Trump Chooses Running Mate Who Once Called Him 'America's Hitler'

Former President Trump and his vice presidential running mate Sen. JD Vance are all smiles sitting together at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.

But some may call them the odd couple as Vance has not been his friend in his short political career. In a 2016 interview with Charlie Rose Vance identified himself as a ”Never Trump Guy,” while promoting his book "Hillbilly Elegy." He also said of the then future President, "I never liked him."

Vance is a former Marine who speaks his mind. He not only once said "I can't stomach Trump;" but he wrote an op-ed column in the New York Times titled: "Mr. Trump Is Unfit For Our Nation's Highest Office."

Vance not only said he didn't vote for Trump in 2016, but his former roommate shared images of a text message in which Vance called Trump "cynical" who could be "America's Hitler."

Yet, in Trump's selection of the 39-year-old former Marine, the mood among Republicans and Trump supporters quickly shifted from concern about the assassination attempt to a spirit of joyful defiance.

Vance has said after getting to know Trump and observing his presidency, he simply changed his mind about him. He now praises the former President although he is more conservative on some issues than Trump himself.

“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 said on his Truth Social platform.

Trump met with Vance at his Florida home before he flew to Butler, Pa. for a campaign rally Saturday where he was shot by a 20-year-old man who was killed by law enforcement but not before the bullet that pierced Trump killed another man in the audience and injured a third person.

The FBI is investigating how Thomas Matthew Crooks, a dietary aide, known as a loner, could lie on a roof and graze Trump’s ear with a bullet that killed the firefighter, husband and father of two.

“There is no place in America for this type of violence in America, it's sick, it's sick,” said President Biden during a Sunday afternoon address from the White House. “This is one of the reasons why we have to unite this country. We cannot be like this.”

Biden called and spoke to Trump after the incident. Trump said he has changed his convention speech, apparently based on their agreement to lower the vitriol and promote unity and more civil political discussion.

Before Trump traveled to Milwaukee on Sunday, he posted a message on social media where he said, “Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”

Trump said that he wanted to be in Milwaukee on the first day of the Republican National Convention because, “We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness.”

The FBI and members of Congress are investigating circumstances around the assassination attempt while President Biden has kept in touch with Trump less than two weeks after their debate.

According to a statement released on Sunday, “The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the subject involved in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on July 13, in Butler, Pennsylvania.”

As Trump spoke at the Pennsylvania rally he had no idea that Crooks had climbed to the roof of a nearby building and waited to take a shot. After he fired Crooks was taken down by a sniper team.

“This remains an active and ongoing investigation, and anyone with information that may assist with the investigation is encouraged to submit photos or videos online at fbi.gov/butler or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.”

While both campaigns were relatively quiet on Sunday, Trump arrived in Wisconsin with delegations from across the country for a four-day convention that is turning into a festive occasion.

According to a Brittanica.com citation, James Donald Bowman Vance was born in Middleton, Ohio. After his parents divorced he took his mother's middle name, Vance. He wrote a best-selling memoir called “Hillbilly Elegy” where he wrote about growing up poor as the son of a drug addicted mother who was partially raised by his gun toting grandmother.

The citation continues, “After graduating from Middletown High School in 2003, Vance enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. During his service in the Marines, he was deployed to Iraq to serve in the Iraq War. He later attended the Ohio State University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy in 2009. He then studied at Yale Law School, earning a law degree in 2013. He worked for the multinational law firm Sidley Austin LLP and for investment firms in California and elsewhere.”

In an initial reaction to his contender's choice as vice president, President Biden posted on X Monday, "Here’s the deal about J.D. Vance...He talks a big game about working people. But now, he and Trump want to raise taxes on middle-class families while pushing more tax cuts for the rich."

"I’m a Never Trump guy,” Vance said in an interview with Charlie Rose in 2016, a clip used in both the new ads. “I never liked him.”

Both ads also feature a screenshot of a Vance tweet from October 2016. “My god what an idiot,” he wrote, referring to Trump.