RNC 2024 Day 3 updates: JD Vance touts working class roots in debut as VP nominee

Usha Chilukuri Vance was the penultimate speaker of the night and talked personally about their relationship and his work in the Senate.

Chilukuri Vance, a daughter of Indian immigrants, talked about how despite their differences she and her husband approached those differences with "curiosity and enthusiasm."

"Before I knew it, he had become an integral part of my family. A person I could not imagine living without. The JD I knew then is the same JD you see today. Except for that beard," she said to a laughing crowd.

"It is safe to say that neither JD nor I expected to find ourselves in this position. But it is hard to imagine a more powerful example of the American dream," Chilukuri Vance added as the crowd changed "JD."

"I am grateful to all of you for the trust you have placed in him and in our family," Chilukuri Vance said.

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Usha Vance touts husband before his big speech

Usha Chilukuri Vance was the penultimate speaker of the night and talked personally about their relationship and JD Vance's work in the Senate.

ABCNews.com

As Usha Vance introduced her husband, attendees rose out of their seats to give the vice presidential nominee a standing ovation as he walked out to the song “America First.”

Vance is about to speak in primetime at the RNC, live on all three big networks as well as cable news. The stakes are high, as this is the first impression many Americans will have of him. According to a recent YouGov poll, 43 percent of Americans don't have an opinion of Vance -- probably because many of them are hearing about him for the very first time. This speech will be step one in (he hopes) building a positive reputation for himself.

-538's Nathaniel Rakich

After introducing his daughter, Kai Trump, at the RNC, Donald Trump Jr. praised the teen for her "incredible work" then said, "Now back to business."

He began his speech addressing the assassination attempt on Trump at Saturday's rally.

"Just days ago, something that once seemed unimaginable became a terrifying reality," he said. "My father came under literal fire as an incredible patriotic rally turned into a tragedy. On a field in Butler, Pennsylvania, a brave firefighter died, others were injured, and as those bullets rained down, we came millimeters away from one of the darkest moments in our nation's history."

He then went after the Biden administration.

"Remember 'Build Back Better?' Instead, we got broke, bumbling Biden," he said. "Nothing is built, nothing is back, and nothing is better. Bridges are collapsing, our credibility is crumbling and our money is worth less and less every single day."

With a photo of Trump with his fist raised at the rally following the shooting on display, Donald Trump Jr. led the crowd in a chant of "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"And we will fight. We will fight. We will fight with our voices. We will fight with our ideas and on Nov. 5, we will fight with our vote," he said, positing the election as a choice between "America first" and "America last."

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Donald Trump Jr.: 'On Nov. 5, we will fight with our vote'

After introducing his daughter, Kai Trump, at the RNC, Donald Trump Jr. praised the teen for her "incredible work" then said, "Now back to business."

ABCNews.com