Convention delegates react to JD Vance pick: ‘If Trump likes him, I love him’

MILWAUKEE — No moment at Monday’s Republican National Convention was as highly anticipated as the running mate reveal. For weeks, rumors had flown about how former president Donald Trump would announce his vice president: Would he pull all the candidates onstage, and pick one? Would Donald Trump Jr. introduce him (or her)? It had a made-for-TV feel: “It’s like a highly sophisticated version of The Apprentice,” Trump said last week.

Then, in a matter of moments on Monday afternoon, the suspense came and went. After Trump survived an attempted assassination on Saturday, there were questions about whether Trump would attend the convention at all. Trump ended up making an appearance Monday evening, though he did not speak — and the cat had long been let out of the bag.

Trump announced his pick, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, via a post on social media hours earlier. And it was Sen. Mike Lee — not Trump or Trump Jr. — who made the announcement on the convention floor.

Lee was midway through casting Utah’s 40 delegate votes for Trump, when he added, “and his newly announced running mate, my friend and colleague J.D. Vance!”

The news was a surprise to many inside the arena. The Atlantic’s Tim Alberta, who was on the convention floor at the time, reported delegates were confused. “Wait. What the heck just happened?” one said. In the concourse above, moments after the session adjourned, delegates not only expressed surprise about the timing, but confusion about just who Vance is.

“I really don’t know much about him,” said Elizabeth Ersoff, a delegate from Louisiana. “I’d like to hear what he stands for. I don’t know anything he stands for.” She shrugged. “If that’s who Trump picked, that’s the choice.”

Donna Williams, a delegate from North Carolina, said she’s “really just learning about him for the first time.”

At 39, Vance’s relative youth seen as a plus

To the delegates who were more familiar with Vance, one thing stuck out: his age. If elected, the 39-year-old would be the youngest vice president since Richard Nixon in 1953. Trump, meanwhile, would finish his second term as the oldest president ever.

“It allows us to have the younger generation coming forward to lead the party,” said Dennis Beavers, a delegate from Tennessee. “We’re seeing the older generation retiring. JD Vance allows us to have a bright future going forward.”

“I was leaning toward JD because of his youth and his presence behind Trump,” added Mike Slagle, a delegate from Oregon. “He’ll carry on the legacy of President Trump.”

Vance’s selection could be a nod toward young voters, said Rob Axson, the Utah Republican Chair “I think that this pick is a great way to make that indication to young people, that Donald Trump cares about their perspective, and he’s fighting for their future,” Axson said.

Security tight at GOP convention

The VP-reveal-that-wasn’t took a backseat to concerns about Trump’s safety in the wake of Saturday’s attempted assassination. Security at and around Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, the site of the convention, is “top of mind” for event organizers, said Brad Bonham, a Republican National Committeeman from Utah. “It’s just been ratcheted up,” he said. “I mean, this is probably the most secure and safe location on the face of planet earth right now.”

Trump arrived in Milwaukee Sunday evening, but there was no early indication he would appear at the convention before Thursday, when he is scheduled to accept the party’s nomination. But midway through Monday evening’s session, Trump emerged from the tunnel as Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the U.S.A.” and delegates cheered. He wore a bandage on his right ear, which was struck by a bullet Saturday.

When he took his seat across from the stage, he was next to Vance, who greeted him with a handshake. The delegates on the floor below alternated between chants of “we love Trump” and “JD.”

“If Trump likes him, I love him,” Williams, the delegate from North Carolina, told me. “I think he’s a great guy.”