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Former President Donald Trump on 15 July named Ohio Senator JD Vance, a Catholic, as his running mate on the Republican ticket in November.

Trump was widely expected to name his running mate at the Republican National Convention, which began the same day.

“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,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

“JD honourably 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.”

Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy, was elected to the US Senate in 2022 after a contentious primary election in the Buckeye State, in which he got Trump’s endorsement. Vance, who is Catholic, is married to Usha Vance, a litigator. The couple has three young children.

Trump said Vance “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.”

Trump added that as vice president, Vance “will continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our Troops, and will do everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.”

“Congratulations to Senator JD Vance, his wife, Usha, who also graduated from Yale Law School, and their three beautiful children,” he said. “MAGA2024!”

Life Issues

Vance, was at one time a staunch critic of Trump, but became a closer ally of the former president as he campaigned for the US Senate as a populist, and is ideologically aligned with Trump on issues such as foreign policy.

In the days leading up to his selection as the vice presidential nominee, Vance moderated his position on abortion. During his US Senate bid, Vance said he supported a 15-week federal restriction on abortion, but on 7 July Vance said he supported access to mifepristone, a pill commonly used for abortion.

But in a statement, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B Anthony Pro-Life America, called Vance “an exceptional selection as President Trump’s running mate.”

“His courage in exposing the Democrats’ agenda of abortion for any reason, even in the seventh, eighth, or ninth month, helped propel him to a decisive victory in the 2022 midterm elections,” Dannenfelser, whose group works to elect pro-life candidates to public office, said.

“Vance’s hardscrabble upbringing informs his compassionate approach to this issue. He saw firsthand how the deck can be stacked against women facing unexpected pregnancies if they do not have the support and resources they need, even though most would rather choose life. His ability to compellingly share these stories on a national stage will surely be an asset.

“During his time in the Senate, he has earned an A+ on our scorecard. With approximately 750,000 babies in states like California and New York still lacking basic protections, we need champions whose boldness will not waver.”

Dannenfelser argued,

“Now through Election Day, the pro-life movement’s mission must be to defeat the Biden-Harris extreme abortion agenda. With Vance on the ticket, we are more committed than ever in our efforts to deliver the winning pro-life message to 10 million voters, with four million visits to the homes of voters in key battleground states.”

Democrat Sniping

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, President Joe Biden wrote,

“Here’s the deal about JD Vance. He talks a big game about working people. But now, he and Trump want to raise taxes on middle-class families while pushing more tax cuts for the rich.”

In a statement, Biden-Harris 2024 Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said Trump picked Vance as his running mate “because Vance will do what Mike Pence wouldn’t on 6 January: bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and no matter the harm to the American people.”

Former Vice President Mike Pence was Trump’s running mate in the 2016 and 2020 elections but broke with Trump by rejecting Trump’s unfounded claims of a stolen election and certifying Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election despite the 6 January riot at the US Capitol. Pence has thus far declined to endorse his former running mate, but after the shooting at Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania, rally, he said he was praying for him.

O’Malley Dillon added,

“Over the next three and a half months, we will spend every single day making the case between the two starkly contrasting visions Americans will choose between at the ballot box this November: the Biden-Harris ticket who’s focused on uniting the country, creating opportunity for everyone, and lowering costs; or Trump-Vance — whose harmful agenda will take away Americans’ rights, hurt the middle class, and make life more expensive — all while benefiting the ultra-rich and greedy corporations.”

If elected, Vance would be just the second Catholic vice president in US history, preceded only by Biden, who was vice president for two terms before his own election to the White House.

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Republished with thanks to OSV News via The Catholic Weekly. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.