Former House lawmaker calls Vance ‘completely unqualified’ to be Trump VP

As speculation about who former President Donald Trump will pick as his vice president continues, one former House Republican has a strong opinion on who it shouldn’t be: Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH).

David Jolly, a one-term House representative from Florida who left the Republican Party in 2018, said Vance is “completely unqualified” to be Trump’s vice president in an appearance on MSNBC. Vance has been floated as Trump’s running mate for some time.

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Jolly enforced his opinion after an MSNBC report that Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Vance, and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) were among three finalists to join the ticket with Trump.

“Look, I think Rubio and Burgum are two very safe picks and I think they both check the governing and experience box,” Jolly said. “I think J.D. Vance is completely unqualified.”

“As a country, we should want somebody qualified to serve,” he continued. “And I think Rubio, Burgum, whatever you think of their ideology, check that box.”

Vance emerged as a prominent Trump choice as he defended the president repeatedly since taking office in 2023 and told ABC News in an interview that he would not have immediately certified the results of the 2020 election. He also appeared outside the courthouse in New York during Trump’s hush money trial along with other prominent Republicans.

He’s also only 39 and would fit the bill as a vice president who could later run for president if Trump wins the 2024 election.

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Vance, Rubio, and Burgum are a few of the names that have been floated as running mates. Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Byron Donalds (R-FL) and Trump Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson have been rumored as picks as well.

Trump has said he will announce his vice presidential choice closer to the Republican National Convention, which starts 10 days from Friday on July 15.