JD Vance answers press questions after Wisconsin speech—Kamala hasn't answered one

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) made a campaign stop in Eau Claire, WI on Wednesday, with Trump's running mate speaking at aviation manufacturing company Wollard International for about 20 minutes, and fielding questions from local reporters for another 20 minutes, answering around a dozen questions. 

Before answering questions from reporters, Vance noted that in the 17 days since Biden dropped out of the race, Kamala Harris has not granted any interviews, not held any press conferences.

 

"I want to just point this out before we let the media ask me some questions, that I think it's really disgraceful both for Kamala Harris but also for a lot of the American media that participates in this stuff to have a person who's been the presumptive nominee of the Democrat party for 17 days and refuses to take a single question from the American media," Vance said. "Now, it's well known, of course, that President Trump and I will go anywhere, will answer any question because we respect the American people enough to actually ask them for their vote, rather than sit in front of a teleprompter, read scripted lines, and run away from every reporter and every actual citizen who's going to decide this election.

"I think it's a scandal and I think the Vice President should be ashamed of herself. So hopefully, our reporters out there in the audience will start doing their job a little bit and going and demanding that Kamala Harris actually answer to the American people."

Noting the loss of two hospitals in the area, including a drug addiction resource center, one reporter asked Vance, "what can you tell Wisconsinites here in Eau Claire County and western Wisconsin who are battling addiction, who are battling these sorts of things with such limited resources. What can you tell them to help us see your way, and see that you guys are the rightful choice here?” 

“We are far away from the Mexican border, of course, but we're not far away from the fentanyl that Mexican drug cartels bring into communities like Eau Claire, and that's why I talk about it,” Vance replied.

“Every state is now a border state because every state is affected by the problems. But particularly on this question about hospitals, and how do we actually reinvigorate hospitals in some of our small towns and more rural areas in our country? I think there are two answers to this question. One goes directly to the immigration problem, and one doesn't. Look, first of all, we need to actually invest in our hospital system. We've seen since Obamacare was passed, we've seen a lot of rural hospitals, hospitals in small towns close down. You cannot have a good healthcare system. You're never going to help people beat addiction if they've got to drive 90 minutes to the closest hospital.”

Another, noting a polling tie between Trump and Harris, asked, "Why would people in Wisconsin want to have a beer with you?"

“Well, I guess they'd want to have a beer with me because I actually do like to drink beer, and I probably like to drink beer a little bit too much, but that's okay. I'm sure the media won't give me too much crap over that. But look, I mean, my - The reason I'm doing this, and the reason I think Donald Trump is doing this, and I think the media often slanders him, but I've never met a guy who likes normal people more than Donald Trump," Vance replied, later adding, "one of the reasons why I'd make a good vice president, is because I actually care about the people standing behind me, and I think they feel like I care for them, and I think they care for me too.”

A reporter asked, “Governor Walz has said that he cannot wait to debate you. Your reaction to that and is there one issue that you would really like to debate him on?”

Vance said he wanted to debate Kamala Harris' vice presidential pick because "the American people deserve to see the people who want to be their vice president stand before them and try to persuade them. And it's one of the things that's really frustrated me about Kamala’s campaign, is that she seems totally uninterested in actually talking to American voters and persuading them. If there's a single issue around which I think Governor Waltz has to answer when it comes to his record, this is a guy who says that he stands for public safety but actively encouraged the rioters to burn down Minneapolis.” 

"Do you believe elections in Wisconsin are conducted fairly and securely? Obviously, your running mate had some issues with that in the last election," another reporter asked.

“Well, one of the things that Wisconsin did very poorly in the 2020 election is that it actually allowed a lot of big tech billionaires to spend a lot of money, I think, putting influence on local boards of election. And as I understand it, Wisconsin has actually stopped that, and kudos to Wisconsin for stopping that," Vance said. He added, "So I see a lot of reasons to be optimistic about the election of Wisconsin."

Asking about the the fact that Harris was also speaking in Eau Clair at the same time, a reporter asked, “Why did you choose to speak here in Eau Claire today, the same time as Harris?” 

“We wanted to make sure there was a contrast. In part because the media has been so dishonest about Kamala Harris's record, and in part because they refused to ask her questions, we wanted to make sure that there was at least somebody out there providing an alternative story.” 

Asking about the wave of Democrats calling Vance and Trump "weird," a reporter asked Vance, "What do you make of that weird argument?”

Vance laughed and responded, “I think that the weird argument honestly, came from a bunch of 24-year-old social media interns who were bullied in school and they decided they're going to project that onto the entire Trump campaign. And the reason it doesn't make sense is because you ask, ‘Who's weird,' right? I think it's pretty weird how the borders are and to open up the border and allow fentanyl to come into your community. I think it's pretty weird to try to take children away from their parents if the parents don't want to consent to sex changes, that's something that Tim Walz did."