U.S. Senator J.D. Vance, former Republican vice presidential candidate Donald Trump, said Wednesday that Vice President Kamala Harris “can go to hell,” criticizing her for failing to investigate the 2021 troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in which 13 American soldiers died.
While campaigning in northwestern Pennsylvania, Vance was asked to respond to reports of an altercation at Arlington National Cemetery earlier this week, when Trump attended a ceremony honoring soldiers who died during the withdrawal. Associated Press Press Agency reported that Trump’s campaign was warned not to take photos before the altercation.
Vance, who served in the Marines during the Iraq War, said he believes the media is “creating a story” that doesn’t exist, but he credited Trump with showing respect to the families he said invited the former president. Vance criticized Harris for the Biden administration’s failure to investigate the soldiers’ deaths.
“But the fact that these 13 Americans lost their lives and not one person was fired is disgraceful,” Vance said. “Kamala Harris is disgraceful. We’re going to talk about the story of these 13 brave, innocent Americans who lost their lives. The point is that Kamala Harris is so sleepy at the wheel that she doesn’t even want to investigate what happened and she wants to yell at Donald Trump because he showed up. She can… she can go to hell.”
As vice president, Harris would not have the authority to open an investigation into the troop withdrawal.
Harris’ campaign declined to comment to the Capital-Star in response to Vance’s comments Wednesday.
During a visit to Erie, Vance told a crowd of supporters that the region reminded him of his hometown in Ohio.
“Driving through Erie, Pennsylvania, I couldn’t help but think how much it reminded me of my hometown of Middletown, Ohio,” Vance said in response to a question from a local reporter Hardinger Syndromea company that describes itself as a “technology-driven transportation and warehousing company.”
“All I could think about driving through Erie was that it was a beautiful place, but it had been neglected because of a lot of stupid policies put in place by people like Kamala Harris,” Vance said.
During his nearly 35-minute speech to supporters and while fielding questions from reporters, Vance argued that Trump intends to boost manufacturing production across the country and address issues he believes most concern voters in places like Erie.
“The number one issue when I go to places like Erie, Pennsylvania, is inflation,” Vance said, responding to a reporter’s question. “The number one issue is why did Kamala Harris open the southern border and allow these cartels to bring in poison that’s killing our families? It’s ridiculous. We have to stop this madness.”
As vice president, Harris would not have the authority to open the border, although Biden tapped Harris to lead an effort to address problems at the southern border, focusing on the root causes of migration from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. AND The Cato Institute discovered that U.S. citizens made up 89% of convicted fentanyl traffickers in 2022, while in 2023, 93% of fentanyl seizures occurred at legal border crossings and “not along illegal migration routes.”
Vance also claimed that “three simple things” would “end this terrible affordability crisis” and augment net income. He called for a robust border policy to prevent illegal immigrants from “coming into this country to compete for wages with American workers. We’re going to stop ridiculous job-killing regulations like the EV (electric vehicle) mandate. Let’s buy American-made stuff, not China-made stuff. And number three, we’re going to drill, drill, baby. We’ve got plenty of energy right here in Pennsylvania.”
In recent weeks the issue of inflation took center stage in the presidential race between Trump and Harris. Polls show that this is the most vital issue in the 2024 elections, while The annual inflation rate in July was 2.9%which is the lowest since 2021.
During a news conference Wednesday morning, Democrats in Erie criticized the Trump-Vance candidacy, saying it is harmful to Pennsylvania families.
“This election is a stark choice between two very different economic visions: While Kamala Harris and Tim Walz build the middle class and lower costs, Donald Trump and JD Vance plan to raise taxes on working families by thousands a year so they can hand out more handouts to their billionaires and big corporations,” said Erie City Councilman Chuck Nelson. “That’s their grand vision for Pennsylvania families: tax increases for us and tax cuts for their wealthy donors.”
Although most of Vance’s speech focused on domestic issues, he also answered many questions relating to international affairs.
A national reporter asked Vance whether the Trump administration would send U.S. troops to lend a hand the Israelis if they asked for lend a hand after their raid on the West Bank on Tuesday.
“I don’t want to send American troops on the ground in anyone’s war but ours. Right? That’s a very important principle,” Vance said to applause. “I say that as someone who believes that the Israelis have every right to destroy Hamas, and we support them in what they’re doing, but… they’re not asking for American troops on the ground, they can take care of their own business.”
He added that Israel only needs support from the Trump and Vance administrations to “allow them to get the job done.”
Wednesday was Vance’s fourth visit to Pennsylvania since being named Trump’s vice presidential running mate. Previous visits to the Keystone State have included two appearances in Philadelphia, one of them was last weekand one appearance in Westmoreland County.
As emotions surrounding the election heat up, Vance concluded his speech by saying he plans to spend a lot of time in the state.
“Everybody in Pennsylvania is going to be sick of me over the next two months because I practically live here in the state of Pennsylvania because it’s such an important state to us,” Vance said.
Erie County is considered one of the Keystone State’s key swing counties. 2016Erie County was one of three counties in Pennsylvania which changed from blue to red. However, Biden flipped the county back into the Democratic win column in 2020 over Trump.
Trump is scheduled to appear in Pennsylvania for the ninth time this year on Friday, Johnstown RallyHarris is also planning a ninth visit to Pennsylvania with Pittsburgh Labor Day Visit with President Joe BidenHarris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, has been to Pennsylvania twice since joining the Democratic ticket, once in Philadelphia and one more on Western Pennsylvania bus tour August 18.
Questionnaire still shows Harris and Trump in a tight race for Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes. Cook Political Reportnationwide rating agency, rated the presidential race in Pennsylvania as “uncertain.”
