JD Vance picked as Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate

Junior senator from Ohio is a relative political novice, but brings with him star power and cult of personality

Donald Trump on Monday announced he had chosen JD Vance, a young senator from Ohio, to be his running mate in the November 5 election, as the former president cemented absolute control over a Republican Party that officially nominated him as its candidate just two days after a gunman tried to kill him.

Mr Vance, 39, was once a critic of Mr Trump who had called his new boss an "idiot" and privately compared him to Adolf Hitler - before changing tack and becoming one of the former president's fiercest advocates.

“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator JD Vance of the great state of Ohio,” Mr Trump said in a message on his Truth Social platform.

On Monday night, Mr Trump appeared on the convention floor with a white bandage covering his right ear.

The former president waved to the crowd, with a subdued smile on his face as he sat in a VIP box surrounded by his family and other prominent Republicans including Mr Vance, the first time the two have been seen together since they became the official Republican ticket.

Mr Vance rose to fame when he wrote Hillbilly Elegy, a memoir that chronicles his difficult upbringing in rural Ohio.

Donald Trump attends the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee - his first public appearance since he was shot through the ear at a rally on Saturday. AFP

The book earned praise for its controversial portrayal of the frustrations of the white working class.

Mr Vance will help Mr Trump to secure Ohio, which has 18 electoral votes. He also helps connect with a younger generation of voters.

Donald Trump Jr is said to have championed Mr Vance's case.

“I think he is an incredible pick,” the younger Mr Trump told CNN. “I think no one is more articulate than [him].”

President Joe Biden said on X that Mr Vance talks a "big game" about helping working people while also seeking to raise taxes on them.

"He and Trump want to raise taxes on middle-class families while pushing more tax cuts for the rich," Mr Biden said.

Rodney Mutterspaw, a former police chief and city councilman in Mr Vance's native Middletown, Ohio, said the pick makes him "excited" about voting for the Republican ticket in November.

"I think he can see both sides of issues, and most politicians can't. I think that's why he'll be successful at what he does if they're elected," Mr Mutterspaw told The National.

"Give [Mr Vance] a chance and listen to his message. And for the people that hate Trump, I get it, but listen to his message instead of who's he partnering with," he added.

Mr Mutterspaw knows Mr Vance personally, and the Ohio senator wrote a forward for the former police chief's book.

Mr Vance drew criticism at the weekend following the attempted assassination of Mr Trump in Pennsylvania. He blamed the shooting on the Biden campaign's messaging that has said Mr Trump is a would-be dictator.

“That rhetoric led directly to President Trump's attempted assassination," Mr Vance wrote on X.

Mr Trump, 78, and Mr Biden, 81, are locked in what opinion polls show to be a tight election rematch, though Mr Trump is ahead in swing states. The former president has not committed to accepting the results of the election were he to lose.

Tens of thousands of Republicans have descended on Milwaukee, a city of just over 500,000 on the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin for this week's Republican National Convention.

The former president had long ago locked up the nomination as he won 2,265 delegates during the primaries, but it became official on Monday when enough delegates officially cast their ballots.

As state delegates pledged their support for Mr Trump inside the Fiserv Forum arena in downtown Milwaukee, protesters gathered outside the security zone to rally on a variety of issues including abortion, immigration and Israel's war in Gaza.

Speculation swirled around who Mr Trump's pick might be in the days leading up to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and Mr Vance were thought to have been serious contenders.

Mr Trump, who survived an assassination attempt on Saturday, has expressed a desire to unite the country in after the weekend's terrifying events.

A man, 20, fired several shots during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. One of the bullets grazed the former president's right ear and another killed a rally goer.

The incident has shaken the country but Mr Trump, who spent several hours at a medical centre on Saturday night, was determined to attend the convention as scheduled.

Relations between him and his first vice presidential pick Mike Pence soured after he refused to overturn the 2020 election results.

Mr Pence ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination in 2024.

News of Mr Vance's selection was cheered by delegates from Ohio at the convention.

“This brings a great American story – he served in the military, he's extremely articulate … this is a new generation of leaders in this country and JD Vance is going to be the next vice president of the United States,” Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said on CNN.

Ellie Sennett in Washington contributed to this story