a section of his supporters, as is his show of courage in the aftermath. “The most repeated phrase in the Bible is, ‘do not be afraid ‘or ‘fear not.’ It appears 365 times in scripture,” said Mr. Carson.

Mr. Trump’s daughter-in-law and co-chair of the RNC, Lara Trump cited Proverbs to draw a stark contrast between the nominee and his opponents: “The wicked flee when no man pursues; But the righteous are bold as a lion.”

“It (Mr. Trump’s escape) reminds us that the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind is in the hands of god..” said Mr. Rubio, thanking Mr. Trump for “transforming our party”. Mr. Rubio has travelled a long way from his stiff challenge to Mr. Trump in 2016.

Far from resisting the transformation of the party under Mr. Trump, both Senators are now among the loudest cheerleaders of it. Mr. Cruz, who was the last standing primary challenger to Mr. Trump in 2016, all the way until the Convention, was effusive in his praise for him this time. “I worked hand-in-hand with President Trump to reduce illegal immigration to this country to a 45-year low. We will do it again,” he said, blaming illegal immigrants for crimes in the U.S.

Indian origin leaders

Two people of Indian origin — former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Ohio businessman Vivek Ramaswamy — featured among the evening speakers, at the Convention of a party that is accused by its critics of fanning nativism among the country’s white population. Mr. Ramaswamy spoke on American identity, counting legal immigration as integral to it while arguing illegal immigration is in conflict with it. “America is built on the rule of law. You cannot enter this country by breaking the law.”

Ms. Haley, whose primary challenge to Mr. Trump collapsed early on, made a turnaround by pledging her absolute endorsement of his candidacy. She said she was not in agreement with Mr. Trump on all issues but curiously bracketed her militarist, interventionist foreign policy doctrine with his largely non-interventionist one.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who also made a short-lived attempt for nomination this time, fell behind Mr. Trump. Both Ms. Haley and Mr. DeSantis sought to keep their endorsement of Mr. Trump more as an opposition to the Democrats and the combination of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on their ticket. In fact, Ms. Haley spent a considerable portion of her speech to portray the danger of Ms. Harris — whose mother was an Indian immigrant — ending up as President if Mr. Biden were to be elected again.

Former US President Donald Trump has picked JD Vance, a Republican senator, as his running mate for the 2024 presidential election. On his Truth Social platform, Trump said that after lengthy deliberation and thought, and “considering the tremendous talents of many others”, he decided Vance was best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States.

According to a source, the Republican nominee called the Ohio senator on Monday to offer him the vice presidential post just 20 minutes before making the announcement. The two met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on Saturday before the rally where Trump was shot at.

Vance and Trump share similar views on issues such as immigration and trade.

Why Trump chose JD Vance

Donald Trump, recently, spent months evaluating potential running mates, observing how they performed on TV, at fundraisers and rallies. Some contenders accompanied him to his criminal trial in New York, while others joined him at the debate last month. The debate was known for President Joe Biden’s poor performance, which led to calls for him to step down and let a younger candidate take his place.

Trump’s choice of JD Vance as his running mate is a strategic move to energise his loyal base. Vance has established himself as a leader who can carry Trump’s mantle into the future, thanks to his frequent appearances on the conservative media circuit and his willingness to spar with reporters on Capitol Hill.

In his announcement post, Trump praised Vance for his dedication to American workers and farmers, saying he “will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for” in Midwestern states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Minnesota, as per AP.

Vance and Trump also regularly talk over the phone.

The former president has even complimented the senator’s looks, comparing him to a young Abraham Lincoln.

Vance was once a vocal critic of Donald Trump, labelling him “a total fraud,” an “idiot”, “a moral disaster”, and even “America’s Hitler.”

However, as Trump’s political fortunes soared, Vance’s perspective shifted dramatically. Despite his early scepticism, Vance later praised Trump’s presidency, crediting him with “delivering peace and prosperity.”

This change in stance led to Trump endorsing him during his 2022 Senate bid.

Now a steadfast Trump loyalist, Vance has actively defended him against criminal and civil charges and questioned the 2020 election results.

JD Vance, who has been named former US President Donald Trump’s running mate, stirred a controversy after he said that that UK under Labour might be the first “truly Islamist” country with nuclear weapons.

Vance said he had been discussing with a friend which country would be the first “truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon”.

“Maybe it’s Iran, maybe Pakistan kind of counts, and then we sort of decided maybe it’s actually the UK since Labour just took over,” he said last week at a conference for UK Conservatives last week.

Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, meanwhile, played down Vance’s comments, saying he had a history of making “fruity” remarks.

Britain would work with whoever won November’s US presidential election, Angela Rayner said, adding that “I don’t recognise that characterisation”.

“We’re interested in governing on behalf of Britain, and also working with our international allies,” she said.

In one of his first interviews after being named the Vice Presidential pick, Vance also branded China the biggest threat to America, underscoring the likely hawkish stance of their administration toward Beijing if elected.

The Ohio Senator made the remarks in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday. When asked about the war in Ukraine, Vance said Trump would negotiate with Moscow and Kyiv to “bring this thing to a rapid close so America can focus on the real issue, which is China.”

“That’s the biggest threat to our country and we are completely distracted from it,” he said

Vance, 39, was tapped by Trump days after a failed assassination attempt on the former president upended what had already been a chaotic presidential contest.

JD Vance, Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick, has the support of former Trump presidential primary rival Vivek Ramaswamy.

Reminiscing the days of his law school, Mr Ramaswamy, an Indian-American entrepreneur, underscored how impressed he is with his “classmate” JD Vance getting the “strongest presidential ticket.”

“So proud of my friend, classmate, and fellow southwest Ohioan today. We used to watch Bengals games at the bar in law school, it’s awesome we’re now here a decade later with JD joining the strongest presidential ticket in our lifetime,” said Mr Ramaswamy.

“He’ll be an outstanding Vice President and I look forward to everything ahead for him and for our country,” Mr Ramaswamy added, who dropped out of the 2024 Republican presidential race after finishing fourth in the Iowa caucuses earlier.

So proud of my friend, classmate, and fellow southwest Ohioan today. We used to watch Bengals games at the bar in law school, it’s awesome we’re now here a decade later with JD joining the strongest presidential ticket in our lifetime. He’ll be an outstanding Vice President and I…

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) July 15, 2024

Donald Trump won the formal nomination Monday as the Republican presidential candidate and picked a right-wing loyalist for his running mate, kicking off a triumphalist party convention in the wake of the weekend’s failed assassination attempt.

A White House candidate often chooses a vice presidential running mate who can appeal to new categories of voters or compensate for acknowledged weaknesses in terms of image or policy.

Even if his octogenarian rival Joe Biden appears to be suffering more than him from advanced age, Trump knows he is no spring chicken at 78.

By picking Mr Vance, who at 39 is barely half Trump’s age — and the first millennial on a major US party presidential ticket — he could neutralize what had been the relatively youthful advantage of Biden’s vice president, 59-year-old Kamala Harris.

Mr Vance, who was once a fierce Trump antagonist, has made a U-turn to establish himself as one of the billionaire’s most ardent defenders.

He has deleted earlier tweets critical of Trump and instead passionately embraced his ideas, advocating a radical anti-immigration fight and uncompromising economic protectionism.

Vance’s 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” was extolled by some as a window into the lives and troubles of the white working class — and their support for Trump.

(With agency inputs)