LAST UPDATE | 15 Jul

AUTHOR-TURNED-POLITICAN JD VANCE has been selected by Donald Trump as his running mate for the US presidential election.

The Ohio senator, who came to the fore following his Hillbilly Elegy book about white working class communities in America, will be the potential future vice president as Trump seeks to return to the White House.

Vance was revealed this evening at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump has been formally named as the party’s nominee for president.

“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator JD Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump said on his social media platform.

Vance, centrr, is introduced during the first day of the Republican National Convention. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

He said Hillbilly Elegy had “championed the hardworking men and women of our “country” and that their camapaign will be “strongly focused” on “American workers and farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and far beyond”.

But the position of his running mate has taken on even greater significance following the attempted assassination of Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend.

Hours before the shooting, in an interview before he boarded his plane from Florida, he told Fox News: “It’s a very important position, especially if something bad should happen – that’s the most important.”

Vance was this evening introduced to the convention to loud cheers and a standing ovation from the crowd, where he was formally selected as Trump’s running mate.