Donald Trump is the 'best hope for America', says vice-president pick JD Vance
18 July 2024, 08:54
Donald Trump is the 'best hope for America', vice-president pick JD Vance has said.
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Mr Vance praised the former president for his defiance after the attempted assassination attempt last Saturday.
He said Trump is "America's last best hope to restore what - if lost - may never be found again".
He also accused Joe Biden of being a champion of "every major policy initiative to make America weaker and poorer" while Trump had "reversed decades of betrayals" when he was president.
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Speaking on the third day of the Republican National Convention, Mr Vance took the opportunity to open up about his story too.
He revealed that he grew up poor in Kentucky and Ohio, his mother addicted to drugs and his father absent.
He went on to join the US marines, graduated from Yale Law School, and went on to the highest levels of US politics - an embodiment of an American dream he said is now in short supply.
"Never in my wildest imagination could I have believed that I'd be standing here tonight," he said.
It comes after he was announced as Donald Trump's running mate earlier in the week.
After introducing himself, Mr Vance said running for office was "not about me" but "about all of us, and who we're fighting for".
"It's about the auto worker in Michigan, wondering why out of touch politicians are destroying your jobs," he said.
"It's about the factory worker in Wisconsin, who makes things with their hands and is proud of American craftsmanship.
"It's about the energy worker in Pennsylvania and Ohio, who doesn't understand why Joe Biden is willing to buy energy from tin-pot dictators but not Americans.
"And, it's about single mums like mine, who struggled with money and addiction but never gave up. And I am proud to say that tonight my mum is here, 10 years clean and sober. I love you, mum."
Mr Vance said he would "never take for granted" the trust Trump had put in him, adding that it was an honour "to help achieve the extraordinary vision" he has for the country.
