Ohio Sen. JD Vance was named Donald Trump’s running mate on Monday, in a win for his MAGA base.
Vance rose to national attention when he published his bestselling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” in 2016, the year Trump was elected president.
In the book, which was turned into a Netflix film directed by Ron Howard, Vance explains one of the questions many have been asking following his nomination: what does “JD” stand for?
There are actually several answers, as the initials have represented different nicknames throughout the senator’s life.
In his memoirs, Vance talks about the original name given to him by his father, Donald Bowman, James Donald Bowman.
Ohio Sen. JD Vance was named Donald Trump’s running mate on Monday, in a win for his MAGA base
Vance rose to national prominence when he published his bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” in 2016, the year Trump was elected president.
Bowman divorced Vance’s mother, Bev, and gave him up for adoption at the age of six.
Vance’s mother eventually remarried Bob Hamel, and the boy was adopted and renamed James David Hamel.
Bev slightly changed her son’s middle name, from his father Donald to his uncle David, so he could still be called JD.
“This struck me as a bit of a stretch even as a six-year-old,” Vance wrote. “Any D name would have done, as long as it wasn’t Donald.”
JD Vance officially took his last name after Bev and Hamel split up and he decided to use his grandfather and grandmother’s last names.
He and his wife and law school classmate, Usha Chilukuri, legally changed their last names to Vance when they married.
Trump actually forgot Vance’s name at a rally endorsing his 2022 Ohio Senate bid.
The Republican candidate made his vice presidential announcement at Truth Social, and did so just as delegates were approving his nomination as presidential candidate at their convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
In his memoirs, Vance talks about the original name given to him by his father, Donald Bowman, James Donald Bowman.
He and his wife and law school classmate, Usha Chilukuri, legally changed their last names to Vance when they married.
“As Vice President, JD will continue to fight for our Constitution, support our troops, and do everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” he wrote in a statement that cited his career as a Marine, best-selling author and in business.
Vance arrived at the convention floor two hours later and received a hero’s welcome for the official nominating vote.
The Biden campaign immediately went on the attack, criticizing Vance’s hardline record on abortion and saying he would do whatever billionaires and corporations asked of him.
Vance rose to national attention when he published his bestselling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” in 2016, the year Trump was elected president.
He has been a senator for less than two years, but has established himself as one of the most fervent defenders of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” agenda, especially on foreign policy, trade and immigration.
The former venture capitalist and US Marine had initially criticized Trump.
He did not vote for Trump in 2016, tweeting at the time: “Oh my God, what an idiot.”
But sources close to the effort said it became increasingly politicized as the country’s elite institutions turned against Trump’s presidency even as he kept his promises.
Since then he became personally close to the former president and his son Donald Trump Jr.