Vance criticises Kamala Harris in first solo campaign stop as Trump’s running mate

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio – In Mr J.D. Vance’s first solo appearance as the Republican vice-presidential nominee, the Ohio senator questioned US Vice-President Kamala Harris’ appreciation for the US.

He also chastised her fellow Democrats, whom he accused of supporting US President Joe Biden “until he became political dead weight”.

Mr Vance said on July 22: “If you want to lead this country, you should feel grateful for it, you should feel a sense of gratitude. And I never hear that gratitude coming through when I listen to Kamala Harris.”

Mr Vance’s remarks in south-west Ohio were made during the first official campaign event for either party’s presidential ticket since

Mr Biden on July 21 said he would not seek a second term.

Mr Biden stepped down just a week after

Mr Vance was named former president Donald Trump’s running mate,

which the Ohio senator joked was like a bait-and-switch. Mr Vance said he had expected to join a vice-presidential debate against Ms Harris, but she is now widely expected to take over as her party’s presidential nominee.

“I was told I was going to get to debate Kamala Harris, now president Trump is going to get to debate her?” Mr Vance laughed and then cursed at the turn of events.

Mr Vance spoke at Middletown High School, where he graduated in 2003. Later on July 22, he addressed supporters at Radford University, a public college in south-west Virginia.

In his speech, Mr Vance called for ramping up domestic energy production and manufacturing but offered few details on how he would accomplish those goals other than asking supporters to vote “the current crop of crazies out of there and replace them with president Trump”.

“We’re going to fight for every single worker in this country,” Mr Vance said. “Work hard and play by the rules – you get a good life, it’s that simple.”

Mr Vance, who will turn 40 next week, is among the youngest Americans ever nominated to a presidential ticket. His youth and relative inexperience in politics – he was sworn in to his first elected office in 2023 – immediately made him an intriguing figure in a race featuring an 81-year-old incumbent and a 78-year-old challenger.

In the aftermath of Mr Biden’s sudden exit from the race, Mr Vance’s performance on the trail will draw even more interest as Republicans scramble to take aim at a new political target: Ms Harris, whom Mr Biden endorsed to take his place at the top of the Democratic ticket. NYTIMES