Vice President for Trump? Who is J.D. Vance and what he says about Ukraine

Contents

• Who are Trump's choices for running mate and when will he announce the decision
• From a 'never-Trump guy' to an ardent supporter: Who is J.D. Vance
• What is known about his attitude to Ukraine

Trump's search for a vice presidential candidate is entering the home stretch. The final decision will come on July 15 at the Republican Party convention in Milwaukee.

The leading contenders are Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, and Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota. All three of them are actively giving interviews, raising funds for the campaign, and have flown on Trump's plane.

But perhaps the most important thing is that all three have shown themselves as ardent supporters of the MAGA movement. This is an acronym for the political slogan Make America Great Again, with which Trump is running for election again.

The months-long selection process was organized with the mastery of an experienced puppeteer. Trump made dramatic statements, stirred up intrigue, and distracted voters from the numerous criminal charges against him. As a result, it is still unclear who will be his running mate.

Who are Trump's choices for running mate and when will he announce the decision

Trump has one rally left on his schedule before the party convention. It will take place today in western Pennsylvania, and some of his backers believe that he will announce the candidate there. However, Trump would like to keep the intrigue alive until the 15th.

"I’d love to do it (announce the candidate - ed.) during the convention. It would be very interesting," Trump said on Fox News.

All three - Vance, Rubio, and Burgum - have both supporters and critics.

Photo: Donald Trump may announce a vice presidential candidate today (Getty Images)

The Wall Street Journal calls the experienced Governor Burgum the best choice. But critics doubt his ability to increase Trump's appeal. Even he admits that signing a strict abortion ban in North Dakota could be a problem.

Rubio's supporters are confident that he will add votes from minority voters and sway swing states. Critics recall the 2016 campaign when he and Trump were irreconcilable rivals in the Republican primaries.

But the problem is different - Rubio needs to change his place of residence. Since November 2019, Donald Trump has been living in his Mar-a-Lago residence in southeast Florida. The 12th Amendment to the US Constitution is likely to prevent 30 Florida voters from supporting both representatives of their state. "It does make it more complicated. There are people that don’t have that complication," Trump said.

Some Republicans in Congress praise J.D. Vance. They view him as the face of the MAGA movement. Skeptics have doubts, as the first-term senator does not have enough political experience for the vice presidency.

Today, Trump will hold a rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania. This is a predominantly rural area with a white population 50 miles east of the Ohio border that has long supported Republicans.

It's hard to imagine a more suitable place for Vance's presentation, according to the American media. First, he is a senator from a neighboring state. Secondly, the former venture capitalist and author of the bestselling book "Hillbilly Elegy" is a more suitable option for local white and poor voters than former IT company owner Doug Burgum or son of Cuban immigrants Marco Rubio.

Another hint is the nearby village of East Palestine (Ohio). In the winter of 2023, a train accident with chemicals happened here, and Senator Vance, in a single impulse with Trump, criticized Joe Biden's administration.

But it's not just their dislike of the Democratic president that connects them. Five months before the disaster, Trump's support allowed Vance to run for the Republican Senate. Although Vance did receive a dubious compliment. "J.D. is kissing my ass, he wants my support," Trump said.

After the events in East Palestine, he mentioned Vance at least a dozen times in a positive way at a rally in Ohio. To his surprise, the first-term senator "turned out to be a really great, rising star and a real fighter."

From a 'never-Trump guy' to an ardent supporter: Who is J.D. Vance

James David Vance, better known as J.D. Vance, was born in 1984. In 2003, he enlisted in the Marine Corps, where he served as a public affairs officer during the Iraq War. He completed his service in 2007.

Two years later, he graduated from Ohio State University, and in 2013, he graduated from Yale Law School. He first worked as an attorney in Illinois, then continued his career in Silicon Valley. In 2017, he became a partner of AOL co-founder Steve Case in the venture capital company Revolution LLC, which operates in the depressed regions of the Rust Belt.

Vance's political rise began in 2016 with the publication of his memoir "Hillbilly Elegy". The book became a bestseller. The author reflects on growing up in a low-income family involved in violence and drug abuse in Middletown, Ohio.

