48 hours after being shot through the ear at a campaign event, Donald Trump has announced J.D. Vance as his running mate.

“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 J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Full statement:

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 J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio. J.D. honorably served our Country in the Marine Corps, graduated from Ohio State University in two years, Summa Cum Laude, and is a Yale Law School Graduate, where he was Editor of The Yale Law Journal, and President of the Yale Law Veterans Association. J.D.’s book, “Hillbilly Elegy,” became a Major Best Seller and Movie, as it championed the hardworking men and women of our Country. J.D. has had a very successful business career in Technology and Finance, and now, during the Campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond….

Vance, 39, had emerged as the front-runner earlier in the day after sources said that Marco Rubio and Gov. Doug Burgum had been finalists. Both were told on Monday that they were out of the running.

Earlier in the day, Vance was seen leaving his home in a motorcade, fueling speculation that he was the pick.

Ohio Senator JD Vance spotted leaving his home in a Motorcade today amid VP speculation: pic.twitter.com/QantkzvLBN

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) July 15, 2024

A former Silicon Valley venture capitalist best known for his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” quickly emerged as a top defender of the former president in the wake of the 2020 election.

Senator J.D. Vance at a rally for former President Donald J. Trump in Dayton, Ohio.Credit…Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times

Following Saturday’s attempted assassination Vance jumped into action – suggesting on X that President Biden bore responsibility.

“The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination,” wrote Vance, who went from harsh Trump critic to ardent supporter.

Today is not just some isolated incident.

The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs.

That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.

— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) July 14, 2024

Donald Trump Jr. has repeatedly advocated for Vance – who in 2016 privately texted a former Yale roommate that he feared Trump could be “America’s Hitler.”

By 2018, however, Vance had softened his tone – viewing Trump as speaking to the frustrations of the very Americans he had written about in his book.

Of note, the Ohio Senator is pro-crypto…

pic.twitter.com/DzVe99LDDE

— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) August 6, 2021

🚨 Trump’s VP pick JD Vance has a little bit of Bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/pH6MYVDn0W

— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) July 15, 2024

Meanwhile, Trump’s odds just jumped again on PredictIt following the Vance announcement: