JD Vance is ‘99 percent’ certain to be Trump’s running mate, campaign source says

The 39-year-old Ivy League graduate and Hillbilly Elegy author rose to prominence as a Trump critic, but has since become a self-styled MAGA warrior

Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) looks on as former President Donald Trump speaks to the media during Trump’s trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 13. (Getty Images)

Former president Donald Trump has settled on Ohio Senator JD Vance as his choice to serve as vice president, should he clinch the White House in the next presidential election.

The ex-president was set to announce his choice on Monday afternoon at the opening session of this year’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sources involved with the Trump campaign have told The Independent that they are “99 percent sure” that the 39-year-old Ivy League graduate will get the nod.

After a gunman fired several rifle shots at Trump at a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, Vance took an aggressive stance. On Twitter/X, he blamed remarks by senior Democrats — including President Biden — for inciting the attack which led to the death of one man at the event, critical injuries to two more and and an injury to the former president.

Trump had spent the past few weeks encouraging speculation about his choice to replace his former vice president, Mike Pence, on the ticket with him. It is understood that he has been considering Vance, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and Florida Senator Marco Rubio as potential picks, but sources say he has almost certainly settled on the Ohio senator. On Monday afternoon, Reuters reported Rubio has been told he is not Trump’s running-mate pick. Fox News also reported that Burgum had been informed he was not Trump’s choice.

One insider linked to the Trump campaign told The Independent: “I am 99 per cent sure it is Vance. The Feds are already securing his home ahead of the announcement and unless he has had a personal threat then I can’t think of any other reason that would happen.”

Another said: “I have always thought [Vance] would be the pick. He’s close to [Donald Trump Jr] and Trump likes him. He will be good.”

The source added: “We didn’t have any bad choices, though.”

When asked who the nominee might be, a third source involved in the campaign texted: “Probably Vance.”

Vance, a native of the former swing state of Ohio, first rose to prominence with the release of his 2016 book Hillbilly Elegy, which served as a memoir and a chronicle of the plight of the rural white working class.

The book chronicled his mother’s struggles with addiction and described how Vance went from being raised in a volatile household to serving in the US Marine Corps to graduating from Yale Law School. Vance would later go on to work for Mithril Capital under former PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.

Initially, Vance sold himself as a critic of former president Donald Trump who voted for Evan McMullin in the 2016 presidential election, going so far as to say he was a “Never Trump Guy.”

But since becoming a senator, Vance has been a warrior for the pro-Trump wing of the GOP.

“A lot of Senate Republicans actually don’t like Donald Trump and I think they’re gonna have to get over it because he’s going to be our nominee and he’s going to be our next president,” he said ahead of the first Republican presidential primary contests in January.