Vice President JD Vance tore into Democrats on Tuesday for refusing to stand for Americans “who actually make this country run.” He said that in his lifetime, he’s watched the Democratic Party go completely “off the rails,” so focused on illegal immigration, fraud, and enriching through special interests that they’ve lost sight of the people they’re supposed to represent.
Over the past several months, Democrats have denied fraud allegations from Minnesota to California to Washington, D.C., supported illegal immigrants over American citizens, and even forced government shutdowns that put public safety at risk as they opposed funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Vice President Vance argued that this was indicative of a party that had largely abandoned the American populace.
🚨 JD VANCE GOES ABSOLUTELY NUCLEAR ON THE DEMOCRATS:
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) May 5, 2026
“They are so focused on FRAUD, because so many of their friends get RICH from fraud, that they forgot to look after YOU!”
“When the President of the United States asked the entire Congress to stand for the simple principle… pic.twitter.com/UK5DNV52rR
"For the first time in my entire life, I think we have seen a major political party in the United States of America completely go off the rails," the vice president said. "They're not just talking about different views on taxes, or on regulation, or on the Clean Water Act, as important as all those things are. They're talking about who does the government actually stand and fight for."
"When the President of the United States asked the entire Congress to stand for the simple principle that the people's government ought to fight for the American people first, what did we see?" he asked the crowd. "We saw every single congressional Democrat sit on their hands. They didn't care about you, they didn't care about the people of this district, they didn't care about the farmers, or the factory workers, or the people who actually make this country run. Because now we have in Washington, D.C., a Democrat party that is so focused on illegal immigration, that is so focused on people who don't have the legal right to be here, that is so focused on fraud, because so many of their friends get rich from fraud, that they forgot to look after you."
Vice President Vance made the remarks at a campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa, alongside Republican Rep. Zach Nunn, where the two praised the Trump administration’s policies, from tariffs to efforts to bring manufacturing back to the United States.