JD Vance pledges to 'never forget where he came from' as he makes pitch to Rust Belt
MILWAUKEE - Ohio Sen. JD Vance made his national debut at the Republican National Convention Wednesday to accept the vice-presidential nomination.
Vance's rise has been meteoric: The biggest moment in his career came three years after he launched his Senate campaign, 18 months after he took office and 39 years after he was born into a poor Ohio home.
That upbringing in Middletown ? one consumed by poverty and abuse ? anchored his introduction to millions of Americans. Chants of "Mamaw" rang through the stadium as he credited his grandmother for raising him while his mother struggled with addiction. He introduced his mom and proclaimed that she's 10 years sober, growing visibly emotional as delegates applauded her.
"Some people tell me I’ve lived the American dream, and of course they're right, and I'm so grateful for it," Vance said. "But the American dream that always counted most was not starting a business or becoming a senator or even being here with you fine people ? though it's pretty awesome. My most important American dream was becoming a good husband and a good dad. I wanted to give my kids the things that I didn't have when I was growing up, and that's the accomplishment that I'm proudest of."
Vance's speech Wednesday served as an introduction to Donald Trump's supporters who are unfamiliar with the "Hillbilly Elegy" author. It humanized a man criticized by Democrats for his combative rhetoric and being a "rubber stamp" for Trump's policies.
By singling out the struggles of his Butler County hometown and other Rust Belt states, Vance also made clear his task for the next four months: Trying to woo voters in battleground middle America.
"We’re all saying we love Trump, but in four years, who’s next?" said Abby Kail, 37, a delegate from Beaver County, Pennsylvania. "This is a solid connection."
Vance appeals to Rust Belt battleground states
Vance, who lives in Cincinnati, charted his childhood via milestones in President Joe Biden's career, from his Senate vote for the North American Free Trade Agreement to his support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq. He painted a picture of a wide rift between Washington elites and the rest of the country. He said Democrats "flooded the country with illegal immigrants."
The senator also touched briefly on foreign policy, saying the U.S must "make our allies share in the burden of securing world peace." Vance has been openly critical of U.S. involvement in the war between Ukraine and Russia, something that's made him open to criticism from Democrats and some Republicans.
"Things did not work out well for a lot of kids I grew up with," Vance said. "Every now and then I will get a call from a relative back home who asks, did you know 'so and so?' And I’ll remember a face from years ago. And then I’ll hear, 'They died of an overdose.' As always, America’s ruling class wrote the checks; communities like mine paid the price."
Throughout his speech, Vance appealed often to Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan ? states in his neck of the woods that are key to a Trump or Biden victory in November. Trump's campaign believes Vance can reach voters there, as evidenced by the decision to schedule a rally with him in Michigan this weekend.
"There was a lot of good positive stuff in that speech about the greatness of this country, about hard-working people like myself," said Peter Church, 46, a farmer who lives near the Wisconsin Dells. "I’m a farmer. It will resonate with me, and I believe it will resonate with my county party members back home."
Whether that strategy will pay off remains to be seen.
'A night of hope': JD Vance accepts GOP vice president nomination. Read his RNC speech.
University of Dayton political scientist Chris Devine said vice-presidential candidates historically haven't lived up to the sales pitch their campaigns make. Plus, Vance angered some Ohioans with his memoir, which they say unfairly stereotyped rural America.
A candidate's running mate matters, Devine said, but only for what it reveals about their vision for the White House. In Vance, Trump chose an heir apparent who's similar in style and policy ? and some believe he would take the former president's vision even further.
"Trump looked for someone he knew would be a rubber stamp for his extreme agenda," Vice President Kamala Harris said. "Make no mistake: JD Vance will be loyal only to Trump, not to our country."
Vance bookended his remarks Wednesday with a personal anecdote about his cemetery plot in Kentucky and one final point: That Americans in Appalachia are the "source of America's greatness." And he promised to give the Republican Party everything he's got.
"To the people of Middletown, Ohio, and all the forgotten communities in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio and every corner, I promise you this," Vance said. "I will be a vice president who never forgets where he came from."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: JD Vance RNC speech defined by family roots, Rust Belt angst
