Trump's Vice Presidential Pick J.D. Vance... From Heuksujeo to the Future of the US GOP

From the Rust Belt... Overcoming a Difficult Family Background to Achieve Success

Former President Donald Trump, who is seeking re-election this November, has chosen J.D. Vance, a staunch conservative from the venture capital industry and a U.S. Senator from Ohio, as his running mate. Vance, 39 years old this year, is known as a self-made man who overcame a difficult family background in the Rust Belt, a declining industrial region. With this vice-presidential nomination, he has emerged as Trump’s successor. In the November election, he is expected to strengthen support among white working-class voters and bring a generational change to the Republican Party as a potential future presidential candidate.

On the 15th (local time), former President Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, that "after long consideration, reflection, and taking into account the great talents of many others, I have decided that the great Senator from Ohio, J.D. Vance, is the right person to serve as Vice President of the United States."

Vance, 39 years old and a first-term senator, gained fame with his 2016 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," which recounts his impoverished upbringing in the Appalachian region of southern Ohio. Once an "anti-Trump," he shifted to support former President Trump starting in 2018 and became friends with Trump’s eldest son. He is now a key "pro-Trump" figure in Congress, sharing most of Trump’s political views, including opposition to illegal immigration, downplaying the climate crisis, and advocating for an early end to the war in Ukraine.

Bloomberg News described this as "a signal of potential generational change in the Republican Party," adding that it "will bring a new voice to the GOP’s efforts to appeal to the working-class base that was once the foundation of the Democratic Party."

The Republican National Convention opened on the same day and will run until the 18th. Senator Vance is scheduled to deliver his vice-presidential acceptance speech on the 17th. Former President Trump will give his presidential acceptance speech on the 18th.