(NewsNation) — Just hours after former President Donald Trump named Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate for the 2024 presidential ticket, former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy shared his support for the pick.
“He is somebody who has not only lived the American dream, like in a real way, but actually cares about serving the public … He’s one of the few who is in it for the right reasons,” Ramaswamy told NewsNation at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Ramaswamy is assured of the Ohio politician’s leadership, citing their time together at Yale Law School for confidence in his character.
“I’ve known him for a long time. So, I don’t say this as somebody who you recently met in the context of American politics,” Ramaswamy said. “I’ve known him for over a decade.”
Watching Cincinnati Bengals games together during law school, the businessman said he has seen Vance’s earnest approach to politics: “He is somebody who is in this because he deeply cares about the United States of America and our own citizenry. And his rhetoric isn’t some show.”
The running mate announcement comes just two days after an attempted assassination against Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally, which Ramaswamy called a “near national tragedy” avoided by “a hair’s width.”
“I think this convention, especially in the wake of what happened on Saturday, has an opportunity to be about who we are, and what do we stand for and what ideals actually unite us as a Republican Party and, more importantly, as Americans,” Ramaswamy said.
NewsNation Digital Managing Editor Tulsi Kamath contributed to this report from the RNC in Milwaukee.