PROFILE – America First, pro-Israel, Ukraine aid opponent: Who is Trump’s running mate JD Vance?

By Muhammed Enes Calli

ISTANBUL (AA) - Former US President Donald Trump has selected Ohio Senator James David Vance as his running mate in the 2024 presidential race.

The announcement comes on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, marking the culmination of Vance’s stunning political evolution over the past several years.

Born in 1984, in Middletown, Ohio, Vance spent part of his early years in Kentucky.

After serving in the Marine Corps from 2003 to 2007, he pursued education at Ohio State University and Yale Law School.

After his tenure as a venture capitalist, Vance ventured into politics. He gained prominence with his 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy, and later secured Trump's endorsement for his Senate candidacy.

Transitioning from a lawyer and venture capitalist, he has since emerged as a staunch supporter of Trump in the realm of Republican populist politics.

Vance is also a practicing Catholic and would become the second Catholic vice president.

The first was President Joe Biden, who served as vice president under former President Barack Obama in 2008.

- From Trump critic to staunch loyalist

In February 2016, the 39-year old Republican privately questioned whether Trump was "America’s Hitler," and he said in 2017 Trump was a "moral disaster."

Publicly, he characterized Trump as a "total fraud" who showed no concern for ordinary people, labeling him "reprehensible."

During the 2016 election, Vance considered voting for Hillary Clinton over Trump but ultimately supported independent candidate Evan McMullin.

After receiving Trump's endorsement for Senate, Vance has transformed into a staunch supporter of the former president, and became a Trump loyalist.

Vance liked tweets accusing Trump of "serial sexual assault," labeling him "one of the USA’s most hated, villainous, douchey celebs," and sharply criticizing Trump’s handling of the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, according to CNN.

"There is no moral equivalence between the anti-racist protestors in Charlottesville and the killer (and his ilk)," Vance said in a deleted-tweet.

Prior to launching his Senate campaign, Vance publicly apologized for previously criticizing Trump, calling him "reprehensible."

"I was certainly skeptical of Donald Trump in 2016, but President Trump was a great president and he changed my mind," Vance said in his interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity after Trump selected him as vice presidential running mate.

"I think he changed the minds of a lot of Americans, because again he delivered that peace and prosperity."

- 'America First,' strong supporter of Israel, opposes aid for Ukraine

Vance supported Trump’s "America First" foreign policy at the Munich Security Conference in February.

He emphasized that European countries should take on greater responsibility for military defense, including manufacturing, allowing the US to redirect resources toward countering an assertive China in Asia.

"We want Europe to be successful, but Europe has got to take a bigger role in its own security. You can’t do that without industry," he said.

Following his graduation from Middletown High School in 2003, Vance joined the US Marine Corps.

He served as a combat correspondent and was deployed to Iraq for six months in 2005.

"I served my country honorably, and I saw when I went to Iraq that I had been lied to - that the promises of the foreign policy establishment were a complete joke," he said about his service in Iraq.

"Nearly every single one of those historical Christian communities is gone. That is the fruit of American labour in Iraq: a regional ally of Iran and the eradication and decimation of one of the oldest Christian communities in the world."

He has also been one of the skeptics of providing aid to Ukraine in their ongoing war against Russia.

In a speech at Quincy Institute, he said: "I certainly admire the Ukrainians who are fighting against Russia, but I do not think that it is in America's interest to continue to fund an effectively never-ending war in Ukraine."

"For three years, the Europeans have told us that Vladimir Putin is an existential threat to Europe. And for three years, they have failed to respond as if that were actually true," he told Politico.

"I’ve never once argued that Putin is a kind and friendly person. I’ve argued that he’s a person with distinct interests, and the United States has to respond to that person with distinct interests," he said at the Munich Security Conference.

"But the fact that he’s a bad guy does not mean we can’t engage in basic diplomacy and prioritizing America’s interests. There are a lot of bad guys all over the world, and I’m much more interested in some of the problems in East Asia right now than I am in Europe."

Vance is a strong supporter of Israel and has echoed Trump’s stance calling for Israel to defeat Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"It’s odd to equate Israel and Ukraine as similar issues. They're fundamentally different, and we should analyze them separately," he said.

Vance said Israel is "one of the most dynamic and technologically advanced countries in the world."

“Our goal in the Middle East should be to allow the Israelis to get to some good place with the Saudi Arabians and other Gulf Arab states. There is no way that we can do that unless the Israelis finish the job with Hamas," Vance said in an interview for CNN.