JD Vance focuses media attention in Springfield, Ohio
Fox News national correspondent Griff Jenkins discusses the impact of former President Trump and vice presidential candidate JD Vance's efforts to “create” attention to the immigration crisis in Springfield, Ohio.
Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance appeared to take a swipe at Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris during an event in Michigan, when he echoed a talking point about her upbringing that she often repeats at her own events.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters in Traverse City, Vance said he, too, “grew up in a working-class family” and knows what it takes to stand up for the middle class in an election year plagued by high inflation and crippling costs.
“Many of you know my story and many of you know where I come from. I grew up in a working-class family. So when Democrats, when Kamala Harris talks about her middle-class background, when Democrats talk about how they stand up for working people, they're not telling the truth,” Vance said.
And he added: “They are lying to you.”
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Republican vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, speaks to supporters during a campaign event at the Northwest Michigan Fairgrounds on September 25, 2024 in Traverse City, Michigan. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
In his remarks, Vance said voters can recall how many Democrats in positions of power during the COVID-19 pandemic tried to enforce lockdowns and maintain them while Americans were desperate to return to work.
“This is how we know they're lying to you,” he continued. “Remember a few years ago when there were a lot of nurses, a lot of people in a lot of industries who were losing their jobs because they refused to get the COVID vaccine? Now, I think if they want to get the COVID vaccine, they should get it. If they don't want to get the COVID vaccine, they shouldn't get it. But listen, it's shameful for Kamala Harris to say that she's standing up for the American worker when she fired millions of American workers, men and women, from their jobs for not doing what Kamala Harris told them to do.”
Vance was visiting Michigan because the state represents an important backdrop for former President Trump’s reelection chances and for lower-level races like that of former Rep. Mike Rogers, who is running to represent Michigan in the U.S. Senate.
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After praising Rogers, Vance turned his attention to the current vice president.
“I don't know if you saw the news, but Kamala Harris decided to do her first solo national interview,” Vance said. “I've seen a couple of local reporters' interviews with Kamala Harris and I've realized why Kamala Harris doesn't do interviews. And the answer is that every time she answers a question, I think we gain about 100,000 votes, me and Donald Trump.”
“Of course, they ask Kamala, because she's the vice president and she's the reason we have sky-high inflation and an open border, what is she going to do? What's her specific plan to solve the inflation crisis that's making it unaffordable to buy food and housing? And Kamala will say, well, did you know I grew up in a middle-class family, I had a really nice lawn back in Berkeley, California?” she continued. “It's like, well, that might be true. What the heck does that have to do with lower inflation?”
Vance added: “Or they'll say, Kamala Harris, we've got a war on every new continent across the country. Kamala Harris, your administration has somehow led to the policies that caused this conflict. How are you going to resolve this as president of the United States? And Kamala Harris will say, well, did you know I worked at McDonald's for about three months when I was a teenager?”
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The Republican senator's tirade against the Democratic candidate, arguing that she does not offer details in her answers.
“I think my friends, all of us watching this interview, are wondering: What is Kamala Harris? What is she really planning to do for the American people? And the answer is we don't know. [But] “We don't have to guess that much because she's been vice president for three and a half years and she's done nothing. So let's just put to rest this idea that Kamala Harris is going to fix the problem that she caused.”
Vance spoke to a crowd during a rally at the Berks County Fairgrounds on September 21, 2024 in Leesport, Pennsylvania. (Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images)
And, “Kamala Harris is the reason we have sky-high inflation. Kamala Harris is the reason you can't afford to buy food or housing. Kamala Harris is the reason the world is at war right now on almost every continent. Kamala Harris is the reason the border is wide open. And Kamala Harris, you want a promotion? The message from Michigan is you're fired. Go back to San Francisco where you belong.”
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Michigan, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, constitutes the Democrats' so-called “blue wall,” which the party has reliably won in presidential elections for a quarter of a century.
This stronghold crumbled completely during Trump's successful presidential campaign in 2016, when he narrowly won all three states. However, Biden narrowly won all three states back in 2020.
