Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) is an avid Buckeye and supporter of Ohio State University, the main rival of the University of Michigan. But in a since-deleted post on X, Vance attacked the city of Detroit for their public utilities and blasted the state.
PatriotTakes, a group that monitors and researches right-wing extremism, shared a Vance post reading: "Maybe Michigan should have used some of that money for Detroit's public utilities. #GoBucks #michiganstillsucks."
CNN's Phil Mattingly pointed to Vance's Republican National Convention speech in which he made a comment about going to Ohio State and told the audience, "I'm sorry, Michigan, I just had to get that in there."
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"JD Vance hates Michigan. And, to be clear, so do I," said Mattingly, a fellow OSU graduate. "This isn't about the people or really the state itself. This is about rivalries between two universities, mostly on the football field."
But Vance's bash on Detroit goes beyond the football field to bash the state and Detroit in particular. It was concerning enough that Vance or the Trump campaign realized it looked bad and deleted the post.
"Here's the problem," Mattingly explained in a video about the RNC speech. "Ohio is firmly in the Republican category. Michigan, on the other hand, is a critical swing state."
It's why Vance may have delivered his Ohio chant, but also told the RNC audience, "We have to win Michigan too."
A CNN poll in July found Vance had a low 28% favorable rating and a 44% unfavorable rating with registered voters surveyed in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Even with all of his Buckeye pride, Ohio, Vance has more unfavorable in his own state, but also among voters his ticket will need in November.
See the screen capture of the deleted post below.
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