MILWAUKEE (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- Former President Donald Trump announced Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate on Monday, just days after he was targeted by a would-be assassin.
"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," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "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…."
J.D. Vance, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Ohio, shakes hands with former President Donald Trump during a rally hosted by the former president at the Delaware County Fairgrounds on April 23, 2022 in Delaware, Ohio. Last week, Trump announced his endorsement of J.D. Vance in the Ohio Republican Senate primary.Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Trump's top three contenders were Vance, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. All three of them are scheduled to speak to Republican delegates at some point this week.
The convention schedule was packed with events all day Monday into Monday night. Trump's main address at the convention will be on Thursday.
The announcement came just two days after Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. The motivation of the sniper—a 20-year-old man who was shot dead by the Secret Service—remained under federal investigation Monday. The shooting killed a man in the stands near Trump and critically wounded two others. Trump suffered an injury to his right ear and said he "felt the bullet ripping through the skin."
Trump told The Washington Examiner that he has rewritten Thursday's speech with a renewed focus on national unity, after people from across the political spectrum called him following the assassination attempt.
"This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together. The speech will be a lot different, a lot different than it would've been two days ago," the former president said.
