Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance was booed by some members of a Boston firefighters union on Thursday as he gave a speech in which he asked members “after supporting Democrats for so long in this union, what have you gotten out of this?”
The boos were heard immediately after Vance took the stage at the International Association of Fire Fighters Convention, prompting him to say, “It seems like we have some fans and some detractors.”
“Okay. Listen to what I have to say here and I'll make my speech,” Vance continued, but was met with boos again later in the speech when he declared: Former President Trump and he himself is “the most pro-worker Republican candidate in history.”
Vance, speaking a day after Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz addressed the same convention, called on the union to question its past support for Democrats.
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JD Vance reacts to being booed by some attendees at the International Association of Fire Fighters Convention. (Pool)
“In 2019, this union supported a Democrat for president with high hopes,” the Ohio Republican said. “But unfortunately, I think they've let him down.”
“And we have to be honest, my friends, the hard truth is that Kamala Harris “He's the latest in a long line of Democrats who come every few years to ask unions for money and promise them the moon and the stars, but often don't deliver. After supporting Democrats for so long in this union, what have they gotten out of it?” Vance continued. “Over the last 70 years, union membership in this country – and this is not a good thing – has declined.
“The influence of unions has waned and wages for workers, both unionized and non-union, have not kept pace with inflation over the last three and a half years,” Vance added. “So I want to ask you a question that Donald Trump asked America in 2016: What the hell do you have to lose?”
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Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks onstage during the International Association of Fire Fighters Convention on August 28, in Boston, Massachusetts. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
Vance also called on firefighters to remember the wave of anti-police protests that swept the United States in the summer of 2020, saying “we surely won't be bailing out criminals like Kamala Harris did.”
“The criminals, many of whom were targeting our firefighters as they tried to keep our cities safe and put out the fires, we will put the criminals behind bars, where they belong, and we will always stand with the brave firefighters and first responders who keep this country safe every day,” Vance said.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz step off their campaign bus in Savannah, Georgia, on Wednesday. Vance told the firefighters union on Thursday: “After supporting Democrats for so long in this union, what have you gotten out of this?” (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
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“We will defend your right to free speech, including your right to speak out about the unconstitutional COVID vaccine mandates imposed by the current administration,” he also said. “We will abolish each and every mandate and we will fight to rehire all firefighters who were wrongfully terminated with all the back pay they deserve.”
