J.D. Vance formally accepted the Republican vice-presidential nomination on Wednesday and aims to re-elect Donald Trump in a sometimes divisive effort in November.
Addressing delegates in Milwaukee on the third night of the convention, Ohio’s junior senator Vance cast the Republican Party as a champion of working-class Americans while denouncing Democrats as out of touch and ineffective. The populist-tinged rhetoric offered the latest sign of how Trump is reshaping the Republican Party and rejecting much of its traditional conservatism.
“From Iraq to Afghanistan, from the financial crisis to the Great Recession, from open borders to stagnant wages, the people running this country failed over and over again,” Vance told the energized crowd. “Of course, until a man named Donald J. President Trump represents America’s last and best hope for restoring what has been lost.
Vance told his own personal story, first shared in his best-selling and controversial memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, to support his message. He recounted his childhood in poverty in Middletown, Ohio, and his subsequent admission to Yale Law School, introducing himself to more Americans for the first time. In an emotional moment, Vance recognized his mother in the crowd and celebrated her tenth anniversary of sobriety after decades of battling drug addiction.
Referring to battleground states that could determine the outcome of the election, he vowed that a Trump-Vance administration would provide economic opportunity for working-class communities.
“In Michigan and Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and Ohio and every corner of our country, I promise you this: I will be a vice president who will never forget where he came from,” Vance said. “Every day for four years when I walked into the White House to help President Trump, I did it for you, your family, your future, and this great country.”
Democrats derided Vance’s attempts to appeal to working-class Americans, accusing him of supporting “an economic agenda that will increase costs for American families while cutting taxes for billionaires and corporations.”
Biden campaign communications director Michael Taylor added, “J.D. Vance is not ready, qualified or willing to do anything Donald Trump asks of him.”
In his speech, Vance joined dozens of Republican lawmakers in condemning Saturday’s assassination attempt on Trump. Vance urged Americans to unite in the face of violence even as he vilified Democrats who had previously criticized Trump.
“I want all Americans to watch this video of a would-be assassin just a quarter of an inch from committing suicide,” Vance said. “Think about the lies they’ve told you about Donald Trump, and then look at the way he acted. Photos of defiant fists raised as Donald Trump stood up on a battlefield in Pennsylvania, all of America stood with him.
In another sign of Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party, Vance echoed the former president’s “America First” approach to foreign policy. Since joining the Senate last year, Vance has become one of the most outspoken critics of U.S. aid to Ukraine, hardening his isolationist stance in speeches.
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“Together, we will ensure that our allies share the burden of ensuring world peace and no longer free ride,” Vance said. “We will put American citizens first, no matter what the color of their skin is. Simply put, we Will make America great again.
Vance’s election has unnerved some Republican lawmakers who support an active role for the United States on the global stage, and his speech underscored how Trump’s reelection could fundamentally reshape the relationship between the United States and its European allies at a dangerous moment. A senior European diplomat told the Guardian that Trump’s choice of running mate was “terrible news” for Ukraine, adding, “[Vance] Not our allies.
Vance acknowledged ideological differences within the party and encouraged Republicans to engage in vigorous debate on key policy issues.
“Shouldn’t we be governed by a party that dares to debate ideas and come up with the best solutions?” Vance said. “This is the Republican Party for the next four years, one united by our love for this country and committed to free speech and the open exchange of ideas.”
Voters will decide in November whether Republicans actually have a chance to govern for the next four years.
