(Elias Irizarry, Headline USA) Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, took the stage for the first time since GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump selected him as running mate on Monday during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
On Wednesday, he was introduced by his wife, Usha Vance, who proclaimed that she was at a loss when asked to introduce him: “What can I say that hasn’t been said before?”
She described Vance as “a working-class guy, who had overcome children traumas that [she] could barely fathom to end up at Yale Law School, and a tough Marine who had served in Iraq, but whose idea of a good time was playing with puppies and watching the movie Babe.”
Finally, Vance took the stage to thunderous applause and the playing of America First by country star Merle Haggard.
Vance began by reminding convention delegates and guests about the historical significance behind the convention and how, just days prior, Trump’s life was put at risk.
“My friends, tonight, tonight is a night of hope. A celebration of what America once was, and with God’s grace, what America soon will be again. But instead of a day of celebration, this could’ve been a day of heartbreak and mourning,” Vance spoke to the crowd.
“For the last eight years, President Trump has given everything he has to fight for the people of our country,” Vance added. “He didn’t need politics, but the country needed him.”
Vance, author of the autobiographical Hillbilly Elegy, continued to describe his background, talking about how he was raised in Middletown, Ohio—which he called “a small town where people spoke their minds; built with their hands; and loved their God, their family, their community and their country with their whole hearts.”
Never in my wildest imagination would I have believed that I could be standing here tonight.
I grew up in Middletown, Ohio, a small town where people spoke their minds, built with their hands, and loved their God, family, community, and country with their whole hearts.
But it… pic.twitter.com/GogFo9ZbMp
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) July 18, 2024
However, he said that places like his hometown had been cast aside and forgotten by America’s ruling class.
Vance railed against trade deals such as NAFTA, globalism and overseas foreign conflicts, which he attributed to career politicians like President Joe Biden.
“When I was in the fourth grade, a career politician by the name of Joe Biden supported NAFTA, a bad trade deal that sent countless good jobs to Mexico,” he said.
“When I was a sophomore, that same career politician named Joe Biden gave China a sweetheart trade deal that destroyed even more middle-class manufacturing jobs,” he continued. “When I was a senior in high school, that same Joe Biden supported the disastrous invasion of Iraq, and in each step of the way, in small towns like mine in Ohio, or next door in Pennsylvania or Michigan, in states all across our country, jobs were sent overseas, and our children were sent to war.”
He blamed Biden for the policies that led to the United States being flooded with cheap Chinese goods, cheap foreign labor, and deadly Chinese fentanyl.
“Joe Biden screwed up, and my community paid the price,” said Vance, as chants of “Joe must go” filled the arena.
Appropriately enough, Vance’s speech came as news broke that Biden’s recent COVID diagnosis might have made him privately more receptive to the growing demands of fellow Democrats that he soon withdraw, ostensibly leaving Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket.
In a lighthearted moment, Vance spoke about his “mamaw,” a nickname he used for his grandma who raised him while his mother struggled with drug addiction. (Actress Glenn Close received an Oscar nomination for portraying her in the 2020 film version of Vance’s autobiography.)
The crowd was endeared and chanted “mamaw” in return.
J.D. Vance tells the story of his Mamaw, who loved God, loved her grandson, and whose language could make a sailor blush. The crowd erupts in “Mamaw! Mamaw!” chants.@JDVance1 pic.twitter.com/24JL8LUJsu
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) July 18, 2024
Vance praised his mother, who sat in the same row with Trump, for being nearly 10 years sober from drugs and alcohol.
“Mom, I was thinkin’, it’ll be 10 years officially in January of 2025, and if President Trump’s OK with it, let’s have the celebration in the White House,” he said.
The running mate continued to rail against globalist policies and champion his vision for America First. He proclaimed his vision of buying energy and building factories in the United States, protecting the wages of American workers, fighting the Chinese Communist Party, and only sending soldiers to war when necessary.
Vance additionally fought against the notion that America is just an idea.
“One of the things that you hear people say is that America is an idea, and to be clear, America was founded on brilliant ideas, like the rule of law and religious liberty,” Vance said.
“But America is not just an idea,” he continued. “It is a group of people with a shared history and a common future. It is, in short, a nation.”
Vance continued to outline his beliefs in putting Americans first and supporting the blue-collar workers of Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Pennsylvania—all of which, besides Ohio, are battleground states in the upcoming election. Vance’s home state, although won by Obama in 2008 and 2012, has since flipped solid red.
“I will be a vice president who never forgets where he came from,” Vance promised.
“And every single day, for the next four years, when I walk into the White House to help President Trump, I will be doing it for you,” he added. “For your family, for your future, and for this great country. Thank you!”
Follow Elias Irizarry at twitter.com/eliasforsc
