JD Vance's mother had emotional reaction when he celebrated her 10 years of sobriety during speech
Donald Trump's running mate Sen. JD Vance gave his first speech as the nominee for vice president Wednesday at the Republican National Convention – and his mom, Bev Vance, was a big focal point, receiving a standing ovation.
Vance, who has been open about his difficult childhood and wrote a memoir about it, "Hillbilly Elegy," shared more about his mother and her past addiction during his speech.
Vance said the Trump ticket is fighting for Americans, including single moms such as his "who struggled with money and addiction but never gave up."
"I'm proud to say that tonight, my mom is here, 10 years clean and sober. I love you, Mom," Vance said, prompting the RNC audience to erupt in cheers.
His mother, Bev Vance, stood for the applause and appeared to tear up and hold a tissue to her eyes. After a lengthy standing ovation, the crowd started chanting "JD's mom," over and over.
"You know, Mom, I was thinking. It will be 10 years officially in January of 2025, if President Trump is okay with that, let's have the celebration in the White House," Vance said.
Beverly Vance sat next to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson during the speech and spoke to him often. She was seen shaking hands with former President Donald Trump, who sat with her and Vance's wife Usha.
During his speech, Vance criticized the "cheap Chinese goods, with cheap foreign labor and in the decades to come, deadly Chinese fentanyl," plaguing the U.S.
Vance, who represents Ohio, grew up in Appalachia, a region disproportionately affected by substance abuse disorders, according to the Appalachian Regional Commission. In 2021 overdose-related deaths for people between 25 and 54 years old was 72% higher in Appalachia than the rest of the country.
"Despite the closing factories and growing addiction in towns like mine, in my life, I had a guardian angel by my side," he said. "She was an old woman who could barely walk but she was tough as nails. I called her Mamaw, the name we hillbillies gave to our grandmothers."
He described his grandmother as a woman of deep Christianity who also cursed and "could make a sailor blush." She looked out for him and made sure he wasn't hanging out with drug dealers.
Vance's book, a bestseller when it was released in 2016, has skyrocketed back to the top of bestseller lists. Streams of a 2020 Netflix movie based on the book also increased 1,180% on July 15, the day he was announced as the VP pick, according to research firm Luminate.
In the film, Glenn Close plays his grandmother, Mamaw, and his mother is played by Amy Adams.
The book is seen as offering insight for political leaders and the media to understand how Trump can appeal to struggling working-class Americans in the Rust Belt. A key message in the book is that economically and socially struggling Americans can improve their own lives through willpower.
Another important woman in Vance's life, his wife Usha Vance, was also present at the RNC and introduced him. The pair met at Yale after Vance graduated from Ohio State following his time in the Marine Corps.
Usha is a litigator and clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, as well as Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh when Kavanaugh was a federal judge. The couple married in 2014 and have three young children.
"We were friends first, because, I mean, who wouldn't want to be friends with JD?," she said in her introduction Wednesday. "He was, then as now, the most interesting person I knew, a working-class guy who had overcome childhood traumas that I could barely fathom to end up at Yale Law School, a tough Marine who had served in Iraq, but whose idea of a good time was playing with puppies and watching the movie 'Babe.'"
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Caitlin O'Kane is a New York City journalist who works on the CBS News social media team as a senior manager of content and production. She writes about a variety of topics and produces "The Uplift," CBS News' streaming show that focuses on good news.