Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance said Thursday that Republican nominee Donald Trump considered announcing his vice presidential pick at the notorious rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in July.
Trump seriously considered choosing the Ohio senator as his vice presidential pick and about making the announcement at the then-upcoming rally on July 13, Vance told podcaster Joe Rogan. Vance did not accompany Trump to Butler after the former president decided against the idea, stating that they needed to plan out the vice presidential pick in more detail.
“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 said. “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.
WATCH:
The would-be assassin, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, climbed his way 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 portion of his right ear. The shooting killed 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, and critically injured rally attendees James Copenhaver and 57-year-old David Dutch.
Vance said he witnessed the assassination attempt on television while he took his children to go mini golfing in Cincinnati, Ohio, and believed on first instinct that Trump had died. He described rushing home with his children, grabbing some of his firearms, and standing outside of 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.”
Trump announced that he picked Vance as his vice presidential choice during the Republican National Convention (RNC) on July 15.
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