Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), the GOP vice presidential nominee, has faced merciless and unrelenting attacks from Democrats and the media since he was selected as former President Donald Trump's running mate in July.

The ferocity and frequency of those attacks on Vance reportedly caused Trump to initially second-guess his choice, but Vance's exceptional performance on the campaign trail and in media interviews over the past month have now convinced the former president that he made the right decision, according to The New York Times.

Indeed, Trump is said to be so pleased by how things have played out that he has allegedly compared himself in private conversations to legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi and the Hall of Famer's knack for picking talented and championship-winning players for his teams.

Vance has impressed Trump on the campaign trail

When former President Trump first announced that Sen. Vance would be his running mate on July 15, Democrats and the media instantly went on the offensive against the young Ohio Republican with an unanticipated fury.

At the center of the ceaseless attacks were controversial remarks Vance had made over the past several years about not just Democrats but also Trump himself, given that he had initially been strongly opposed to the former businessman-turned-president.

Yet, reportedly at Trump's urging, Vance stood strong and pushed back against the coordinated assaults and, according to multiple unnamed sources, Trump was pleased that Vance's "execution exceeded his expectations" in that regard.

Now, after supposedly having initial doubts about his VP candidate, the former president has been convinced that the senator was the appropriate choice to help the GOP ticket achieve victory in November.

Fighting through the incessant attacks

To be sure, the constant attacks on Sen. Vance by Democrats and the media have taken their toll, particularly in terms of public opinion, as the margin between the senator's favorability and unfavorability rating has grown wider, per FiveThirtyEight.

That said, Vance has continued to march forward through the ongoing assault on his background and character and launched fierce counterattacks of his own against the Democratic ticket of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, which even The Times seemed to begrudgingly acknowledge have hit their marks more often than not.

Now, after initially being kept on a relatively short leash by Trump's side, Vance has been let loose and, since being named as the VP nominee, has successfully held around two dozen campaign events and as many fundraisers while participating in more than 70 media interviews -- in many cases jousting with hostile reporters -- and repeatedly engaging journalists on the campaign trail, unlike his Democratic opponents.

Doing his duty to support the GOP nominee

During a recent interview with NBC News reporters on board his campaign plane, dubbed "Trump Force Two," Sen. Vance noted how former President Trump told him after their first few joint campaign appearances, "I trust you. We should both be in different places, unless it’s a really big event. ... Divide and conquer."

"A lot of similarities, but also a lot of differences, too," Vance said of the campaign styles of himself and Trump. "We’re each trying to talk to different people in different ways, and we’re each trying to try to run the race as best we can. And he obviously sets the tone and sets the policy, and I just try to help."

The senator later said of the purportedly different stances the pair have on certain issues, such as abortion, that there is no "radical misalignment" between the two, as some critics have implied.

"But even if there was, the voters chose him, and he chose me," Vance added. "And my job on the ticket is to prosecute the campaign’s case and to make him the next president of the United States."