Vance vows to end "free-rides" and defend American workers
- Together, we will make sure our allies share in the burden of securing world peace. No more free rides, said J.D. Vance, the candidate for Vice President of the USA, at the Republican election convention. He also accused the U.S. political class of betraying American workers and called Donald Trump the "last best hope" for the USA.
- Together, we will make sure our allies share in the burden of securing world peace. No more free rides for nations that betray the generosity of the American taxpayer, said Vance. - Together, we will send our kids to war only when we must. But as President Trump showed with the elimination of ISIS and so much more, when we punch, we’re going to punch hard - he added.
This was the only segment of the 30-minute speech by the Vice Presidential candidate in the November elections devoted to foreign policy. Vance dedicated his speech mainly to emphasising his working-class roots - which he described in the bestseller "Hillbilly Elegy" - and how he believes they were "rejected" by the "ruling class" until Donald Trump came to power.
For half-a-century, he’s been the champion of every major policy initiative to make America weaker and poorer. And in four short years, Donald Trump reversed decades of betrayals inflicted by Joe Biden and the rest of the corrupt Washington insiders, Vance said. - We’re done, ladies and gentlemen, catering to Wall Street. We’ll commit to the working man - he promised.
Vance considered the betrayal of American workers to include free trade agreements with Mexico, trade with China, and the war in Iraq. - Jobs were sent overseas and our children were sent to war, he said. - And somehow, a real estate developer from New York City by the name of Donald J. Trump was right on all of these issues while Biden was wrong - he added.
Vance mentioned the example of his own family, being raised by his grandmother. At the same time, his mother, like many others in the neighbourhood, struggled with drug addiction - as proof of how the "ruling class" has hurt "forgotten" Americans.
He also repeatedly highlighted Trump's merits and "sacrifice" for the country's good, accusing the media of creating a false image of the former president. - They said he was a tyrant. They said he must be stopped at all costs. But how did he respond? He called for national unity, for national calm literally right after an assassin nearly took his life. - he emphasised.
This was exactly what I wanted to hear
The crowd of Republican delegates and activists enthusiastically received J.D. Vance's speech.
Brenda, a delegate from Minnesota, explained how the speech had been fantastic, which was exactly what she wanted to hear. She especially emphasised getting politicians to work for the "common people" again. David, a conservative activist from Tennessee, however, assessed that the speech was "too political", and he would have liked Vance to place more emphasis on personal responsibility instead of attacking business.
Although Wednesday's Republican convention session's main theme was foreign policy and security (its motto was "Make America Strong Again"), most of the speeches, like Vance's, focused on highlighting Trump's attributes as a strong leader—under whose rule "When Trump was president, Putin did no invasions, wars"—and as a loving son and grandfather.
Alongside Vance, appearing on the stage at the Milwaukee Bucks arena on Wednesday were, among others, Vance's Indian-origin wife Usha, Donald Jr., the former president's son, and his 17-year-old daughter, Kai, former US ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, as well as members of families of soldiers who died in the attack during the U.S. military evacuation from Afghanistan. Delegates held signs reading "Trump will end the war in Ukraine," "Mass deportations now!" and "Peace through strength."
