Trump picks anti-LGBTQ JD Vance as running mate
Former President Donald Trump announced anti-LGBTQ U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his 2024 running mate in a Truth Social post on Monday.
A political neophyte who was first elected in 2022 thanks to Trump’s endorsement, Vance once compared the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to Adolf Hitler, also calling him “cultural heroin” and “an opioid of the masses.” The Ohio senator’s journey from critic to acolyte was cemented over the weekend.
After Trump walked away from an assassination attempt and both of the major candidates said it was time to turn down the rhetoric, Vance went further than many on the right and directly blamed President Joe Biden and his campaign for the gunman’s actions. “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” he said on X. “That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.” LGBTQ organizations and advocates issued statements on Monday blasting Trump’s vice president pick. “Donald Trump has been a bully for years — and his pick of MAGA clone JD Vance is a reminder that nothing has changed.
This is anything but a unity ticket,” Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said. “We are not simply choosing between two campaigns.
