JD Vance hammers Kamala Harris’ policies during Berks County campaign stop
Standing on a stage under a pavilion at the Berks County Fairgrounds on Saturday afternoon with a sea of red and blue Trump-Vance signs held aloft by supporters behind him, JD Vance went on the attack.
The U.S. senator from Ohio and vice presidential candidate threw verbal jabs and uppercuts at Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris. He derided her record and scoffed at her plans.
For about 50 minutes, Vance told a crowd of hundreds of Berks County supporters why they shouldn't want Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, in the White House.
"On Nov. 5, the American people, the people of Pennsylvania are going to send a message that you are firing Harris and Trump is coming back," he said.
Vance is the first member of a presidential ticket to visit Berks so far this election cycle, holding a rally to drum up support for former President Donald Trump. His remarks focused more on what he sees as Harris' shortcomings rather than what he and Trump plan to do if elected, providing little details about their proposals.
Vance focused mainly on two areas when attacking Harris: the economy and the southern border.
Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance speaks to a Berks County crowd on Saturday at the Berks County Fairgrounds in Bern Township. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)
The rally, Vance said, was his second stop of the day. He visited a grocery store elsewhere in Pennsylvania earlier, saying the prices he found there were way too high because of the Biden-Harris administration.
He said a dozen eggs cost almost $4, while when Trump was president the cost of eggs was about $1.50. He said the price of ground beef went from just shy of $4 a pound to $6 a pound because Harris cast the deciding vote on what he called the "Inflation Explosion Act."
"She says that on Day 1 she's going to tackle the affordability crisis affecting American families," he said. "Kamala, Day 1 was 1,400 days ago. What the hell have you been doing that whole time?
"Stop talking about what you're going to do and go out there and do it."
The U.S. inflation rate as of the end of August was 2.5%, its lowest mark since February 2021. When President Joe Biden and Harris took the oaths of office in January 2021 the rate was 1.4%.
Vance said that it's not just grocery prices that are too high. Everything is more expensive, he said, and people cannot afford to meet their basic needs because of Harris' policies.
"Donald Trump believes in a very simple principle: If you work hard and play by the rules you ought to be able to get ahead in this country," Vance said. "Isn't that simple? That's the American dream."
Vance said that one of the most critical parts of the American dream is being able to afford your own home. And right now, thanks to Kamala Harris' policies, home prices are skyrocketing, he said.
"Mortgage rates are the highest they have been in a generation and a lot of young Americans feel like they cannot afford a home in this country, and I think that's ludicrous," he said.
Vance did not provide any specific plans on what he and Trump would do to lower costs for consumers or decrease inflation.
He also attacked Harris on her and Biden's handling of the southern border, saying the administration's policy allowed 25 million illegal immigrants into the country.
"People who shouldn't be here, people who are competing against you and your children to buy homes that ought by right go to American citizens," he said.
The remark elicited chants of "U.S.A." from the enthusiastic crowd.
A Berks County audience receives Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance on Saturday at the Berks County Fairgrounds in Bern Township. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)
Vance said that in small towns across America illegal immigrants are putting a strain on precious resources. The influx of people, he claimed, are leading to overcrowded schools and hospitals.
Vance also blamed the Biden-Harris border policy for allowing drug trafficking from Mexico.
"This is something that is very personal for me because my boys have gotten a second chance to know their grandmother because this is a great and generous country," he said.
Vance explained that he was raised by his grandmother because his mother had struggled with opioid addiction for a large part of his life. He said he remembers being a teen sitting at his mother's bedside praying that she would wake up from whatever drugs she had taken.
He said his mother is now 10 years sober.
"There is hope on the other side," he said. "There is hope for recovery, but only if we give people that second chance. And we are not going to give that second chance to millions of Americans if we keep on letting those drug cartels use our country as a drug trafficking zone."
According to immigration authorities, about 90% of illicit fentanyl is seized at official border crossings, and nearly all of that is smuggled by people who are legally authorized to cross the border. More than half is smuggled by American citizens.
Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance acknowledges his fans following his speech on Saturday at the Berks County Fairgrounds in Bern Township. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)
Vance did not provide any details about how a Trump administration would deal with the southern border.
Vance said the most important quality in a president is their ability to handle a crisis.
He said Trump is the perfect candidate for president. He said his bravery in the face of an assassination attempt in western Pennsylvania in July shows people his character.
"That shows you who he is under fire, under literal fire," he said. "What we want in the Oval Office is a person who is calm and cool under pressure, and that describes Donald Trump to a T."
About halfway into the rally, Vance concluded his remarks and began taking questions from the media. The question-and-answer session created a tense environment, with members of the crowd loudly booing members of the media and hurling insults like "fake news" in their direction.
One of the most timely questions was about Vance sharing a debunked conspiracy theory about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating neighbors' pet cats and dogs. He was asked about comments he made last week about his willingness to spread false stories in order to gain media attention.
Vance said his first response to the question is "boo," mirroring the loud chorus of boos the question drew from the crowd.
"Look, the media has lied and misrepresented this," he said. "What I said is that people create media stories that focus people's attention on what is going on. Go to any community that has been overrun by Kamala Harris' illegal alien policies and tell me these are stories made up by politicians.
"These are stories that people have been living for months, or in some cases years," he added. "The only thing Donald Trump and I did was highlight and focus on these stories."
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Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance on Saturday at the Berks County Fairgrounds in Bern Township. ()
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Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance on Saturday at the Berks County Fairgrounds in Bern Township. ()
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A Berks County audience receives Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance on Saturday at the Berks County Fairgrounds in Bern Township. ()
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Rally-goers with front-row seats cheer Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance on Saturday at the Berks County Fairgrounds in Bern Township. ()
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Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance speaks to a Berks County crowd on Saturday at the Berks County Fairgrounds in Bern Township. ()
Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance on Saturday at the Berks County Fairgrounds in Bern Township. ()
Officials in Springfield have repeatedly said that they have no evidence of any pets having been eaten. The attention that has been drawn to the issue, in part because of Vance and Trump repeating the claims, has led to a flood of threats in the Springfield area that recently forced schools there to close.
Harris' campaign said Friday ahead of Vance's visit that Democrats, Republicans and independents across Pennsylvania are rallying behind Harris because she will take the country forward and they're ready to turn the page on the extreme politics of Trump and Vance.
"JD Vance comes to Pennsylvania as Republicans across the commonwealth are announcing their support for Harris, including over a dozen senior former national security officials who know Trump and know he's unfit to serve as commander-in-chief," the campaign's Pennsylvania Rapid Response Director Onotse Omoyeni said in a statement.
