Vance brings campaign message to Christians in western Pennsylvania and rallies supporters in Bucks

U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, the GOP vice presidential nominee, spoke at two events on opposite sides of Pennsylvania on Sept. 28, 2024. (Capital-Star photo by Peter Hall)

MONROEVILLE —  U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), the GOP vice presidential nominee, campaigned in Pennsylvania on Saturday, starting the day at an evangelical Christian conference in suburban Pittsburgh before heading to an evening rally in suburban Philadelphia.

Vance appeared at the Monroeville Convention Center for an event billed as a “town hall,” part of self-described prophet Lance Wallnau’s “Courage Tour.” Wallnau is a major part of the religious movement seeking to secure Christian dominion over American society.

Who is Lance Wallnau and why is J.D. Vance joining his ‘Courage Tour’ in Pennsylvania?

The Courage Tour has stops in seven swing states, and Wallnau is a supporter of former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee for president.

But after emceeing much of the day’s activities Saturday and introducing other speakers, Wallnau did not join Vance on stage, or even introduce him, leaving that role to local pastor Jason Howard.

Vance stayed on message for the roughly 40-minute conversation, blaming Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, for policies that he viewed as having an adverse impact, several times referencing the southern border and immigration as problems caused by Harris and President Joe Biden.

The discussion began with an audience question about the substance use epidemic, and what Vance and running mate former President Donald Trump would do to address it. Vance has spoken at length about his mother’s battle with addiction, and she was in attendance on Saturday. He blamed fentanyl for causing a lot of the current crisis.

“I think what this fentanyl crisis has done is it’s deprived us of so many second chances,” Vance said, citing the case of a woman he knew who was in recovery but had relapsed and taken something laced with fentanyl, which proved fatal. “We’ve got to get [fentanyl] out of our country and make our streets safer so that people can get clean and stay clean and if they backslide, it doesn’t take their lives.”

He added he would like to “empower Christian charities” to receive federal assistance. “Unfortunately, sometimes our federal government says, ‘if you’re a person of faith we don’t want you helping out. And I think our attitude ought to be. If you’re a person of faith, we welcome you to help out because you’re doing it for the right reasons. And that’s what we want.”

Another audience member who said she was homeschooling her children, expressed concern “about socialism being pushed so strongly in our education system.” She asked what Vance and Trump would do “to save our schools and children.”

Vance blamed the federal Department of Education for allowing “radical groups” to receive tax dollars and shape public school curriculum.

“The American education system used to be the envy of the world,” he said. “Well, now we’ve got American children who can’t add five plus five, but they can tell you that there are 87 different genders. And I think both of those things are related because we’re teaching kids radical ideas, we’re not teaching to the basics, we’re not teaching them reading, writing, arithmetic.”

To get the “creepy socialism” out of schools, Vance said, the solution is to cut off tax dollars “for radical organizations that are poisoning the minds of our kids.”

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Democratic National Committee spokesperson Aida Ross criticized Vance’s appearance at the Courage Tour event Saturday.

“After planting himself firmly in an echo chamber of anti-choice extremism, election conspiracies, and hateful rhetoric, JD Vance is now campaigning with Lance Wallnau – a conspiracy theorist whose record includes accusing women of ‘witchcraft,’ calling abortion ‘apocalyptic,’ and being at the Capitol on January 6,” Ross said, calling Vance’s appearance “shameless pandering to the far-right.”

Vance also urged the audience members Saturday to not only vote but to get five friends to go to the polls in November as well.

“We’ve got to get Christians to the polls because if Christians aren’t out there voting Christians are not going to have a voice in this country,” Vance said. “And I think that’s the worst possible outcome.”

Rallying supporters in Bucks County

During the rally in Bucks County, his first to that region of 2024, Vance promised that Trump would help the world and the American economy by providing strong leadership, deporting undocumented immigrants en masse, securing the Southern border, and allowing fracking to begin.

“I have a very detailed plan for how we’re going to bring peace and prosperity,” Vance told the audience at Newtown Sports Training Center at the Newtown Athletic Club. “It’s three words: Elect Donald Trump.”

“If you win Bucks County, keep the Southeast close, then you win Pennsylvania,” said Jim Worthington, an ardent Trump supporter who owns the athletic club. He also founded the Trump 4 People PAC, which chartered buses to take people from the area to Washington, D.C. for Trump’s rally on Jan. 6, 2021. Worthington has said that none of the people on his buses were involved in the attack on the Capitol that day.

Republicans touted the recent increase in registered Republican voters in Bucks County , which now gives the party an edge there. Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Lawrence Tabas said 55 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties now have more registered Republicans than Democrats, so “it’s clear that the voters in this state are turning away from the Democrats.”

Republicans may have gained advantages in Bucks and a few other counties , but Pennsylvania is still home to more registered Democrats than Republicans .

Democrats rallied for their nominees, presidential candidate Kamala Harris and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, in other parts of the suburbs on Saturday. Gov. Josh Shapiro and television producer and screenwriter Shonda Rhimes spoke to supporters in Montgomery County, and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia) and other local leaders spoke to supporters in Doylestown in Bucks County.

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Vance, who was critical of Trump throughout his presidency , praised Trump on Saturday as “the candidate of peace.”

“Strong American leadership and, more importantly, strong American diplomacy, is what keeps the peace,” Vance said.

Vance said the economy will improve when America “kicks out” undocumented immigrants claiming that more jobs would become available to American citizens and employers would have to offer more competitive wages. He promised fracking would be a boon to Pennsylvania’s economy.

Vance peppered his speech with conflicting criticisms of Harris, saying that she had “no substance” and no plan, then that she had “bad policies”, and then that he thinks Harris has been “copying every one of [Trump’s] opinions” and “she’s going to show up to the next rally in a red MAGA hat.”

Vance’s words were just what the crowd, many wearing their own red MAGA hats, wanted to hear. They responded with cheers and chants.

Rita Raudenbush, 77, of Bristol Township, said she believes in everything that Trump and Vance are saying.

“I was much better off four years ago when [Trump] was in office,” she said. “The price of everything is just skyrocketing. And especially as a senior citizen and my age, being on Social Security, and I’m a widow, every penny counts.”

“Everybody prospered under Trump,” said Christine Brackin, 59, of Langhorne. “Everybody did all the way down.”

The Harris campaign pushed back on Vance’s remarks.

“Donald Trump’s health care record is defined by dangerous plans that will drive up the cost of insurance and prescription drugs for tens of millions of Americans, so Trump and Vance are resorting to blatant lies as their defense,” said campaign spokesperson Joseph Costello.  “In the White House, Donald Trump was a dutiful servant to Big Pharma, giving them billions in tax handouts, while sacrificing the health and financial security of working families and seniors. To quote JD: ‘That’s exactly what he’s going to do again.’”

This article was updated Sept. 28, 2024 with details from Vance’s rally in Bucks County

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