J.D. Vance: “I’m a Very Pro-Life Person. I’ve Been Pro-Life Since I Was 14-Years-Old”

16.07.2024 15:45

LifeNews.com

Former President Donald Trump announced Monday afternoon that he has selected Sen. J.D. Vance, R-OH, a Catholic, as his running mate in the 2024 election.

Trump announced the highly anticipated decision during the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the same day he officially became the 2024 Republican nominee, and two days after surviving an assassination attempt.

“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,” Trump wrote on TRUTH Social Monday:

J.D. honorably served our Country in the Marine Corps, graduated from Ohio State University in two years, Summa Cum Laude, and is a Yale Law School Graduate, where he was Editor of The Yale Law Journal, and President of the Yale Law Veterans Association.

“J.D.’s book, ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ became a Major Best Seller and Movie, as it championed the hardworking men and women of our Country,” Trump added.

The bestselling memoir, published in 2016, was, four years later, made into a Netflix film directed by Ron Howard and starring Amy Adams and Glenn Close.

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Trump continued:

J.D. has had a very successful business career in Technology and Finance, and now, during the Campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond….

Political analysts widely consider the aforementioned “Rust Belt” states to comprise a “Blue Wall” that has usually voted for Democrats over the past few decades.

In 2016, however, all of those states but Minnesota voted for Trump, helping to propel him to a stunning electoral college victory over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Observers noted that Trump’s stances on trade and other issues important to struggling blue-collar workers helped give him the edge in the region.

CatholicVote President Brian Burch commended Trump’s decision to pick Vance. The Ohio senator was “my top choice,” Burch wrote. “I have known J.D. for several years. I’ve also had the chance to spend time talking to him about his conversion to Catholicism and his vision for a new politics for America.”

Burch noted that CatholicVote supported Vance “in his 2022 victory for the U.S. Senate [and] will proudly work with everything we have to help the Trump-Vance ticket win in November.”

Burch continued:

Trump previously said of VP candidates: “You need someone with common sense.”

Vance not only fits the bill, he also represents a vision for the country that we have long embraced – a vision that proudly prioritizes American workers, families, and children.

A vision that proudly puts the needs and interests of Americans first, while pushing back against the secular, technocratic, and globalist agendas of our elitist corporate and political class that despise common people and our common moral and religious way of life.

“Further, Vance has been a leading champion of border sanity – ending illegal immigration, drug and sex trafficking, and the exploitation of the vulnerable,” Burch added.

During a recent sit-down interview with Burch, Vance spoke about his embrace of the Catholic faith.

He “liked that the Catholic Church was just really old,” he explained. “I felt like the modern world was constantly in flux. The things that you believed ten years ago were no longer even acceptable to believe ten years later.”

Vance also told Burch that he was attracted to the way the Church “had stood really strong on some of the core moral issues.”

“I’m a very pro-life person,” Vance said. “I’ve been pro-life since I was 14 years old.”

J.D. Vance on his conversion to Catholicism. pic.twitter.com/5jDDkLtvKj

— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) July 15, 2024

Vance and his wife Usha have three young children, two sons and a daughter.

A former self-described “angry atheist,” the senator has been open about his 2019 conversion to Catholicism.

If the Trump/Vance ticket defeats the incumbent ticket of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in November, Vance would become the second Catholic Vice President in U.S. history – following Biden.

Recent polls show Trump with comfortable leads in almost every battleground state.

Catholic X (formerly Twitter) influencer Sachin Jose posted a picture of Vance with the popular Catholic author and apologist Dr. Scott Hahn, a fellow Ohioan, less than an hour after Trump announced his selection.

Jose also included a quotation from Vance explaining his conversion: “I became persuaded over time that Catholicism was true.”

Vance is also the first veteran to be on a major party presidential ticket since 2008.

Trump’s pick was met with positive reactions from notable people from across the political spectrum, including from those who did not support the former president in any previous election.

Shortly after the selection was announced, billionaire X owner Elon Musk wrote on his platform that the newly-minted Trump/Vance ticket “Resounds with victory.”

Minutes later, Musk replied to an X post by a conservative account asking if the pick of Vance was a “W” (win) or “L” (loss).

“W for sure,” Musk wrote.

Musk had hinted at his support for the senator days before he was confirmed as the Republican vice-presidential candidate.

Hours after he endorsed Trump in the wake of the failed attempt on the former president’s life, Musk on Saturday night touted Vance as a good potential running mate.

Right-wing political commentator Mike Cernovich posted soon after the news of gunshots at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally: “Trump’s VP choice must be JD Vance. Assassination insurance. Do you understand now?”

To this, Musk responded: “You’re right.”

CatholicVote reported this weekend that Musk endorsed Trump about a half-hour after the assassination attempt.

“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” the owner of X, SpaceX, and Tesla wrote.

On Monday afternoon, Musk was not the only extremely wealthy former Democratic donor in the tech industry to express his support for Vance.

In an X post, technology investor David Sacks hailed the vice-presidential candidate’s decision to serve the country in the U.S. Military.

“When the Twin Towers came down, JD Vance enlisted in the Marine Corps, gung-ho to exact justice on America’s enemies,” wrote Sacks. “Subsequently [Vance] came to believe the Forever Wars were a mistake. This is who I want by Trump’s side: an American patriot, with the courage to fight America’s wars but the wisdom to know when to avoid them.”

“God bless JD, God bless Trump, and God bless the USA,” Sacks concluded. Previously, Sacks donated almost $70,000 to Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 campaign.

Prominent Republicans praised Trump’s choice as well.

Businessman and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said he is “inclined to say [the Trump/Vance ticket] could be the single most formidable political ticket in my lifetime.”

“I think [Vance is] not going to be just a good vice president, but an outstanding vice president,” Ramaswamy added. “I think President Trump and our country will be lucky to have him. I think we need more people like JD in American politics.”

Ramaswamy, who is from Ohio, ran against Trump during the 2024 Republican primaries.

Some observers also suggested Ramaswamy could replace Vance in the U.S. Senate if the latter wins the vice presidency.

Since Vance’s Senate term does not expire until 2028, Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine gets to appoint his immediate successor.

Author Steve Deace wrote on X: “With the Vance selection as VP, permit me to be the first person to encourage Gov DeWine to appoint Vivek Ramaswamy to replace him in the Senate come January.”

“Vivek clearly displayed during the presidential campaign his brilliance and understanding of many key issues,” Deace added:

However, his lack of résumé politically didn’t allow him to catch on anywhere, except on this app. This would give him a chance to prove himself, and I am eager to see him put that brilliance to the test while actually helping to govern the country.

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson said he “was very pleased with” the pick of Vance. “We are so fortunate that Donald Trump survived over the weekend,” Carson wrote. “He will win no matter who is his Vice President, but having the extra of someone like JD Vance I think is the icing on the cake.”

Trump also considered selecting Carson as his running mate.

Last week, Vance gave a speech at the National Conservatism Conference (NATCON) in which he scrutinized what he called “Wall Street Journal” conservatism.

“The real threat to American Democracy is that American voters keep on voting for less immigration and our politicians keep on rewarding us with more,” Vance stated.

“The reason I’m optimistic about the future of this movement and the future of our country is because for the first time in a very long time it is clear that the leader of the Republican Party is not some donor who’s desperate for cheap labor,” he said. “The leader of the Republican Party is a guy who actually plans to put American citizens first, and that’s Donald Trump.”

LifeNews Note: Joshua Mercer writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.

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