Donald Trump has selected Hillbilly Elegy author and U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate.
The former president, who on Monday was officially nominated as the Republican nominee for the Oval Office, announced Vance’s selection on the platform Truth Social, writing, “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.…”
Vance, a Marine Corps veteran and Yale-educated lawyer, published Hillbilly Elegy in 2016 with Harper. The memoir, about his experiences growing up in Middletown, Ohio, in a family with Appalachian roots, was a bestseller that was adapted for a 2020 film directed by Ron Howard and starring Amy Adams and Glenn Close.
Vance was elected to the U.S. Senate from Ohio in 2022 after running on a far-right populist platform. He has sharply criticized Trump in the past, calling him an “idiot,” a “cynical asshole,” and “America’s Hitler.” Nevertheless, Vance endorsed Trump’s 2024 election bid in January of 2023.
The news of Vance’s selection sent Hillbilly Elegy up Amazon’s bestseller chart; as of Tuesday morning, it was the No. 1 book on the retailer’s website. At Barnes & Noble, it was ranked No. 8.
The website Goodreads locked new reviews of Vance’s book after Trump’s announcement, saying the site had “detected unusual behavior that doesn’t follow” its guidelines.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
