Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate, US Senator JD Vance, has presented himself to the nation as the son of a forgotten industrial Ohio town who will fight for the working class if elected in November.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
In chronicling his hard-knock journey from a difficult childhood to the US Marines, Yale Law School, venture capitalism and finally the Senate, Vance, 39, introduced himself to Americans while using his story to argue he understands their everyday struggles.
"I grew up in Middletown, Ohio, a small town where people spoke their minds, built with their hands and loved their God, their family, their community and their country with their whole hearts," Vance said, formally accepting the party's nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
"But it was also a place that had been cast aside and forgotten by America's ruling class in Washington."
He accused "career politicians" like President Joe Biden - who Vance noted has been in politics longer than he has been alive - of destroying communities like his with ill-fated trade policies and foreign wars.
"President Trump's vision is so simple and yet so powerful," he said. "We're done, ladies and gentlemen, catering to Wall Street. We'll commit to the working man."
In a sign of his potential value to the ticket, he also repeatedly appealed to the working and middle classes in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin specifically - three "Rust Belt" swing states likely to decide the November 5 election.
Vance described his grandmother, "Mamaw", who raised him as his mother struggled with addiction, and acknowledged his mother, Beverly, who was on hand to watch him speak.
"I am proud to say that tonight my mom is here, 10 years clean and sober," Vance said. "I love you, Mom."
A visibly moved Beverly Vance mouthed, "I love you, JD," while delegates gave her a standing ovation.
Vance is one of several high-profile Republicans, such as US senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, whose reversal from critic to loyalist has underscored Trump's takeover of the party.
His speech embraced many of Trumpism's core tenets, promising to prioritise domestic manufacturing over Chinese imports and warning allies they would no longer get "free rides" in securing world peace.
Vance has opposed military aid for Ukraine and defended Trump's attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden.
He has argued the government must do more to assist the working class by restricting imports, raising the minimum wage and cracking down on corporate largesse.
Trump, his right ear still bandaged after it was grazed by a would-be assassin's bullet at a Saturday rally in Pennsylvania, walked into the convention to roars for the third straight night.
James Brown's It's a Man's Man's Man's World played throughout the arena as Trump entered.
Biden, 81, was forced off the campaign trail on Wednesday after testing positive for COVID-19.
The illness added to Biden's woes, after three tumultuous weeks in which he has struggled to reassure panicked Democrats he can still defeat Trump following an anemic debate performance on June 27.
US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told Biden in a meeting on Saturday it would be better for the country and the Democratic Party if he ended his re-election campaign, ABC News reported.
And CNN reported on Wednesday that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Biden polling shows he cannot defeat Trump and the president could destroy the Democrats' chances of winning back control of the House of Representatives.
Earlier on Wednesday, Democratic US Representative Adam Schiff became the 20th congressional Democrat to publicly call for Biden to drop out of the race.
Australian Associated Press
