Donald Trump announces J.D. Vance as his running mate at RNC just days after assassination attempt

DONALD Trump has named Ohio senator JD Vance as his running mate for the 2024 presidential election.

The announcement from the former commander-in-chief, 78, comes less than 48 hours after a would-be assassin fired nearly a dozen shots at Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Donald Trump has unmasked JD Vance as his running mate for the presidential election
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Donald Trump has unmasked JD Vance as his running mate for the presidential electionCredit: AP
Ohio senator JD Vance is an ex-Marine and Yale Law School graduate
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Ohio senator JD Vance is an ex-Marine and Yale Law School graduateCredit: AP
Trump's VP announcement comes less than 48 hours after surviving an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday
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Trump's VP announcement comes less than 48 hours after surviving an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on SaturdayCredit: Getty

As GOP delegates gather at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee to formally select Trump as the party's presidential nominee, the former president unmasked his running mate in a post on 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," Trump said.

"J.D. honorably served our Country in the Marine Corps, graduated from Ohio State University in two years, Summa Cum Laude, and is a Yale Law School Graduate, where he was Editor of The Yale Law Journal, and President of the Yale Law Veterans Association, J.D.'s book, 'Hillbilly Elegy,' became a Major Best Seller and Movie, as it championed the hardworking men and women of our Country.

"J.D. has had a very successful business career in Technology and Finance, and now, during the Campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond."

MEET TRUMP'S VP

If Trump is elected president, Vance, who will turn 40 in August, will be one of the youngest vice presidents in US history.

Vance came to national prominence with his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, where he disclosed his troubled upbringing in rural Jackson, Kentucky.

He grew up primarily with his grandparents as his mother struggled with drug addiction.

In his memoir, he argued that a lack of personal agencies was responsible for economic suffering, drug abuse, and other struggles in white working-class communities like the one he was raised in.

Vance was once an outspoken critic of Trump, calling himself a "Never Trump guy" in an interview with Charlie Rose in 2016.

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