JD Vance Pick Hardens GOP Swing to Protectionist Trade Stance

Donald Trump’s pick of Senator JD Vance as his running mate Monday hardens the Republican party’s shift toward trade protectionism and positions a successor to entrench the viewpoint for years to come.

Trump’s selection of Vance, a rising populist star who is a vociferous critic of decades of bipartisan free trade deals, is a blow to a Republican establishment on Capitol Hill that remains dominated by free-trade supporters, and to retailers like Walmart that have thrived on selling cheap imports to US consumers.

Senator JD Vance

Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

The ticket diminishes chances that the US will shift back to the less restrictive approach ...