Former U.S. President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump selected Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate on July 15.
The 39-year-old conservative, whose fame ballooned after the publication of his 2016 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," was announced as Trump's pick for vice president on the first day of the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Vance is one of Trump's most vocal supporters and an outspoken critic of U.S. aid to Ukraine.
Once an opponent of Trump, Vance changed his tune on the former president during his bid for Senate in 2021. He then abandoned many of the policy proposals that first brought him to the national stage, instead sticking close to Trump and embracing populist, isolationist views.
"He's shown himself to be this political chameleon who is going to hop onto whatever is convenient," said Emily Channell-Justice, a program director at Harvard University’s Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI).
Vance was selected from a crowded field of potential VP candidates, including North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and Florida Senator Marco Rubio.
A crucial swing state that also boasts one of the largest Ukrainian populations in the U.S., Ohio voted for Trump in both 2016 and 2020. Vance has represented Ohio since 2023.
The announcement of Vance as Trump's running mate reignited U.S. President Joe Biden's campaign, with renewed calls to "protect democracy." The Biden camp had paused campaigning against Trump immediately following the July 13 assassination attempt.
Vance has said that it would be "completely irresponsible" for Ukraine to join NATO. He has also argued for the U.S. to focus solely on preventing Chinese expansion, even if that means sacrificing sovereign Ukrainian lands to Russia.
"Any peace settlement is going to require some significant territorial concessions from Ukraine, and you're gonna have a peace deal, because that's the only way out of the conflict," Vance said in February.
Vance went on to write an op-ed in April arguing that the "math doesn't add up" in terms of U.S. support for Ukraine. He also repeated popular talking points about how the Ukrainian military is forcibly recruiting civilians.
Other complaints have targeted President Volodymyr Zelensky. In December 2023, as Congress continued to obstruct U.S. military aid to Ukraine, Vance said it was "gross" that Zelensky visited the U.S. Senate "to apply pressure against Republicans as we fight for more border security."
Zelensky has increasingly emphasized that the administration is prepared to work with a potential Trump White House in January 2025.
Vance has also opposed military aid on the grounds of the war's potential longevity, saying the problem in Ukraine is that there's no clear endpoint to the war.
This isn't a new tack for Vance. For a political shapeshifter, he has for years remained consistent in his opposition to aiding Ukraine.
"What's happening in Ukraine doesn't threaten our national security," Vance tweeted in 2022, one day before Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
Four days earlier, Vance said in an interview, "I gotta be honest with you, I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other."
When it comes to foreign policy issues beyond Ukraine, Vance's commentary shifts. He remains a staunch supporter of Israel in its war against Hamas and has continually expressed interest in normalization agreements between the U.S. and Arab states.
Steven Pifer, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, said Trump's choice of running mate ultimately doesn't matter for Ukrainians, because no candidate would challenge him on Ukraine policy.
Trump's own statements on Ukraine along the campaign trail have been hyperbolic and enigmatic, with promises of swift peace deals that lack any substantive details.
Peter Rough, the former director of research in the Office of George W. Bush, described Trump's approach to Ukraine as "a balancing act."
"I expect Trump to continue managing the competing factions within the party on Ukraine, as he did during the national security supplemental debate," Rough said in a written reaction to Trump's announcement.
"That balancing act is the defining element of Trump’s approach to Ukraine. I expect it to continue with Vance at his side."
Channell-Justice agrees that Vance's opposition to Ukraine aid will have little effect at the polls.
"Voters aren't going to vote for Trump or Vance because of their stance on Ukraine," she said.
"They're going to vote for Trump or Vance because they love Donald Trump."
Tim Mak
