It was no secret that Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) was on the shortlist to be selected as Donald Trump’s running mate, but actually getting the job was much a secret to him as it was to the rest of the country. Once he did learn he had been selected, however, the moment turned into a family affair for the Vances.
On Friday’s show, he joined Megyn to discuss how Trump called to offer him the job and the sweet moment the former president shared with his son.
The Call
As Vance explained it, he had just checked into the hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he would be staying during the Republican National Convention when he noticed he had a missed call on his phone from Trump.
“He apparently called, and I didn’t see it because it went straight to voicemail or something,” Vance recalled. “I call him back and he answers the phone and says, ‘You know, J.D., you missed a very important phone call. Maybe I’ll have to give this to somebody else.”
The 39 year old admitted that his “heart kind of stopped” and he “tensed up really, really powerfully” in that moment. But it wasn’t all so serious. Vance was traveling with his wife, Usha Vance, and their three children, Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel, and the kiddos – ages seven, four, and two – were apparently unaware of the official business their dad was tending to.
“The funniest thing – again, because we’re in the hotel room – is my seven-year-old kid is talking about his Pokemon cards,” Vance told Megyn. “So, I’m trying to have this conversation with the president of the United States offering me the vice presidential nom and, in the background, my seven year old is talking about Pikachu.”
At one point, Trump actually heard his son in the background and asked to speak with him. “He then asked [him], ‘What do you think about the statement I’m about to put out nominating your dad for vice president?’” he shared. “And my son listens to it and says, ‘Oh, that sounds nice.’”
‘A Surreal Moment’
Vance said the moment was “surreal,” and he is thankful to Usha for having the wherewithal to take a picture of him while he was on phone with Trump. “You know, what an honor,” he said. “That is the thing that I try to just remind myself of every single day.”
While his rags to riches story is well-known thanks to his bestselling memoir-turned-blockbuster film Hillbilly Elegy, Vance said accepting the nomination was yet another reminder of how far he has come. “I didn’t come from anything material and I did not have the advantages of a lot of people in politics, but I had an incredibly loving family,” he said. “And I just feel so grateful to have this opportunity.”
And Vance believes that gratitude and point of view is what he adds to the Trump-Vance ticket. “As I said at the convention, the most important thing that I think I can bring to the ticket is to never forget where it came from, to never forget the perspective of people who are struggling,” he said. “It’s people like Mamaw, who really suffer when grocery prices go up as much as they have under the Biden-Harris administration. It’s people like mom, who struggle with addiction – but she has been clean for 10 years now – who really, really struggle when you have this poisonous fentanyl coming across our southern border.”
Those are the people Vance is running for. “I just want to remember where I came from and serve the people who made me who I am,” he concluded. “I think if I do that, I’ll be a fine vice president and the country will be better for it. That’s my goal.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Vance by tuning in to episode 849 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.