Former President Donald Trump has picked Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) as his vice presidential running mate ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

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 his Truth Social website Monday.

Vance has been one of Trumps most aggressive defenders in Congress, attending Trumps hush money trial, vowing to block President Joe Bidens nominees over the supposed lawfare against Trump and delivering a steady stream of obsequious pro-Trump statements.

I actually think Trump is a much better model of statesman, Vance told Breitbart News in June, contrasting Trump with more traditional-sounding leaders. Hes tough. Hes funny. He sometimes says things unfiltered. But when it comes to actual decision-making, hes much more careful and cautious than any person currently representing the country.

Before he became a politician, Vance spoke out against Trump.

The former Marine and Yale Law School grad rose to fame as a writer in 2016. His bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy made him a popular commentator that year on the supposed failings of rural American culture and the rise of Trumpism.

Talking to the media about his book, Vance frequently criticized Trump as offering a false solution to Americas problems. He even said he would consider voting for Hillary Clinton because he couldnt stomach Trump.

I think that hes noxious and is leading the white working class to a very dark place, Vance told NPR in 2016.

It was a prescient remark.

After sowing doubts about the 2020 election for months, Trump summoned his supporters to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, riled them up with an incendiary speech and then sent them to the Capitol, where they ransacked the building in a failed effort to stop Congress from certifying Bidens victory. Now more than 1,400 Trump supporters have been charged with federal crimes for doing what Trump wanted.

But when he launched his Senate bid in 2021 and faced a crowded Republican primary, Vance changed his tune about Trump.

I ask folks not to judge me based on what I said in 2016, because Ive been very open that I did say those critical things and I regret them, and I regret being wrong about the guy, Vance told Fox News in July 2021. I think he was a good president, I think he made a lot of good decisions for people, and I think he took a lot of flak.

Even though hed once privately mused that Trump could be Americas Hitler, Vance won Trumps endorsement, won the primary, and then beat former Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) in 2022 to become one of the youngest members of the Senate.

During a rally in Ohio that year , Trump said Vance was kissing my ass because he wants my support so bad.

In his announcement, Trump praised Vances resume, noting he 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.

Trumps previous vice president, Mike Pence, refused to go along with Trumps scheme to overturn the 2020 election, earning the ire of both the former president and his rioting mob, which chanted hang Mike Pence as police rushed him to a secure location .

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Vance said he didnt think Jan. 6 was so bad.

Were in this moment where people are really pissed off, and I think for legitimate reasons, Vance said . And I dont understand, looking at the country that we have right now, and saying, The riot on January the 6th was the worst expression of this.

The Biden campaign slammed Vance in a statement on Monday: Donald Trump picked J.D. Vance as his running mate because Vance will do what Mike Pence wouldnt on January 6: bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and no matter the harm to the American people.