Donald Trump has chosen Ohio US Senator JD Vance to be his vice presidential running mate as the Republican Party officially nominated the former president to run again for the White House at the start of the party’s national convention in Milwaukee.
“As Vice President, JD will continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our Troops, and will do everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The four-day convention opened in downtown Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum two days after Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, and hours after he secured a major legal victory when a federal judge dismissed one of Trump’s criminal prosecutions.
Trump is due to formally accept the party’s nomination in a prime-time address on Thursday and will challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 5 election.
Vance, 39, was a fierce Trump critic in 2016 but has since become one of the president’s staunchest defenders.
The selection of James David Vance, author of the bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy, could increase the odds of Trump supporters turning out for the November 5 election as the Ohio native is deeply popular with the Republican candidate’s base.
Trump, 78, and Biden, 81, are locked in what opinion polls suggest is a tight election rematch.
After the assassination attempt, Trump said he is revising his acceptance speech to emphasise national unity rather than highlight his differences with Biden.
“This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together. The speech will be a lot different, a lot different than it would’ve been two days ago,” Trump told the Washington Examiner.
The would-be assassin’s bullet clipped Trump’s right ear but did no major harm.
Earlier on Monday, Trump was handed a major legal victory when a federal judge dismissed one of his criminal prosecutions.
US District Court Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that the prosecutor who charged Trump with mishandling classified documents was unlawfully appointed to his role.
After receiving the votes of enough delegates to clinch the nomination on Monday, Trump will lead the Republican party in a third consecutive election.
The winner in 2016, he lost to current President Joe Biden in 2020.
He will face Biden again in November.
Trump has been the presumptive nominee for months but it was the vote of RNC delegates in Milwaukee that made it official on Monday afternoon.
He hit the necessary threshold with votes from his home state of Florida, announced by his son Eric.
Inside the convention hall, delegates flanked by “Make America Great Again” signs cheered wildly as state after state voted their support for Trump’s second term.
with AP
