Republican Vice Presidential Nominee J.D. Vance Addresses RNCRepublican Vice Presidential Nominee J.D. Vance Addresses RNC At the Republican National Convention, Senator J.D. Vance, the party’s vice presidential nominee, delivered an impassioned speech, casting himself as a champion for forgotten Americans. Vance’s Roots and Story Vance, originally from Middletown, Ohio, spoke of his unconventional upbringing. Raised by his grandmother, he described her as a devout woman with a salty tongue and a secret cache of 19 loaded handguns. His mother, Beverly, who has been sober for nearly a decade, stood by his side. Vance’s story of resilience was captured in his best-selling book “Hillbilly Elegy.” Vance’s Immigration Stance Vance affirmed America’s openness to immigrants but emphasized that it must be “on our terms.” He criticized Wall Street for inflating housing prices and blamed illegal immigrants for competition in the housing market. Vance’s Foreign Policy and Biden Criticism Vance, a foreign policy realist, echoed Trump’s rhetoric on military intervention, declaring, “When we hit, we hit hard.” He also criticized President Joe Biden and Democrats, accusing them of failing to represent the interests of American workers. Vance’s Changed Stance on Trump In a surprising twist, Vance retracted his earlier criticism of Trump. He praised the former president’s leadership and said he regretted his previous statements. Vance credited Trump with persuading him to change his stance. Biden Campaign Response The Biden-Harris campaign questioned Vance’s sincerity and linked him to conservative think tank Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025,” a policy plan that Trump has distanced himself from. Ohio Republicans’ Pride Delegates from Vance’s home state of Ohio expressed excitement and pride. They hailed Vance’s values of family, faith, and hard work, and saw him as a representation of America’s potential for upward mobility.
By Janice Hisle, Nathan Worcester
Contributing Writers
MILWAUKEE — Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, formally accepted the Republican Party’s vice presidential nomination Wednesday, casting himself as a champion for the forgotten corners of the American nation.
“I will be a vice president who never forgets where he came from,” the lawyer and venture capitalist, originally from Middletown, Ohio, told the crowd at the Republican National Convention, a day before former President Donald Trump was scheduled to speak.
Vance praised his running mate for his resilience in the days following an attempt on his life in Pennsylvania.
“President Trump flew to Milwaukee and went back to work,” the first-year senator said.
The vice presidential candidate was raised by his late grandmother, “Mamaw,” in Middletown, Ohio, a woman he described as a bundle of contradictions: a deeply religious woman who “also loved the F-word.”
“I’m not kidding. She could make a sailor blush,” he said, later recounting the discovery after his grandmother’s death that she had 19 loaded handguns in her home. A young Vance went into his grandmother’s care because his mother struggled with drug addiction. His father had left when he was a toddler.
The vice presidential candidate underscored his unconventional story by introducing his mother, Beverly, who has been sober for nearly a decade and stood in the audience next to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Lousiana).
Vance wrote his story in the best-selling book “Hillbilly Elegy,” which was later made into a Netflix film starring Glenn Close as Mamaw and Amy Adams as Beverly.
Vance was introduced on stage by his wife, Usha, also a lawyer, but from a very different background, having grown up as the daughter of Indian immigrant scientists in San Diego.
The two met at Yale Law School, where Vance attended after serving in the Marine Corps and attending Ohio State University.
“That JD and I could even meet, let alone fall in love and marry, is a testament to this great country,” Ms. Vance said in her speech. The couple have three children.
Vance said America welcomes immigrants, but “on our terms.”
Following World War II veteran Bill Pekrul, who also spoke Wednesday night, Vance meditated on the theme of American identity. He began his speech with a talk about hope, saying that America is more than an idea.
“It is a group of people with a shared history and a common future. It is, in short, a nation,” he said.
The Ohioan also echoed the words of Teamsters leader Sean O’Brien, who delivered a fiery and unusual-for-this-venue speech Tuesday about the threat posed by corporate power in politics.
Both Vance and O’Brien said they have a vision to represent the interests of both union and non-union members.
Vance blamed Wall Street for high housing prices and the growing population of illegal immigrants in the United States.
“Citizens had to compete with people who shouldn’t be here at all for precious housing,” he said.
He championed Middle America, including Midwestern states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan — all key players in the more Rust Belt Republican coalition that first brought candidate Trump to the White House.
“There is still so much talent and courage in the American heartland,” Vance said.
Hard talk
Vance, who styles himself as a foreign policy realist who opposes unnecessary war, sounded like Trump when it came to military intervention.
“When we hit, we hit hard,” he said, referring to Trump’s actions against ISIS.
His speech was also packed with the expected criticism of President Joe Biden, Democrats and their policies — a staple of RNC speeches.
But Vance, in addition to his tough words, also indicated that he was willing to listen to different perspectives.
“Sometimes I convince my colleagues, and sometimes they convince me,” he said. He also called on Republicans to “discuss ideas and come up with the best solution.”
Earlier in the day, Cenk Uygur, Democratic and progressive commentator for the Young Turks, said he thinks Vance’s populism may not be entirely “fake.”
In his speech, Vance indicated that it was the 45th president’s persuasiveness that had prompted him to take a different stance toward the Republican leader.
When Trump was first elected in 2016, Vance — like many others — was a fierce critic of the brash New York real estate developer.
That year, Vance voted for an independent candidate, former CIA officer Evan McMullin.
The Ohio lawmaker previously called the man he now shares a ticket with “reprehensible.”
In 2021, when he ran for Senate, he retracted many of those comments.
“And I ask people not to judge me based on what I said in 2016, because I’ve been very open about the fact that I said those critical things and I regret them, and I regret that I was wrong about that man. I think he was a good president, I think he made a lot of good decisions for people, and I think he’s taken a lot of criticism,” Vance said on Fox News.
In recent months, he has consistently defended the former president.
Biden campaign responds
The Biden-Harris campaign has questioned Vance’s statements about representation for American workers and linked his candidacy to the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025.”
Trump has distanced himself from the conservative think tank’s policy plan, the latest in a series of similar presidential policy briefs that the group has published for decades.
“JD Vance is unprepared, unqualified, and unwilling to do anything Donald Trump demands,” Michael Tyler, communications director for the Biden-Harris campaign, said in a statement Wednesday.
While Vance focused his speech on American workers, particularly those in the swing states of the Midwest, Tyler said a Trump-Vance ticket will be harmful to “working families and the middle class.”
Ohio Republicans Proud of High Flying Buckeye
The lawmaker comes from a likely position for a man who could be second in line for the presidency. Vance’s home state is known as the “cradle of presidents” — it’s the birthplace of seven of them.
RNC Rep. Debbie Lang and her husband, Sen. George Lang of Ohio, said the state’s 79 delegates are filled with pride and excitement.
Lang, a native of Butler County, Ohio, where Vance grew up, said, “He brings the values of Butler County to Washington: family, faith, hard work.”
“He is the epitome of the fact that in America it doesn’t matter where you start, it matters where you end,” Lang said.
“He had a horrible, tough, harsh upbringing — and he survived,” said Butler County Sheriff Rick Jones.
During Vance’s speech, the Ohio delegation chanted “Mamaw!”
