By Alice Giordano

Following his Rocky-like display of patriotic survivalism following the assassinated attempt against him this past Saturday, Donald Trump has named his vice president. Ohio Senator J.D. Vance will now join Trump as his vice presidential nominee as he moves to lead the country through the thick and thins of civil warfare that is rocking the nation.

Trump made the announcement on social media as the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee Wisconsin got underway today. “After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the best person suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” he announced under his @realDonaldTrump account on X.

If Trump is elected, the 39-year old Ohioan and Marine Corp veteran would be the second youngest vice president in U.S. history — second only to John Breckenridge. Breckenridge was 36 when he served under President John Buchanan starting in 1856.

With some irony, he shares a ticket with already one of the oldest serving presidents — vaporizing any concern about the state of the corner office should Trump’s age ever become a factor.

In accepting the VP nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee Wisconsin on Monday, Vance called it an “honor” to stand with Trump. QUOTE him. His climb to VP status is especially impressive given he has been in the Senate for less than two years.  During that time, Vice President-elect Vance has been an unwavering ally of the former President and seems to most align with the wants and purported needs of the MAGA candidate’s supporters — even when it doesn’t align with the broader agenda of the party.

His staunch MAGA loyalty comes with some irony since he was raised in a Democratic household, but an old school one with guns and Christianity being par for the course in his upbringing. Vance also served in the Iraq War and attended Yale Law School. His book Hillbilly Elegy, based on his upbringing and the influences of his family’s Appalachian heritage, inspired a Netflix movie.

As far as loyalty goes, he is nowadays —  a far cry from Trump’s last VP — Mike Pence, who during his short-lived bid for the 2024 Republican nomination for The White House, could barely garner much more than a couple of percentage points from unforgiving Trumpsters for not standing by the president following the Jan. 6 protests. Of course, Vance and Trump were not always a political match made in heaven.

Before turning mega, Vance was critical of the President  saying at the onset of his 2016 election campaign “he couldn’t stomach” Trump and  during a rally in Ohio during Vance’s campaign run, Trump called him a “suck up” —  saying he was “kissing his ass” because he wanted his support. Over time, Vance saw the light and joined loyalists like Marjorie Taylore Greene (who many thought would be the best pick of them all for Trump’s VP).

In the most recent support for Trump, Vance was among the first, if not — the first —  to point fingers of blame at the Biden Administration for the flawed protection of the U.S. Secret Service that almost cost Trump his life this past Saturday.

Vance beat out several prospects for the vice presidency including two one-time presidential candidates North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.  Florida U.S. Sen. Mark Rubio was also on Trump’s short list and many named speculated that Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and former Housing Secretary Ben Carson were potential dark horses in the race.

A couple of influential women were on Trump’s longer VP list. In terms of issues — Trump and Vance seem to be in lockstep on the major ones.

On major issues like  abortion and immigration, Vance seems if anything comes across as  even a little more staunchly conservative than Trump.

Last week, he underscored the economic crisis Biden’s open border policy has created for American citizens, including drying up affordable housing and driving down wages for entry-level jobs. Trump recently said immigrants are needed to fill jobs in the labor market.

In what could only be seen as a bit of a political twist on the topic and the choice of someone as anti-illegal immigration as Vance, it was a chart outlining the damage illegal immigration is exacting on the U.S. that prompted Trump to turn his head just enough to have a bullet graze his ear instead of striking him in the head.

Adding more to the irony is Trump tilted his head — to the right — and not to the left. Thankfully he learned right with his VP as well. Alice Giordano is a freelance writer for The Epoch Times, formerly of The Associated Press and The Boston Globe.