JD Vance slams the way ELITE Democrats dumped Biden in favor of Harris as a 'threat to democracy' at his first campaign event since becoming Donald Trump's running mate
- JD Vance spoke to supporters in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, Monday
- READ MORE: You can follow the latest developments at our politics live blog
Sen. J.D. Vance held his first solo campaign event Monday after being selected as Donald Trump's running mate and slammed elite Democrats for they way they catapulted Kamala Harris into the running for president.
He returned to his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, where he showed off the attack-dog style that won over Trump.
He accused Harris of lying about Biden's fitness for the job as he sought to portray his party as the party of democracy.
'The idea of selecting the Democrat party's nominee because George Soros and Barack Obama and a couple of elite Democrats got in a smoke filled room and decided to throw Joe Biden overboard.... That is not how it works,' he said.
'That is a threat to democracy ...not the Republican Party, which is fighting for democracy every single day.'
J.D. Vance holds his first solo campaign event after becoming Donald Trump's running mate in Middletown, Ohio, where he went after Kamala Harris
Harris has been anointed successor to Joe Biden by party leaders and power players ever since the president stunned the world by announcing he would not seek reelection on Sunday.
The move offers a gift to the Trump campaign which has been repeatedly attacked by Biden for imperiling American democracy.
Trump and his allies have been able to accuse his opponents of staging a party coup.
Vance, 39, portrayed Harris as entitled and arrogant, and said he was disappointed he would now be unlikely to go up against her in the vice presidential debate.
'I was told I was going to get to debate Kamala Harris and now President Trump's going to get to debate her,' he said. 'I'm kind of pissed off about that.'
The Trump campaign plans to make the most of Vance's tough upbringing in Ohio and deploy him in the Rust Belt states that are central to the Democrats' path to the White House.
He echoed Republican attack lines and adverts that painted Harris as enabler of Biden, when he was in decline.
'Kamala Harris lied about it. My Senate Democratic colleagues lied about it, the media lied about it,' he told the crowd. 'Every single person who saw Joe Biden knew that he wasn’t capable of doing the job.'
Vance took the stage with his wife Usha, a driving force in his political awakening
Supporters wait in line outside of Republican vice presidential nominee, U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) rally at Middletown High School in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio
He said he and Trump were grateful for the chance to serve.
'If you want to lead this country, you should feel grateful for it. You should feel a sense of gratitude,' he said.
'And I never hear that gratitude come through when I listen to Kamala Harris.'
Vance was named as Trump's running mate last week and appeared alongside the former president at the Republican convention and a rally in Grand Rapids at the weekend.
He took the stage on Monday with his wife Usha. And he quickly demonstrated that he has picked up some Trumpisms.
Trump's running mate Sen. J.D. Vance warmed up the crowd in Grand Rapids, Michigan, ahead of the former president as they made their first rally appearance together
'It is so good to be back home for once, isn't it?' he said. 'We have an amazing crowd here.
'We had hundreds of people outside that couldn't even get in.'
Trump frequently exaggerates the size of his audiences and frequently claims thousands of people are stuck outside rally venues (as he did on Saturday).
Vance's attack on Harris shows how quickly he has had to pivot after Biden announced he was dropping out.
'President Trump and I are ready to save America, whoever's at the top of the Democrat ticket,' he posted on X Sunday. 'Bring it on.'
