After months of speculation and a winnowing down of contenders, The Apprentice: Vice President Edition has its winner.

Former President Donald Trump has selected 39-year-old freshman Senator J.D. Vance from Ohio to be his running mate. Trump made the announcement on Truth Social.

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.

J.D. honorably served our Country in the Marine Corps, graduated from Ohio State University in two years, Summa Cum Laude, and is a Yale Law School Graduate, where he was Editor of The Yale Law Journal, and President of the Yale Law Veterans Association.

J.D.’s book, “Hillbilly Elegy,” became a Major Best Seller and Movie, as it championed the hardworking men and women of our Country.

J.D. has had a very successful business career in Technology and Finance, and now, during the Campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond….

Signs pointed in Vance’s direction when news broke Monday that the other top-tier contenders, Sen. Marco Rubio and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, were notified that they didn’t get the job. Also, Vance was spotted leaving his home earlier today with a relatively large motorcade for a junior senator.

He’s also got one quality Trump has deemed a necessity: loyalty to the MAGA movement and “America First” mentality. But as we’ll see below, that wasn’t the always the case.

A Champion for the Forgotten Men and Women of America

The GOP platform’s dedication to the “forgotten men and women” of America is tailor-made for Vance, as we mentioned the other day.

His bestseller Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis is an elegant ode to the struggling working class, from which he came — a passionate defense of the forgotten men and women of America. Speaking for and working for the nation’s forgotten is his lane, his heart, his fight.

The troubles his family endured and his successful rise out of that background will resonate with those suffering under Bidenomics — those feeling ignored, those feeling like they’ve been played. As Trump mentioned in his statement, Vance will be vital in swing states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

On the national stage, Vance is someone who has proven to be skilled at entering the lion’s den of mainstream media and shredding all comers. The former Marine, while not a loose cannon, is not afraid to fight. Boy, does Trump need that. He needs a #2 who can draw some of the heat away from him, mix it up with the media and Democrats so he doesn’t have to (to whatever degree Trump is capable of walking away from a fight).

Vance is also very intelligent and articulate. As The Blaze recalled, Tucker Carlson told Politico earlier this year, “I feel like I’ve got a really good sense of senators, and he’s by far the smartest and the deepest of any I’ve ever met.”

Given Joe Biden’s infirmity and Trump’s close call, far more attention will be given to the upcoming Vance-Harris debate. Vance will give Harris fits.

So how will Democrats and the media go after him? Look for the Democrats to borrow Politico‘s assessment and dub Vance “more radical than MAGA.” The word “radical” will echo through the land like Kamala’s cackle.

From Foe to Friend

But Vance wasn’t always on the MAGA train. In fact, in 2016, he would have been happy to see it derailed. He was a leading Never Trumper.

As Vance told The New York Times last week,

“Like a lot of other elite conservatives and elite liberals, I allowed myself to focus so much on the stylistic element of Trump that I completely ignored the way in which he substantively was offering something very different on foreign policy, on trade, on immigration.”

In 2021, Vance apologized to the former president, adding,

“I ask folks not to judge me based on what I said in 2016 because I’ve been very open that I did say those critical things and I regret them, and I regret being wrong about the guy. I think that he was a good president. I think that he made a lot of good decisions for people, and I think he took a lot of flak.”

In the years since, Vance has become a trusted Trump ally, standing with him, for example, during the recent hush-money trial. Donald Trump, Jr. was pushing hard for Vance to be the pick, and celebrated the selection on X.

Biden is stuck with the worst VP in the history of our nation.

President Trump has one of the most dynamic, young leaders in the country in @JDVance1.

We also have incredible patriots like Governor @DougBurgum, Senator @marcorubio, and countless others who will work their tails…

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 15, 2024

Quite a ride from Never Trump to Trump Heir-Apparent — a fascinating chapter in an already fascinating life.

After all, how many vice presidents have their life story turned into a film before they are elected?

If you want to get an understanding of Vance’s background, check out the Ron Howard-directed movie adaptation of his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, starring Glenn Close, Amy Adams, and Gabriel Basso as Vance on Netflix.

Vance is married to his law school sweetheart, Usha Chilukuri Vance. The couple has three children.

NOTE: John Zmirak will be analyzing the Vance pick for The Stream tomorrow morning. We’ll also be talking a bit more about it on tomorrow morning’s Brew — assuming no other world-shaking events occur overnight.

Al Perrotta is The Stream’s Washington bureau chief, coauthor with John Zmirak of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration, and coauthor of the counterterrorism memoir Hostile Intent: Protecting Yourself Against Terrorism.