Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance concentrated Wednesday on tying Vice President Kamala Harris to national economic problems that he blamed on her failure to control illegal immigration.
“Our message to illegal aliens is, pack your bags, because in four months you're going home,” former President Donald Trump’s running mate said to cheers from the crowd inside Liberty Arena a downtown Williamsport indoor sports complex.
Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio, said Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, tries to distance her from President Joe Biden because she can’t defend their record.
“If you really want to help the American people, stop talking about what you're going to do and go and do it,” he said. “You're the vice president now, get to work.”
With Election Day 20 days away, it was the first time either campaign ventured into north-central Pennsylvania, but both sides have ramped up their visits to the state in the final weeks.
Vance blamed Harris and Biden for inflation, briefly talked about Trump’s tax cuts and claimed Harris wants to raise taxes and defund the police. He also said Harris wants to mandate electric vehicles.
Lorena Beniquez / WVIA News Contributor
Lorena Beniquez / WVIA News Contributor
Lorena Beniquez / WVIA News Contributor /
Lorena Beniquez / WVIA News Contributor
Lorena Beniquez / WVIA News Contributor /
Harris and Biden have acted to encourage more electric vehicle use, not mandate it. Harris has said she wants to reimagine police funding, but also that she wants more money for law enforcement. Harris also talks about raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations and offering tax credits for children and starting a small business.
Mostly, Vance focused on illegal immigration and blamed Harris for that and what he views as its associated problems: overcrowded public schools, fentanyl overdoses and “skyrocketing housing costs.”
He decried Harris’ desire for compassion for illegal immigrants.
“Our message to Kamala Harris is that we want our leaders to be compassionate, and we are a compassionate people, but the American president owes his compassion first and foremost, to the American citizens who built this great country, not to people who don't have the legal right to be here in the first place.”
Slaughter slams 'divisive' rhetoric
In the Democratic response, Williamsport Mayor Derek Slaughter said in an interview after the rally that Vance spewed “divisive and polarizing” rhetoric.
Slaughter said he hoped Vance drove around Williamsport and saw the growth and “historic investments” fostered by Biden and Harris’ policies.
Trump talked about passing an infrastructure bill, but Biden and Harris did it, Slaughter said.
“So we know Vice President Harris’ record, she's able to work in a bipartisan way and get legislation to the President's desk, get it signed into law,” he said. “And we know when she's President Harris, she will get it done then as well.”
