During an appearance at a medical products company in North Philadelphia, Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance offered his own diagnosis of American politics: Democrats are gaslighting you.
“We have a country that’s being failed by its present leadership,” said Sen. Vance (R-Ohio). “Don’t let anybody gaslight you here. Kamala Harris is running around the country and saying ‘On Day One,’ she wants to bring the cost of goods and the cost of housing under control. She says ‘On Day One,’ she wants to make the cost of groceries and housing more affordable to American citizens.
“Kamala Harris, where you have you been?” Vance asked. “Day One was three and a half years ago!”
Vance’s speech came after Harris revealed her economic plan that includes giving first-time homebuyers $25,000 and imposing government price controls on groceries.
Vance was introduced by DiSorb Systems CEO Ted McLaughin, who told the enthusiastic crowd America needs experienced entrepreneurs like former President Donald Trump to run the country, noting that Democrats Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) have no business experience.
“Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are the epitome of career politicians,” he said.
Vance came to prominence as a best-selling author who wrote about his experiences growing up in the economically-depressed environs of Appalachia, and he’s been an outspoken advocate of Trump’s “America First” policies that promote domestic economic activity, in part by imposing tariffs on imported goods.
“We’ve got to stop the Chinese and everybody else from undercutting the wages of American workers. If you want access to American markets, you ought to deal fairly with the American people. Union and nonunion alike, we’re going to stop the Chinese from building their middle class on the back of the American middle class,” Vance said.
Vance noted Harris has also said she wants more manufacturing jobs in the U.S.
“Well, Kamala, if you really, really want to bring American manufacturing back to this country, might I suggest you vote for Donald Trump,” said Vance. “Get out of this race.”
Vance, who sat down for a series of tough interviews on the Sunday news shows, called out the Democratic ticket for refusing to take questions from the press.
“It is disgraceful that Kamala Harris pretends to run for the presidency of the United States, but she refuses to stand before the American people without a teleprompter standing between. What are you so afraid of? The American people are good and kind.”
“If you want to be the people’s president, you ought to be willing to stand before the American people and answer a few tough questions. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, is it?”
Vance also turned his fire on Harris’s running mate, who has been besieged by video clips and press statements he’s made that were less than accurate about his service in the National Guard.
“Everything that comes out of [Tim Walz’s] mouth about his military service is 25 percent of a lie,” Vance said, adding: “It occurred to me the closest that Tim Walz has ever come to combat, even though he said he ‘carried a weapon in war,’ is when he let rioters burn Minneapolis to the ground.
“The American people deserve to be led by someone who is willing to get out there and talk to somebody,” said Vance. “Kamala and Tim, stop hiding in the basement. Get out there and campaign.”
When a reporter asked Vance about abortion, the crowd booed.
Vance said he and Trump are “focused on making the American Dream affordable again.”
But added Trump said that Pennsylvania will have a different abortion policy than Ohio or California. “Let the states decide.”
Their Democratic opposition is talking about “taxpayer-funded abortions up until the moment of birth,” said Vance.
“We want Americans to feel like they can afford to have families again,” said Vance. “You talk to young women who have an unexpected pregnancy, a lot of them feel like they don’t have options. How are you going to feed a baby? How are you going to house a baby?”
DVJournal asked him what a Trump-Vance administration’s position on Israel and the war in Gaza would be.
“Our position is pretty simple. The best thing for Israel and the best thing for the United States is for this war to be over as quickly as possible and for Hamas to be destroyed in the process,” Vance said. “You have Kamala Harris, who said she’s really concerned about civilian casualties. Well, I’m concerned about civilian casualties, too. If you’re concerned about civilian casualties, you want the war to be over as quickly as possible, and you want to destroy Hamas’ ability to fight.
Carolyn ‘Bunny’ Welsh
“She’s pursued policies that are just the opposite,” Vance said. “Not allowing Israel to finish the job against Hamas is the worst of all [outcomes].”
Former Chester County Sheriff Carolyn ‘Bunny’ Welsh was at the Philly event, and she noted that he grew up poor and served in the Marines.
After the event, attendees told DVJournal they were impressed.
“He’s a strong partner for Trump,” said Welsh. “He’ll go through a wall for him. He’s articulate and measured.”
“I think he was great,” said Melissa Hertenberger of Langhorne after the event. “He had a clear presentation, and he knows what it is to be in business and how to get things done.”
Gary Heasley, a Chester County resident, said, “JD Vance has the ability to articulate the platform that is necessary to restore this nation. And he’s already voting to implement it [in the Senate]. He’s a great choice. You can see it when he goes on Democrat TV channels, CNN, MSNBC. He’s consistently fighting for the pro-America agenda to get these policies through, not the globalist agenda.”
Vance “can explain it, but he can also execute it,” Heasley said.
“He’s very quick on his feet. I like what he says,” added West Goshen resident Felice Fein. “He says what he means, and he means what he says. He believes it.”
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