MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (WCMH) -- Hundreds of Ohioans made their way to Middletown on Monday for Sen. JD Vance’s first solo rally since becoming former President Donald Trump’s pick for vice president.
“I will never forget where I came from,” Vance said. “Ladies and gentlemen, I came from Middletown, Ohio and I’m proud of it.”
Nearly 900 people, some who stood in line as early as 7 a.m., packed into the Middletown High School auditorium and hundreds more gathered outside to listen to Vance’s speech.
But before Vance gave his remarks, several other Ohio Republicans took to the stage.
“He is going to be a great vice president,” Attorney General Dave Yost said.
“There’s one thing America’s going to learn about JD Vance: he’s a great human being,” Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Bernie Moreno said.
“The Democrats are in the fight for their lives to save their pitiful party, the Republicans are in the fight of their lives to save their country,” State Senator George Lang (R-West Chester) said.
Lang also said, during his remarks, that he is “afraid if we lose this one, it is going to take a civil war to save this country.” He later retracted that comment in a post on X.
Once Vance took the stage, he spent the first several minutes of his speech talking about his connection to Middletown, his grandmother, and sharing personal remarks, like how and when Trump asked him to run as his VP. He then delved into why he believes this election is so crucial.
“Now, after four years of Joe Biden’s presidency, or whoever is calling the shots in Joe Biden’s White House, we are ready to re-elect Donald Trump,” he said.
Vance has been in the Senate for less than two years, and his chance at the White House comes with an unlikely partner; Vance acknowledged that he, at first, was not a Trump supporter, but of course, has since come around. Vance said Trump “fights for American citizens.”
“The country has made a lot of stupid decisions and President Donald Trump was right about every single one being a mistake,” Vance said.
Vance soon started talking about the Republican platform.
“We are going to fight for every single worker,” he said. “If you work hard and play by the rules, you ought to be able to put dinner on the table and send your kids to whatever vacation.”
Vance said part of fighting for every worker means also fighting for energy workers and creating more energy in America. “Drill baby, drill,” he said.
“We are sitting on the Saudi Arabia of natural gas, the next 100 years we could be energy dominant,” Vance said.
He said aside from energy, more things need to be made here. He used antibiotics as an example, and said the bar is low.
“I got to be honest with you, I don’t trust a damn plastic toy coming from China,” Vance said.
He said there also needs to be strong voter ID laws in this country, said he wants to “shut down” the southern border and “fight” back against “indoctrination” in schools.
The VP nominee also took the chance to criticize the Democratic party, and President Joe Biden’s decision to end his re-election campaign. Vance said the fact that the Democrats will likely be choosing a new candidate, without having a primary election, is “not okay.
“What is going on in this country is absolutely disgraceful,” he said. “If you want to run for president, you have to make your case to voters.”
Vance left the energized 900-person crowd by telling them “Let’s re-elect Donald J Trump, let’s get this country back.”
