During a rally in Minnesota on Saturday, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) addressed an attack recently launched against him by Vice President Kamala Harris. Not long after Vance was selected to be Donald Trump's running mate, Harris put out a social media post claiming that he "will be loyal only to Trump, not to our country," which is particularly despicable, given that Vance served in the United States Marine Corps. Veterans like former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) have also criticized Harris for such a narrative.
Donald Trump has picked his new running mate: J.D. Vance.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 17, 2024
He will be loyal only to Trump, not to our country.
If elected, he will help implement the extreme Project 2025 plan for a second Trump term. We’re not going to let that happen. pic.twitter.com/z4UKczVdbv
During that rally in St. Cloud, where both Trump and Vance spoke, Vance spoke out against Harris in a way that certainly caught people's attention, especially over X.
"I saw the other day Kamala Harris questioned my loyalty to this country. That's the word she used: loyalty," Vance reminded, going on to call it "an interesting word" as "there is no greater sign of disloyalty to this country than Kamala Harris has done at our southern border."
"And I'd like to ask the vice president, what has she done to question my loyalty to this country," Vance continued. "I served in the United States Marine Corps! I went to Iraq for this country," he reminded. "I built a business for this country, and my running mate took a bullet for this country," he also said, bringing to mind the assassination attempt that Trump survived at a rally in Butler, just two weeks before. "So my question to Kamala Harris is, what the hell have you done to question our loyalty to the United States of America!"
The continuous applause caused Vance to take several pauses.
"And the answer my friends is nothing," Vance said as he continued, not long before he thanked the crowd and exited the stage. "So let's send a message to the media... to Kamala Harris... to every hardworking patriot from Minnesota across the country, we are ready to have Donald J. Trump back and we are going to work our tails off to make sure it happens!"
Kamala Harris questioned my loyalty to America. I enlisted in the Marines for this country. I went to Iraq for this country. I built a business for this country. And my running mate took a bullet for this country. What the hell has Kamala done to question our loyalty to America? pic.twitter.com/WykF5pRY4Y
— JD Vance (@JDVance) July 28, 2024
While Minnesota has voted for the Democratic nominee for president every election since 1972, Trump came close to winning the state in 2016, and is looking to put it in play once again. The North Star State has been added to the list of battleground states for 2024, and Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) has admitted that the race will "be close."
RealClearPolling had President Joe Biden leading Trump by an average of +3.0 when he was still in the race, while Harris lead Trump by an average of +8.0 in that matchup.
Decision Desk HQ/The Hill has noted that a poll from Redfield & Wilton Strategies shows Harris leading Trump by just +3.0 in Minnesota, 44-41 percent, which has not yet been included by RealClearPolling in their averages.
Harris made such a post referencing Vance when she was still running for another term as vice president, as Biden had not yet dropped out. Assuming Harris does in fact become the Democratic nominee for president, it won't be Vance she faces on the debate stage, but Trump.
While Vance thus won't be the one to call her out personally on the debate stage for making such claims against his loyalty, perhaps Trump will be the one to do so. His campaign noted last week that they will not commit to a debate at this time, given that Harris is not officially the nominee, though Trump has expressed interest in participating in more than one debate with Harris.
Regardless of if it's Trump and/or Vance who references loyalty, we can likely expect to keep hearing about it. In sharing Vance's remarks over X, Vish Burra noted that "JD Vance just needs to pound the bullet and service line over and over."
JD Vance just needs to pound the bullet and service line over and over.
— VISH BURRA 🏴☠️ (@VishBurra) July 28, 2024
Make Kamala define her accomplishments (she’s got none). https://t.co/VlUDlg7DJi
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