From Trump critic to running mate: The unexpected path of a rust belt author

About eight years ago‚ JD Vance wrote a book that changed his life - a story about rust-belt America that made him famous. The timing was perfect: as Trump was starting his first run for president‚ Vances book became a hit with readers who wanted to understand working-class voters

Back then Vance wasnt a Trump fan at all; he actually called him “Americas Hitler“ (which seems pretty far-fetched now). But things changed fast - by early-23 he became one of Trumps biggest supporters. Its funny how life works: now hes Trumps running-mate for next years election

The 40-year old ex-marine has quite a story: growing up in a steel town with lots of problems at home he managed to get into Yale Law School. After that he worked in Silicon Valley (where he made good money) and then went back to his home-state Ohio. His friendship with Donald Trump Jr helped him get closer to the ex-president

Iʼve been extremely open about the fact that I was wrong about Donald Trump

These days Vance spends time talking about things that matter to Trump supporters: he doesnt like giving money to Ukraine; thinks the 2020 election had problems; and talks a lot about family values. He lives with his wife Usha (whos a lawyer) and their three kids aged 7‚ 4 and 2

The Trump team thinks Vance is perfect for their campaign - he can talk to both working-class voters and rich college grads. Some people say he changed his views just to get ahead in politics but his friends say he just got tired of how the media treated Trump. Either way; its working out pretty well for him