MILWAUKEE — Ohio Sen. JD Vance is a “dynamic” choice for vice president who will bolster former President Trump’s message of unity, New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis told Fox News Digital.
“JD Vance is a young, dynamic individual who is a great communicator. … He has an amazing personal story. He relates to regular American people all across the country, and I think that he will certainly add to the ticket, Malliotakis told Fox News Digital from the RNC.
“Not to mention, he comes from a swing state, which is always helpful.”
Trump announced Vance as his running mate on Monday as the RNC kicked off and delegates from across the nation officially nominated Trump.
TRUMP ANNOUNCES OHIO SEN JD VANCE AS HIS 2024 RUNNING MATE
New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis speaks with Fox News Digital. (Fox News Digital)
“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 announced on his Truth Social platform Monday afternoon.
Sen. JD Vance and wife Usha Chilukuri Vance are shown as he is nominated for vice president on the first day of the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on July 15, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Vance serves as a senator from Ohio after previously working as a venture capitalist and making his mark on the national map with his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.”
The junior Ohio senator previously made critical comments amid Trump’s 2016 run but has since become a loyal ally of the 45th president, including in May when Trump was on trial for 34 counts of falsifying business records.
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Sen. JD Vance, a Republican from Ohio, second left, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, left, and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican from New York, address the media outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in New York City on May 13, 2024. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Malliotakis also joined Vance and a bevy of other Trump allies at the courthouse during the trial, with the New York congresswoman telling Fox News Digital she had the opportunity to get to know Vance well as they defended Trump during what she described as a “sham trial.”
“I actually got to know JD quite a bit when we both went with President Trump to the courthouse during his sham trial in New York City,” she said. “So I’m happy for him. I wish him the best of luck, and I think he’s going to do a great job.”
A message of unity has taken center stage at the RNC after the assassination attempt on Trump on Saturday evening at a rally in Pennsylvania. Malliotakis said the “outrageous” attacks on Trump have hit levels seen in third-world countries and that it “needs to stop.”
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“Ever since President Trump came down the escalator nine years ago, he’s been vilified by the left. His opponents have done everything to try to destroy him financially, professionally, personally, and the rhetoric has gone way too far. And look what they did this year alone. They tried to kick him off the ballot, tried to put him in jail, and now someone tried to kill him. And it’s because of the rhetoric that came from the left, saying that President Trump is so dangerous, the biggest danger to democracy and comparing him to Hitler.”
“It’s outrageous and it has to stop.”
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is moved from the stage during a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Malliotakis said that rhetoric against Trump has heightened to the point reminiscent of actions in third-world countries, citing the court cases against Trump this year as well as the assassination attempt.
“Now trying to kill an opponent, that is not what happens in the United States of America. And I hope Americans – Republicans, independents and Democrats – unite by sending a clear message supporting President Trump,” Malliotakis said, adding she believes Vance will “absolutely” bolster this mission.
Gunfire rang out at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, about eight minutes after he took the stage on Saturday.
Trump was seen abruptly grabbing his right ear before ducking and hitting the floor of the stage. Secret Service personnel quickly surrounded Trump before he was escorted off the stage, his right ear covered in blood.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is rushed off the stage during a rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Before he was ushered out, Trump appeared to yell “Fight!” while giving a fist pump to the crowd to indicate he was OK.
“I’m just so happy that he’s alive, that he’s doing well, that he will be here. I think that there’s a lot of excitement here in Milwaukee right now for President Trump’s speech on Thursday.”
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“We believe he will be calling on the country to come together because we may have differences as Americans on policy. And we need to learn, all of us, to debate it respectfully on the House floor, in the media and at the ballot box.”
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