RADFORD, Va. — Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance took the stage Monday night at his second solo rally of the day and campaign, relentlessly attacking Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s new leader, at least for now.
Vance declared that Harris is “a million times worse” than Biden and said Biden’s record is “Kamala Harris’ record.”
“If Joe Biden is unfit to run for president, then he’s unfit to serve,” Vance added at Radford University’s Dedmon Center, hours after a hometown rally in Middletown, Ohio.
The southwest Virginia city sits in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains and is culturally similar to the areas of Ohio and Kentucky where Vance grew up.
As Vance spoke about the need to bring manufacturing jobs from overseas back to America’s Rust Belt regions, the crowd began chanting “USA! USA!”
“For years, players in both parties in Washington have been selling out places like Middletown, Ohio, and Radford, Virginia. Both parties have moved millions of good paying manufacturing jobs overseas. They have decided that we don’t need to make anything in the United States anymore, and now we are too reliant on the Chinese Communist Party to make the things we need, from weapons of war to the medicine we inject into our children’s bodies.”
“These decisions were made by broken leadership that decided that we didn’t need to build anything in this country. President Trump has a different vision: Let’s build more in America.”
More than an hour before Vance was scheduled to speak, the seats filled up, with the overflow crowd filing behind chairs and surrounding the press box.
Employment and inflation were the top issues for most of those in attendance.
“We need jobs, not just for young people graduating from school, but better jobs for seniors and older adults,” said Tina Compton, 57, a tax assistance specialist who has lived in Virginia for decades. “But there’s also the issue of safety. Right now, almost every family in this county is affected by opioids, including my own.”
“It’s also about respect,” added retired Army officer Raymond Young. “We respected the president as kids. We respected the flag. JD is a great choice to get us back there.”
“I’m glad he’s a Christian too,” Compton concluded. “He was an atheist in college, but now he’s a very devout Christian, and that’s important to me.”
President Biden’s withdrawal from the election was also a concern for attendees.
“I feel so sad for him,” Young said. “He’s sick and he needs to get help right now. What they’ve done to him is horrible.”
Security at the event was apparently tight following the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania this month, including Secret Service agents stationed in the women’s restroom.
“Now is the time for us to come together as a country and join forces to make a difference,” Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, one of Van Them’s opening speakers, told The Washington Post.
When asked about the Democratic candidate, Miyares responded, “It’s not personnel, it’s policy. That’s what’s the problem. Policies have caused 30% inflation, rents are going up, mortgages are going up, gas prices are going up. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said, ‘Make Grocery Affordable Again,’ which pretty much sums up where we are as Americans. We’ve seen total irresponsibility from the federal government and federal spending, and that’s led to these inflationary prices.”
At the end of the event, 16-year-old poet KV told the Post that the speeches were “very empowering.” “I can’t vote yet, but… [Vance] if you can.”
