The Trump-Vance campaign saw its first milestone Wednesday night when Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH), Donald Trump's new running mate, gave an acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention..Trump's Wildcard.Trump first announced his Vice President selection on Monday, when he posted on his platform, Truth Social, "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 J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio." The announcement came on the first day of the Republican National Convention, which is being hosted in Milwaukee, Wisconsin..Vance is a relatively unknown figure in the Republican party. A July poll conducted by The Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 60 percent of voters "don't know enough" to take a position on Vance. However, elected GOP officials have praised the pick heavily. Republican figureheads like Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, and Vivek Ramaswamy have all publicly supported Vance's nomination..Vance's Speech.Vance opened his acceptance speech by remarking on the failed assassination attempt on Trump at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday. "I want all Americans to watch the video of a would-be assassin coming a quarter of an inch from taking his life. Consider the lies they told you about Donald Trump. And then look at that photo of him defiant—fist in the air. When Donald Trump rose to his feet in that Pennsylvania field—all of America stood with him. And what did he call for us to do for his country? To fight. To fight for America," he said..Vance also spoke of his upbringing, and how he believes his hometown of Middletown, Ohio has been affected by Joe Biden's policies, saying, "When I was in the fourth grade, a career politician by the name of Joe Biden supported NAFTA, a bad trade deal that sent countless good jobs to Mexico. When I was a sophomore in high school, that same career politician named Joe Biden gave China a sweetheart trade deal that destroyed even more good American middle-class manufacturing jobs. When I was a senior in high school, that same Joe Biden supported the disastrous invasion of Iraq.".Vance went on to praise Trump for improving the economy in his first term. "Now, Joe Biden has been a politician in Washington for longer than I've been alive. Thirty-nine years old. Kamala Harris is not much further behind. For half a century, he's been the champion of every major policy initiative to make America weaker and poorer. And in four short years, Donald Trump reversed decades of betrayals inflicted by Joe Biden and the rest of the corrupt Washington insiders," Vance said, receiving applause from the RNC audience, which had just finished chanting "USA.".The Future of MAGA.The inclusion of Vance on Trump's ticket is expected to provide multiple benefits to the campaign. First, it brings a very young candidate to the table. He will be turning 40 in August, making him by far the youngest person on either ticket. To put this into perspective, Joe Biden was first elected into the Senate a full twelve years before J.D. Vance was born. This will resonate with many voters who are unhappy with the age of both presidential candidates. Second, Vance has so far been able to garner united support from his party. This is in stark contrast to Joe Biden, who has been publicly urged by 22 Democrats in the House and Senate to withdraw from the race. Third, Vance sends a message that resonates with voters in swing states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. In fact, he mentioned those states a total of 24 times in Wednesday night's speech..So far, Trump's selection of Vance has strengthened his lead in polls. FiveThirtyEight's average national polling chart shows Trump with his greatest lead since polling began in March, with Trump at 43.2 percent and Biden at 40.1 percent. This trend has been the result of both wins for the Trump campaign and mistakes from the Biden campaign. A failed assassination attempt and a well-received running mate pick have bolstered support for the former president in July, possibly convincing fence-sitting voters to establish an opinion. Biden's July, on the other hand, has been a month to forget. The president mistakenly referred to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Putin and Vice President Kamala Harris as Trump on the same day in front of NATO..In his speech, J.D. acknowledged what his nomination manifests: the idea that in America, anyone, regardless of their upbringing, can be an instrumental part of government policy. According to Vance, "President Trump represents America's last best hope to restore what — if lost — may never be found again. A country where a working-class boy born far from the halls of power can stand on this stage as the next vice president of the United States of America."
The Trump-Vance campaign saw its first milestone Wednesday night when Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH), Donald Trump's new running mate, gave an acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention..Trump's Wildcard.Trump first announced his Vice President selection on Monday, when he posted on his platform, Truth Social, "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 J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio." The announcement came on the first day of the Republican National Convention, which is being hosted in Milwaukee, Wisconsin..Vance is a relatively unknown figure in the Republican party. A July poll conducted by The Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 60 percent of voters "don't know enough" to take a position on Vance. However, elected GOP officials have praised the pick heavily. Republican figureheads like Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, and Vivek Ramaswamy have all publicly supported Vance's nomination..Vance's Speech.Vance opened his acceptance speech by remarking on the failed assassination attempt on Trump at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday. "I want all Americans to watch the video of a would-be assassin coming a quarter of an inch from taking his life. Consider the lies they told you about Donald Trump. And then look at that photo of him defiant—fist in the air. When Donald Trump rose to his feet in that Pennsylvania field—all of America stood with him. And what did he call for us to do for his country? To fight. To fight for America," he said..Vance also spoke of his upbringing, and how he believes his hometown of Middletown, Ohio has been affected by Joe Biden's policies, saying, "When I was in the fourth grade, a career politician by the name of Joe Biden supported NAFTA, a bad trade deal that sent countless good jobs to Mexico. When I was a sophomore in high school, that same career politician named Joe Biden gave China a sweetheart trade deal that destroyed even more good American middle-class manufacturing jobs. When I was a senior in high school, that same Joe Biden supported the disastrous invasion of Iraq.".Vance went on to praise Trump for improving the economy in his first term. "Now, Joe Biden has been a politician in Washington for longer than I've been alive. Thirty-nine years old. Kamala Harris is not much further behind. For half a century, he's been the champion of every major policy initiative to make America weaker and poorer. And in four short years, Donald Trump reversed decades of betrayals inflicted by Joe Biden and the rest of the corrupt Washington insiders," Vance said, receiving applause from the RNC audience, which had just finished chanting "USA.".The Future of MAGA.The inclusion of Vance on Trump's ticket is expected to provide multiple benefits to the campaign. First, it brings a very young candidate to the table. He will be turning 40 in August, making him by far the youngest person on either ticket. To put this into perspective, Joe Biden was first elected into the Senate a full twelve years before J.D. Vance was born. This will resonate with many voters who are unhappy with the age of both presidential candidates. Second, Vance has so far been able to garner united support from his party. This is in stark contrast to Joe Biden, who has been publicly urged by 22 Democrats in the House and Senate to withdraw from the race. Third, Vance sends a message that resonates with voters in swing states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. In fact, he mentioned those states a total of 24 times in Wednesday night's speech..So far, Trump's selection of Vance has strengthened his lead in polls. FiveThirtyEight's average national polling chart shows Trump with his greatest lead since polling began in March, with Trump at 43.2 percent and Biden at 40.1 percent. This trend has been the result of both wins for the Trump campaign and mistakes from the Biden campaign. A failed assassination attempt and a well-received running mate pick have bolstered support for the former president in July, possibly convincing fence-sitting voters to establish an opinion. Biden's July, on the other hand, has been a month to forget. The president mistakenly referred to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Putin and Vice President Kamala Harris as Trump on the same day in front of NATO..In his speech, J.D. acknowledged what his nomination manifests: the idea that in America, anyone, regardless of their upbringing, can be an instrumental part of government policy. According to Vance, "President Trump represents America's last best hope to restore what — if lost — may never be found again. A country where a working-class boy born far from the halls of power can stand on this stage as the next vice president of the United States of America."
