MILWAUKEE — For the first time as Donald Trump's running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance spoke to America Wednesday night.
Vance, a Middletown, Ohio, native, was introduced at the Republican National Convention by his wife, Usha, who sat next to Trump during her husband's speech.
Vance started off his speech with a bit of humor — something he used throughout — starting an "O-H-I-O" chant with the crowd before joking that they still need votes from Michigan.
Vance quickly focused on how Wednesday could have been vastly different following Saturday's assassination attempt against Trump.
"Instead of a day of celebration, this could've been a day of heartbreak and mourning," Vance said.
Before formally accepting Trump's vice president bid, Vance shared his love of Trump.
"He didn't need politics, but the country needed him," Vance said.
Vance and Trump's partnership comes after Vance's previous criticism of Trump, having publicly expressed doubt in him during the 2016 election. During that time, Vance said he could not vote for Trump, calling him a "fraud." Vance then began to embrace Trump and his brand of conservatism, capturing his endorsement when running for Ohio's Senate in 2022.
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Vance said Wednesday that the disagreements within the Republican party are what makes it stronger.
"We love this country and we are united to win," Vance said.
The Ohio senator also broke down what Trump's vision for the future is, including committing to the working man, fighting for Americans, building factories again, stopping China and more.
"Together, we will put the citizens of America first, whatever the color of their skin," Vance said. "We will in short, make America great again."
The 39-year-old also brought up his youth multiple times throughout the speech. Vance is the first millennial to feature on a presidential ticket, paired with 78-year-old Trump and likely facing off with 81-year-old Joe Biden and 59-year-old Kamala Harris.
"Many of the people that I grew up with can't afford to pay more for groceries, more for gas, more for rent," Vance said.
Multiple times throughout his speech, Vance recalled his upbringing in small town America, which he wrote about in his book, "Hillbilly Elegy." That book was adapted by Ron Howard into a Netflix movie in 2020.
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He touched on the drug epidemic, which impacted his mother, who is now sober and received a standing ovation from the crowd. He also spoke about the oversight of rust belt towns by politicians, directly calling out Biden for decisions he made that impacted American jobs while Vance was growing up.
"In small towns like mine in Ohio, or next door in Pennsylvania, or in Michigan... jobs were sent overseas and children were sent to war," Vance said.
That was just one of many instances where Vance brought up key swing states, something he did in the last few moments of his speech.
"To the people of Middletown, Ohio, and all the forgotten communities Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio and every corner of our nation, I promise you this, I will be a vice president who never forgets where he came from," Vance said.
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