Who is Trump's running mate JD Vance? What is his India connection?

Ohio Senator JD Vance has been named as the Republican vice presidential candidate for the November election.

Vance is a 39-year-old Marine Corps veteran who rose to prominence with his 2016 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," that tells of the hardships he faced growing up in Appalachian Kentucky and Ohio.

When Trump first ran for president that same year, Vance called him "dangerous" and "unfit for office."

However, Vance was introduced to the Trump family when Donald Trump Jr. became a fan of his book. He eventually met with Trump as president in 2021.

Once he was elected as a senator for Ohio in 2023, Vance fiercely defended Trump's policies and behavior, which he said resonated with voters who felt forgotten by the party.

"He understands what Trump is running on and, unlike the rest of the Republican Party in Washington, agrees with it," conservative commentator Tucker Carlson told Reuters.

Ideologically, Vance has been described by the president of the Heritage Foundation as a leading conservative voice on key issues including free market economics, a less interventionist foreign policy and "American culture writ large."

Democrats have called Vance an extremist on issues like abortion.

Vance signaled support for a nationwide 15-week abortion ban during his senate campaign, but he softened his stance after Ohio voters overwhelmingly backed a 2023 abortion rights amendment.

In recent days, Vance attracted controversy for his comments on the assassination attempt against Trump.

"The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs," Vance wrote on social media. "That rhetoric led directly to President Trump's attempted assassination."

India connection

JD Vance is married to Indian-origin American Usha Chilukuri. The couple has three children together.

Born to Indian immigrants, raised in San Diego suburb, California, Usha Chilukuri has been outspoken about her cultural background.

She is a known figure in the US legal landscape. After earning a bachelor’s degree in History from Yale University, she pursued a Master of Philosophy degree from the University of Cambridge.

She clerked for Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh before Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Court. Currently, she serves as a litigator at a national firm.

(Inputs from DW)