Ex-president admits Hillbilly Elegy author ‘said some not so great things about me in the past’ but is now the BEST chance of winning
- The Hillbilly Elegy author got the official backing of the ex-president on Friday
- Trump admitted Vance had said some negative things about him in the past
- However, he said in a statement he believes the Marine veteran can win
- Trump said Vance will serve as a ‘devastating rebuke of the ‘failures of Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats’
- Vance’s rivals had tried to derail the endorsement by claiming he had once called Trump supporters ‘racist’
- Trump’s big announcement comes a week after backing Dr. Oz in Pennsylvania
Former President Donald Trump has officially endorsed J.D. Vance in the Republican primary in the Ohio Senate race.
The Hillbilly Elegy author earned the prized endorsement in a crowded field in what is expected to be a hotly contested race to get on the ticket in November.
Allies of rival GOP candidates Josh Mandel, the state’s former treasurer, and Jane Timken, a former Ohio Republican Party chair, had tried to hold up the announcement and claimed Vance once referred to Trump supporters as racist.
But on Friday, Trump put his weight behind Vance after admitting he had ‘said some not so great things about him in the past’.
He insisted the Marine veteran has the best chance of winning and will serve as a ‘devastating rebuke of the ‘failures of Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats’.
It is the second big endorsement Trump has made in the last seven days after backing Dr. Oz in the Pennsylvania Senate race.
Vance celebrated Trump’s endorsement in a tweet Friday: ‘I’m incredibly honored to have President Trump’s support. He was an incredible fighter for hard working Americans in the White House, he will be again, and I’ll fight for the America First Agenda in the Senate.’
In a statement on Friday, Trump said: ‘MAGA patriots from across the nation are set to deliver an election landslide for Republicans that will serve as a devastating rebuke of the failures of Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats.
‘Like some others, J.D. Vance may have said some not so great things about me in the past, but he gets it now, and I have seen that in spades.
‘He is our best chance for victory in what could be a very tough race. The Democrats will be spending many millions of dollars, but the good news is that they have a defective candidate who ran for President and garnered exactly zero percent in the polls.
‘The bottom line is, we must have a Republican victory in Ohio.’
‘This is not an easy endorsement for me to make because I like and respect some of the other candidates in the race—they’ve said great things about “Trump” and, like me, they love Ohio and love our Country.
‘I’ve studied this race closely and I think J.D. is the most likely to take out the weak, but dangerous, Democrat opponent—dangerous because they will have so much money to spend.
‘However, J.D. will destroy him in the debates and will fight for the MAGA Movement in the Senate.
‘He’s strong on the Border, tough on Crime, understands how to use Taxes and Tariffs to hold China accountable, will fight to break up Big Tech, and has been a warrior on the Rigged and Stolen Presidential Election. J.D. is a Marine who served in the Iraq War, a graduate of The Ohio State University, and earned a Law Degree from Yale—a great student.
