Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio accepted the Republican nomination as vice president on Wednesday night in Milwaukee, focusing much of his speech on his upbringing in a rural town that "had been cast aside and forgotten by America's ruling class in Washington."
Vance, 39, one of the youngest vice presidential candidates in U.S. history, is expected to take the baton of the Make America Great Again movement whenever his running mate, former President Donald Trump, 78, leaves the political spotlight.
"Never in my wildest imagination would I have believed that I could be standing here tonight," Vance said.
Vance, who was introduced to the crowd at the Fiserv Forum by his wife, Usha Vance, wrote about his upbringing in his memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy," and used much of the speech, the biggest of his young political career, to talk about the effects decisions by President Joe Biden had on his small town.
"I grew up in Middletown, Ohio, a small town where people spoke their minds, built with their hands, and loved their God, their family, their community, and their country with their whole hearts," Vance said. "But it was also a place that had been cast aside and forgotten by America's ruling class in Washington."
Vance's hardscrabble upbringing could be a political asset in swing states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin that Trump lost in 2020.
"When I was in the fourth grade, a career politician by the name of Joe Biden supported NAFTA, a bad trade deal that sent countless good jobs to Mexico," he said. "When I was a sophomore in high school, that same career politician named Joe Biden gave China a sweetheart trade deal that destroyed even more good middle-class manufacturing jobs. When I was a senior in high school, that same Joe Biden supported the disastrous invasion of Iraq.
"And at each step of the way, in small towns like mine in Ohio or next door in Pennsylvania or Michigan — states all across our country — jobs were sent overseas, and our children were sent to war. Somehow, a real estate developer from New York City by the name of Donald J. Trump was right on all of these issues while Biden was wrong. President Trump knew, even then, that we needed leaders who would put America first."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
- Find Newsmax channel in your home via cable and satellite systems – More Info Here
- Watch Newsmax+ on your home TV app or smartphone and watch it anywhere! Try it for FREE -- See More Here: NewsmaxPlus.com
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.