Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance made his first solo campaign appearance a day after the White House race was thrown into upheaval when President Joe Biden dropped out.
The Ohio senator held a rally Monday at his former high school in Middletown, his hometown, where he played up his local ties, praised running mate Donald Trump and attacked Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who’s now backed by more than half of the delegates needed to win her party’s nomination vote, according to an Associated Press survey.
“I was told I was going to debate Kamala Harris and now President Trump’s going to get to debate her,” Vance said to laughs. “I’m kind of pissed off about that, if I’m being honest with you.”
Vance tried to deflect the criticism that Trump, who has refused to accept his 2020 loss to Biden and tried to overturn the results, is a threat to democracy. The senator claimed that the real threat came from the push by “elite Democrats” who “decided to throw Joe Biden overboard” and then have the party line up behind a replacement without primary contests.
Vance also seemed to question Harris’ patriotism, saying that when she gives a speech, “she talks about the history of this country not with appreciation but with condemnation.”
He added: “Not everything’s perfect. It’s never going to be. But you, if you want to lead this country, you should feel grateful for it. You should feel a sense of gratitude. And I never hear that gratitude come through when I listen to Kamala Harris.”
Vance gave no examples to support his assessment.
The attack line against Harris was reminiscent of criticism of former first lady Michelle Obama, who said during husband Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential primary bid that it was the first time she felt really proud of her country. Conservatives seized on the comment to portray her as unpatriotic. She said the comment was taken out of context, and that she was talking about election results, not of the country itself.
The applause for Vance from a crowd of about 900 was more muted than at the raucous rallies that Trump typically holds, though the senator drew a strong response when he endorsed Trump’s “America First” policies.
Vance planned an evening event in Radford, Virginia.
Trump’s campaign intends to use Vance, who became the GOP vice presidential nominee last week, in Rust Belt states that are seen as pivotal for Democrats’ path to the White House. That includes Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, and places where the senator’s blue collar roots and populist views are expected to resonate.
Middletown, between Cincinnati and Dayton, is considered to be part of the Rust Belt and allowed Vance to lean into his biography, which he laid out in his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.” It also gave the campaign a chance to establish a fresh groundswell in a former swing state that has been trending Republican.
Vance cited his origin story in his remarks, describing his grandma “Mamaw,” and joking, “A lot of you know the story of my family. Hell, a lot of you are my family, actually,” which drew laughs from the crowd.
Vance tried to warm up to the audience in Middletown with lots of local references, including to ice cream and doughnut shops, a storied high school math teacher and the roads where he rode his bike.
While Republicans promoted a unifying message last week and decried inflammatory language in the wake of the assassination attempt against Trump, one of the first speakers to introduce Vance at the rally suggested the country may need to come to civil war if Trump loses in November.
“I believe wholeheartedly, Donald Trump and Butler County’s JD Vance are the last chance to save our country,” said George Lang, a Republican state senator. “Politically, I’m afraid if we lose this one, it’s going to take a civil war to save the country and it will be saved. It’s the greatest experiment in the history of mankind.”
Lang later apologized after Harris’ team highlighted his remarks on a post on X.
“I regret the divisive remarks in the excitement of the moment on stage,” he said on the same social network. “Especially in light of the assassination attempt on President Trump last week, we should all be mindful of what is said at political events, myself included.”
Vendors outside the event removed merchandise referencing Biden and added coffee mugs, T-shirts and other items that featured Vance.
Vance’s second stop is in western Virginia, in an area considered a part of the Appalachia region. The campaign’s decision to send Vance there also signals their confidence in their chances in the state, which has gone for Democrats in every presidential election since 2008.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who is seen as a potential Democratic vice presidential candidate, made a point of criticizing Vance for the way he has portrayed Kentucky and the region.
Vance was raised by his grandparents in Middletown, which is not in Appalachia, but spent a significant amount of time traveling to Kentucky with his grandparents to visit family. The senator has said he hopes to be buried in a small mountain cemetery there.
“He ain’t from here,” Beshear told The Associated Press.
Vance is working to introduce himself to voters. A CNN poll conducted in late June found the majority of registered voters had never heard of Vance or had no opinion of him. Just 13% of registered voters said they had a favorable opinion of Vance and 20% had an unfavorable one, according to the poll.
Vance has served in the Senate for less than two years. He has morphed from being a harsh Trump critic, at one point likening him to Adolf Hitler, to becoming a staunch defender of the former president.
After Vance was named as Trump’s running mate, a startling number of Republican delegates, who are typically party insiders and activists, said they did not know much about the senator.
In his hometown in Ohio, though, he was welcomed as a local star.
Chloey McGuire, 26, was attending her first political rally.
“I just wanted to come for JD, for his movie that he made for our hometown,” she said, referring to the film based on his book.
Darlene Gooding, 77, of Hamilton, said Vance will provide a welcome contrast to Trump. “Trump doesn’t always come off the best. It’s all about him. JD is wonderful. He gives you the idea he really cares about people.”
