It's official: Trump is Republican Party's presidential nominee, JD Vance is his running mate

The Republican Party on Monday formally elected Donald Trump as the nominee for the US presidential election.

Trump was formally anointed as the nominee at the Republican National Convention (RNC) at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The declaration was merely a formality as he had been the presumptive nominee since March when Nikky Haley, the last to remain in the contest, withdrew her candidacy.

As the RNC proceedings went on, Trump also ended months of suspense and named Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate.

Announcing the decision in a post on Truth Social, Trump said that Vance was the best person to be the Vice President of the United States.

“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,” said Trump in the post.

Earlier in the day, Fox News had reported that Trump had told the channel in an interview that he would name his running mate today. The channel further reported that the most probable choices were Vance, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, and Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota.

Vance is a former US Marine and a venture capitalist. In 2016, when Trump first ran for presidency, he was a vocal critic of Trump and called him “America’s Hitler” and an “idiot”. He had also denounced his policies as ranging from “immoral to absurd”. In recent years, however, he has transformed into a staunch believer of Trump’s far-right Make America Great Again (MAGA) agenda and is seen as Trump’s potential successor.

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Trump has been elected as the Republican nominee merely two days after he survived as assassination attempt. Even though he has been ahead of US President Joe Biden in nearly every poll in recent months, his position is now even stronger as the defiant photos of him with his pumped fist and bloodied face have generated a wave of support and sympathy. Such an upswing has come at a time when Biden’s position is weaker than ever as he struggles to convince the voters and even his own party leaders of his physical and mental capacities to lead the nation.

Vance is an anti-abortion Republican who opposes it even in cases of rape or incest but supports if in case the life of the pregnant woman is in danger.

Even as the RNC was ongoing, the Biden campaign starts its attack on Trump and his running mate Vance. The campaign said that Vance would bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extremist MAGA agenda, according to CNN.

In a statement, Biden-Harris 2024 Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said: “This is someone who supports banning abortion nationwide while criticizing exceptions for rape and incest survivors; railed against the Affordable Care Act , including its protections for millions with preexisting conditions; and has admitted he wouldn’t have certified the free and fair election in 2020.”

“Billionaires and corporations are literally rooting for J.D. Vance: they know he and Trump will cut their taxes and send prices skyrocketing for everyone else,” said Dillon further.