Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance revealed on Thursday that Republican nominee Donald Trump contemplated announcing his vice presidential pick at the infamous rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. Vance shared with podcaster Joe Rogan that Trump had seriously considered selecting him as his vice presidential candidate and making the announcement at the rally scheduled for July 13. However, Vance did not accompany Trump to Butler after the former president ultimately decided against the idea, citing the need for more detailed planning regarding the vice presidential selection.
“He said ‘well, I think I’m probably going to pick you, but I don’t know and I’m not ready to make a decision,’” Vance told Rogan. “And then, he looks at one of his staff members who’s in the room, and he’s like, ‘Actually, wouldn’t it really set the world ablaze if we just made the decision today? And so why don’t you come up with me and we’ll just do the announcement in Butler, Pennsylvania?’ And I said, of course, not knowing at the time what was going to happen, I was like ‘absolutely, let’s get this over with because I’m sick of not knowing. Let’s just get this thing over with.’”
“And then he said, ‘ah, no, I’m not going to do it up there, we need to prepare for it better. So, look, I’m not saying it’s going to be you, but I’m thinking very seriously about it. Have fun, we’ll see you after Butler, [Pennsylvania],’” Vance continued. The running mate then explained his responses to reports that Trump has been shot. The would-be assassin, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, climbed onto the rooftop of the American Glass Research (AGR) building at 6:08 p.m. and fired eight rounds into the crowd, injuring Trump in the upper part of his right ear. The shooting resulted in the death of 50-year-old Corey Comperatore and critically injured rally attendees James Copenhaver and 57-year-old David Dutch.
Vance recounted that he witnessed the assassination attempt on television while taking his children mini-golfing in Cincinnati, Ohio, and initially feared that Trump had died. He described rushing home with his children, retrieving some of his firearms, and standing outside his home like a “sentry.”
“And then of course, I go back home to Ohio, he gets shot,” Vance continued. “You know, the initial reaction is I actually thought they had killed him because when you first see the video, he grabs his ear and then he goes down, and I’m like ‘oh my God, they just killed him.’ I was so pissed, but then I go into fight or flight mode with my kids, I’m like, ‘alright kids,’ you know, we were at a mini golf place in Cincinnati, Ohio. I grab my kids up, throw them in the car, go home and load all my guns and basically stand like a sentry at my front door and that was sort of my reaction to it.”
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