JD Vance: Marine Corps veteran, bestselling author, US Senator- 10 things to know about Trump's running mate

Fist-up with a bandaged ear, slow-walking amid tight security and chants of “fight, fight”- that’s how former United States President Donald Trump arrived on the first day of the Republican National Convention on Monday (Jul 15). Apart from this powerful imagery, Trump also played a power move (as many believe) by announcing JD Vance as his running matefor the 2024 Presidential Elections.

The 39-year-old Ohio Senator, who once feared Trump could become “America’s Hitler” will now be the new face of Republican party campaigns.

Soon after the announcement, Vance’s wife- an Indian-origin lawyer, Usha Chilukuri also started trending on social media. While there’s a lot of buzz on theOhio Senatorand his wife’s interracial marriage and Usha’s Hindu roots, there’s more to Vance’s personality which makes him a tough opponent to Vice PresidentKamala Harris.

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JD Vance: 10things to know about Trump’s VP pick

Vance grew up in Middletown, Ohio, and joined the US Marines after high school. He alsoservedas a combat journalist and public relations officer during the Iraq War. Here’s more on JD Vance:

1. Donald’s namesake

JD Vance was born James Donald Bowman in August 1984 in Middletown, Ohio. So apparently, Republicans have two Donalds at the helm of the 2024 presidential election campaign.

2. Best-selling author

Vance’s memoir, Hillbilly Elegy was published in June 2016. The book argued that the decline of post-industrial America was due in large part to the social pathologies of the white working class, rather than the decline of the industrial economy in the US.

“There is a lack of agency here [in Middletown] - a feeling that you have little control over your life and a willingness to blame everyone but yourself,” Vance wrote.

3. How his book accelerated Trump’s rise

“To understand me, you must understand that I am a Scots-Irish hillbilly at heart,” Vancewrote in Hillbilly Elegy. The book was released in 2016, the same year the former presidentfirst took office, and the book was seen as an insightful look into rural America, which reportedly contributed to Trump's rise.

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4. It all started at Yale

Vance went to Yale Law School in 2010, where he met Usha Chilukuri, his wife. The couple married in 2014 and held a separate Hindu ceremony. The couple now have three children.

5. In 2016, Vance was a critic of Trump

During the 2016 election, Vance emerged as a vocal critic of Donald Trump: “I’m a Never Trump guy,” he told Charlie Rose in October 2016. “My god what an idiot,” he posted about Trump that same month.

6. He regrets “being wrong” about Trump

“I regret being wrong about the guy,” Vance said about Trump several days later on the campaign trail.

“I think he was a good president, I think he made a lot of good decisions for people, and I think he took a lot of flak.” He later added: “He’s the best president of my lifetime.”

7. Critic of US support to Ukraine

Vance is a leading critic of USsupport for Ukraine. “I got to be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another,” Vance told Steve Bannon in an interview in 2022.

8. He sees ‘culture was as class war’

He believes that “the culture war is class war”, and that pushing back against the cultural values of progressive elites is necessary to advance the economic and political interests of the working class. In the Senate,he has introduced bills criminalising gender-affirming care for transgender kids and a crackdown on affirmative action policies at colleges and universities against the so-calledculture war.

He alsopublicly supports a 15-week abortion ban with exceptions for rape, incest and threats to the life of the mother.

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9. 'If I had been vice president...'

Vance once said that if he had been in Mike Pence’s shoes in 2021, he would not have certified the results of the 2020 election: “If I had been vice president, I would have told the states, like Pennsylvania, Georgia and so many others, that we needed to have multiple slates of electors and I think the U.S. Congress should have fought over it from there”.

10. Flag bearer of ‘New Right’

In the Senate, Vance has emerged as Trump's defender and the flag-bearer of the “New Right,” a movement of young conservatives trying to push the Republican Party in a more populist, nationalist and culturally conservative direction.

(With inputs from agencies)