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Only after the Republican convention in Milwaukee began did Trump reveal the big secret. He had chosen Senator JD Vance as his running mate. The 39-year-old was celebrated.
Milwaukee – Republican Donald Trump has chosen his loyalist JD Vance as his running mate for the presidential election. The former Trump critic is now considered a close ally of the former US president and, at 39, is an up-and-coming star in the Republican Party. Shortly after the announcement of the eagerly awaited nomination, the party convention in Milwaukee officially confirmed the nomination. At the beginning of the major event in the US state of Wisconsin, the delegates also elected Trump as their candidate for the presidential election. The step was considered a formality after his victory in the party’s primary elections.
Trump’s speech at the party convention on Friday night in Germany is now eagerly awaited. Vance will also speak on stage this week – probably on Thursday night in Germany. First, he bathed in the crowd at the party convention and was euphorically cheered. Vance once celebrated success with his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy”. The bestseller provides an insight into a social class that helped make Trump’s election victory in 2016 possible. The 39-year-old author has only been in the Senate for the state of Ohio since 2023 and is considered a right-wing hardliner. If Trump wins the presidential election in November, Vance would be one of the youngest vice presidents in US history.
Vance had been under discussion for some time
Vance doesn’t mince his words and likes to dish it out. After the assassination attempt on Trump, he immediately began to rant and blame US President Joe Biden personally for the attack. In the Senate in the spring, he voted against billions of dollars in aid for Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia.
The senator came to the party convention in Milwaukee with his wife Usha Chilukuri Vance. The lawyer met Vance at the elite Yale University; she is the daughter of Indian immigrants. The couple shook many hands and were celebrated. The crowd chanted “USA, USA, USA.” Vance had long been considered the favorite for the position of “running mate” – but his name was not the only one that was mentioned.
![Election campaign in the USA - Republican Party Convention](https://www.merkur.de/assets/images/35/95/35095018-wahlkampf-in-den-usa-parteitag-der-republikaner-NDBG.jpg)
The Republican gathering in Milwaukee is overshadowed by the assassination attempt on Trump, in which the Republican was slightly injured over the weekend. Despite the attack, the 78-year-old traveled to Milwaukee on Sunday to attend the meeting.
Party conference is a choreographed spectacle
At their so-called nominating conventions, the Republicans and Democrats officially confirm their overall results at the national level after the party’s internal primaries. Around 2,400 delegates from all states travel there, who are bound by the primary election results and cast their votes accordingly.
In order to win the candidacy, Trump had to unite at least 1,215 delegates behind him. Trump had already overcome this mathematical hurdle in the primaries in March. This means that the outcome of the votes there is usually clear in advance. The procedure at the party convention is therefore generally a choreographed ceremony. The nominating conventions in the US election year are major election campaign spectacles. Trump’s sons Eric and Don Jr. and daughter Tiffany were also present and were cheered.
![Election campaign in the USA - Republican Party Convention](https://www.merkur.de/assets/images/35/95/35095019-wahlkampf-in-den-usa-parteitag-der-republikaner-PPBG.jpg)
The Democrats will not meet until August in Chicago. The 81-year-old Biden also secured the necessary delegate votes for a candidacy in his party’s primaries. However, a debate about his candidacy is currently raging in his party because of Biden’s advanced age. Only he himself can decide whether to forego the presidential candidacy. So far, he has stuck to this adamantly.
State of emergency in Milwaukee
The Republican Party Convention in Milwaukee began on Monday under high security precautions. Numerous streets in the city on the western shore of Lake Michigan are cordoned off. Even near the venue in the center of the city, which has around half a million inhabitants, you can only get there after a special security check. Even before the assassination attempt on Trump, the organizers had planned very high security precautions.
In addition to the delegates, thousands of other people have traveled to Milwaukee – including politicians, party members and members of the press. Part of the party convention is also the adoption of the party platform, and speeches from numerous high-ranking Republicans are expected. At the start of the major event, delegates shouted “Fight, fight, fight!”
![Election campaign in the USA - Republican Party Convention](https://www.merkur.de/assets/images/35/95/35095020-wahlkampf-in-den-usa-parteitag-der-republikaner-OKBG.jpg)
Assassination attempt on Trump overshadows party convention
In recent days, events in the already heated US election campaign have escalated. Last week, the whole country was discussing Biden’s mental fitness and suitability as a presidential candidate, but the focus has shifted since the fatal shooting at a Trump campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Trump is portraying himself more than ever as a strong leader for the country who cannot be stopped even by an armed attack. After the attack on his opponent, Democrat Biden warned against further political violence and called on Americans to stick together.
A few hours before the start of the party convention, Trump was also able to score a huge legal victory. In the affair surrounding the taking of secret government documents, the judge in charge, Aileen Cannon, dropped the criminal proceedings against Trump. The legal success gives the ex-president further momentum in the election campaign. Trump called for unity – and as a sign demanded that the other criminal proceedings against him should also be dropped. dpa
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