Thanks to his memoir, Vance has become a prominent voice for the residents of America's Rust Belt, who, among other things, helped Donald Trump win in 2016. Although the future senator himself treated it with contempt.

In an interview, he called himself a "never-Trump guy". He also called the US president "American Hitler" and Trumpism "opium for the masses."

But in a few years, his opinion changed. In the summer of 2021, he apologized in an interview with Fox News. Around this time he started the race for the vacant Ohio Senate seat. According to one of his close friends, Vance didn't like the fact that many media wrote about Trump only in a negative way.

Photo: J.D. Vance is considered the most likely candidate for Trump's VP pick (Getty Images)

His career in Congress as a senator from Ohio began shortly before the aforementioned East Palestine disaster. The crash prompted him to join Senator Sherrod Brown in drafting a railroad safety bill. But Vance remains committed to a hardline conservative line within the Republican Party.

As his political standing grew, people began to notice his ability to be an effective communicator. As part of the Trump campaign, he attends rallies and attracts wealthy sponsors. In June, he helped raise $12 million in Silicon Valley alone.

Recently, he was asked to comment on his anti-Trump beliefs a long time ago.

"I was wrong about Donald Trump. I didn't think he was going to be a good president. He was a great president, and it's one of the reasons why I'm working so hard to make sure he gets a second term," Vance replied.

He will turn 40 in August. If nominated, if Trump wins, he will become one of the youngest vice presidents in US history. He may not have much experience, but many people emphasize his work ethic and intelligence.

The fact that he grew up in the Rust Belt will be crucial in attracting voters, the Republican Party hopes. A source close to Trump is confident that Vance will succeed because he believes what he says. Democrats also feel threatened. Kamala Harris, a former PR director, calls him an incredible debater who can handle the current vice president in the debates to be held later this summer.

What can stop Vance? According to experts, his mistake is that he wears a beard. "J.D. has a beard. And Trump is a clean-shaven guy who doesn't like facial hair," said one of Trump's confidants.

Recently, Trump was asked whether reports that he could reject a candidate just because of a beard should be trusted.

"I've never heard that," he replied, adding that Vance looks like a young Abraham Lincoln.

What is known about his attitude to Ukraine

J.D. Vance can hardly be called a supporter of Ukraine. He opposes military and financial aid, and he is quite consistent in his opposition.

Last year, he and 18 other Republicans signed an appeal to Biden calling for an end to "unlimited aid." And he threatened to block such packages if they were not tied to a strategy to end the Russian-Ukrainian war as soon as possible.

Before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Washington in December 2023, Vance demanded that the White House recognize that Ukraine would eventually cede some of its territory to Russia.

"We have a food crisis... We have an energy crisis... What's in America's best interest is to accept Ukraine is going to have to cede some territory to the Russians, and we need to bring this war to a close," he said.

One can find more about Vance's position in his April column for the NYT. He argues that the problem with Ukraine is not a lack of unity among Republicans, but simple math.

First, he said, the package of more than $60 billion is not the difference between victory and defeat. It is only a small part of what is needed to turn the tide of the war in Ukraine's favor. Secondly, it's not so much about dollars as it is about the lack of capacity to produce weapons in the required quantities.

Currently, the United States can produce about 360,000 shells a year and intends to increase the figure to 1.2 million by the end of 2025, but this is only 30% of the stated need of 4 million. The senator emphasizes that the situation is similar with ammunition for the Patriot system.

He sees the solution only in a defense strategy. Like the one that helped Russia thwart Ukraine's counteroffensive in the summer of 2023.

"By committing to a defensive strategy, Ukraine can preserve its precious military manpower, stop the bleeding and provide time for negotiations to commence. But this would require both the American and Ukrainian leadership to accept that Mr. Zelensky’s stated goal for the war — a return to 1991 boundaries — is fantastical," he wrote.

In his opinion, the Biden administration has no real plan that will allow Ukrainians to win. But Trump's plan to "end the war in 24 hours" is obviously not either, he believes.

Sources: The New York Times, The Hill, The Guardian and ABC News.