RADFORD, VIRGINIA - Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance railed Monday against Vice President Kamala Harris at a rally in southwestern Virginia, gathering applause and cheers from a crowd of hundreds.
The rally took place the day after President Joe Biden bowed out of the 2024 race and effectively cleared the field for Harris to seek the Democratic nomination at the party convention in August.
“I was looking forward to debating Kamala Harris,” said Vance, an Ohio senator named as former President Donald Trump’s running mate at the Republican National Convention a week ago . “She signed up for every single one of Joe Biden’s failures and she lied about his capacity to serve as president.”
He joined other Republicans who have called for Biden to resign from the presidency. Vance argued that if he is not “fit to run, he is not fit to serve” and said that Democrats, in pressuring Biden to step aside, invalidated the will of primary voters.
He closed out his 30-minute speech to cheers and Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop.”
A small group of protesters gathered ahead of the event at an intersection on the Radford University campus, near the rally location. The protesters held signs that read, “Protect reproductive rights, vote Democrat.” After the rally, only one remained in the pouring rain. He held a sign that read “Vance: a liar and fraud,” for those exiting the parking lot to read.
Two rallies, one day
It was the second rally of the day for Vance. His first rally earlier on Monday was in his hometown of Middleton, Ohio. It sparked backlash from Democrats and the Harris campaign after Republican state Sen. George Lang, who spoke at the Ohio rally, said there could be a civil war to “save the country” if Republicans lose in November.
In Virginia, Republican surrogates stumped on immigration and law enforcement. They argued that migrants who enter the country illegally are responsible for crime and blamed the Biden Administration for inflation.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares told the crowd that Biden is not up to the job of being president and that Harris is “responsible for the crisis at the Southern border.”
“The Biden-Harris Administration has failed at keeping us safe,” Miyares, who has teased a 2025 gubernatorial run, said. “What’s on the ballot this fall is our very country,” he said.
Rep. Morgan Griffith, who represents Virginia’s Ninth Congressional District, which includes Radford, criticized the new Democratic presidential frontrunner and called Vice President Kamala Harris a “less than competent” candidate. He argued that she is responsible for the high number of border crossings in the Southwestern United States.
The Harris Campaign and Virginia Democratic leaders slammed Trump-Vance campaign for their connection to the conservative 2025 Project and its agenda .
Rally attendees sound off on the race
Cameron Spicer, a 21-year-old resident of Radford, said he hadn’t “gotten into” politics until this year. He said concerns about the economy fueled his interest and he plans to cast his first vote in a presidential election for Trump.
James Anton, a 21-year-old resident of Giles County, said he also plans to vote for Kennedy.
“He’s more moderate right now, I feel like we have too much extremism on either side, and I want somebody who’s more in the middle,” he said. He said he believes the division in the Democratic Party, leading up to Biden’s withdrawal will make it difficult for them to win in November.
Jonathan Lloyd, a 20-year-old Giles County resident, said that as of Monday, he plans to vote for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but he would lean Republican if he had to choose from the two major political parties. He said thought Biden’s choice to drop out of the race was not good for the Democratic Party’s chances, regarding the presidential race.
Maggie Lee, a 56-year-old Lynchburg resident, said she approved of Trump’s choice of running mate.
“I spent 25 years in West Virginia, so he’s my kind of people,” she said. “I think [Vance] is an excellent choice, he seems to be a good Christian man and a family man.”
She believes Trump will win in a landslide, otherwise the country may see some kind of “revolution,” though a non-violent one, she said.
“Not violence, but just a lot of demonstrations, critical comments against the government. We’ve had a revolution once before, don’t want to push that. Violence is not the answer, but something needs to be done,” she said.
Nancy Michael and Nathan Young both 67-year-old residents of the Shenandoah Valley, said they think Harris will be “worse than Biden” if elected.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: 'Not fit to run, not fit to serve': JD Vance rails at Biden, Harris during rally
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