Trump downplays picking J.D. Vance as running mate (2024)

Former President Donald Trump downplayed the importance of his vice presidential pick on the ticket as J.D. Vancehas had a rocky rollout as his running mate.

In an interview with three reporters at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicagoon Wednesday, the Republican presidential nominee was asked if Vance would be 'ready on day one if he has to be.'

Trump responded that he has always had 'great respect' for the Ohiosenator, but the ex-president did not address whether Vance would be ready should he need to become president.

'I will say this and I think this is well documented, historically the vice president in terms of the election does not have any impact,' Trump said. 'I mean virtually no impact.'

Trump, 78, chose the 39-year-old senator, who has been in Congress for less than two years, as his running mate on day one of the Republican National Convention earlier this month.

But in the just over two weeks the conservative lawmaker has been on the ticket, he has been on the defensive as controversial past remarks have resurfaced including Vance criticizing women who don't have children.

Trump argued there are 'two or three days where there's a lot of commotion' over who the vice presidential pick will be, but he said that dies down and 'it's all about the presidential pick.'

'Historically, the choice of a vice president makes no difference. You're voting for the president,' Trump went on.

'You can have a vice president who's outstanding in every way,' Trump said. 'I think J.D. is; I think all of them would have been, but you're not voting that way, you're voting for the president.'

'You're voting for me. If you like me, I'm going to win. If you don't like me, I'm not going to win,' Trump said.

He never actually addressed the question on whether Vance would be ready to become president should he need to step in.

Trump was also asked about Vance's views on people who don't have children.

In a recently resurfaced 2021 Fox News interview, Vance said the U.S. is being run by Democratic 'childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too.'

It was one of multiple past controversial comments from the Ohio senator about people without kids that have resurface in recent days.

When the ex-president was asked if he knew about Vance's views about people who don't have children before choosing him as a running mate and whether he agrees with those views, Trumpdoubled down on his defense of his running mate.

'He is very family oriented, and he thinks family's a great thing,' Trump said. 'That doesn't mean that he thinks that if you don't have a family, it's not...'

The ex-president proceeded to ramble about his own experience knowing different families.

'I know people with families, I know people with great families, I know people with very troubled families, and I also know people with no families - they didn't meet the right person, things happen you go through life, you don't meet the right person,' the ex-president said.

When the interviewer tried to turn Trump back to Vance's comments about people with children including Vance once suggesting people with kids should get more votes,Trump argued what Vance is 'saying is he thinks the family experience is a very important thing. It's a very good thing.'

Trump said it is not the position of his campaign that people with children should have more votes.

Politics