J.D. Vance Tells RNC He’ll Be a Vice President ‘Who Never Forgets Where He Came From’

TIME

Ohio Senator J.D. Vance introduced himself to a national audience at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday after being chosen as Donald Trump’s running mate.

Transcript

00:00My name is J.D. Vance from the great state of Ohio.

00:21But as we meet tonight, we cannot forget that this evening could have been so much different.

00:26Instead of a day of celebration, this could have been a day of heartache and mourning.

00:30For the last eight years, President Trump has given everything he has to fight for the

00:36people of our country.

00:47He didn't need politics, but the country needed him.

00:57Prior to running for president, he was one of the most successful businessmen in the

01:00world.

01:01He had everything anyone could ever want in a life.

01:04And yet, instead of choosing the easy path, he chose to endure abuse, slander, and persecution.

01:13And he did it because he loves this country.

01:24I want all Americans to go and watch the video of a would-be assassin coming a quarter of

01:29an inch from taking his life, consider the lies they told you about Donald Trump, and

01:35then look at that photo of him, defiant, fist in the air, when Donald Trump rose to his

01:42feet in that Pennsylvania field, all of America stood with him.

02:02And so tonight, Mr. Chairman, I stand here humbled, and I'm overwhelmed with gratitude

02:07to say I officially accept your nomination to be vice president of the United States

02:12of America.

02:18When I was a senior in high school, that same Joe Biden supported the disastrous invasion

02:23of Iraq.

02:24And at each step of the way, in small towns like mine in Ohio or next door in Pennsylvania

02:30or Michigan, in states all across our country, jobs were sent overseas, and our children

02:36were sent to war.

02:50Joe Biden screwed up, and my community paid the price.

02:54Now, I was lucky.

02:57Despite the closing factories and the growing addiction in towns like mine, in my life,

03:02I had a guardian angel by my side.

03:05She was an old woman who could barely walk, but she was tough as nails.

03:10I called her Mamaw, the name we hillbillies gave to our grandmothers.

03:16President Trump represents America's last best hope to restore what, if lost, may never

03:21be found again, a country where a working class boy born far from the halls of power

03:28can stand on this stage as the next vice president of the United States of America.

03:34Our movement is about single moms like mine, who struggled with money and addiction, but

03:40never gave up.

03:41And I'm proud to say that tonight, my mom is here, 10 years clean and sober.

03:46I love you, Mom.

04:01It'll be 10 years officially in January of 2025, and if President Trump's okay with it,

04:07let's have the celebration in the White House.

04:13Together, we will make sure our allies share in the burden of securing world peace, no

04:24more free rides for nations that betray the generosity of the American taxpayer.

04:33Together, we will send our kids to war only when we must, but as President Trump showed

04:44with the elimination of ISIS and so much more, when we punch, we're going to punch hard.

04:52To the people of Middletown, Ohio, and all the forgotten communities in Michigan, Wisconsin,

04:58Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and every corner of our nation, I promise you this, I will be

05:03a vice president who never forgets where he came from.

05:09And every single day for the next four years, when I walk into that White House to help

05:13President Trump, I will be doing it for you, for your family, for your future, and for

05:19this great country.

05:20Thank you, God bless all of you, and God bless our great country.

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