Former President Donald Trump chose Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio as his running mate on Monday, selecting a former critic turned loyal ally.

The 39-year-old Vance, who gained national fame with his 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” was elected to the Senate in 2022 and has become a strong advocate for Trump’s “Make America Great Again” agenda.

Despite his support, Vance remains largely untested in national politics. He joins the ticket during a tumultuous time following an attempted assassination of Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, which has heightened awareness of the nation’s divisive political climate.

Jaime Harrison, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said Mr. Vance had “championed and enabled Trump’s worst policies for years — from a national abortion ban, to whitewashing Jan. 6, to railing against Social Security and Medicare.”

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