JD Vance attacks Harris, Arizona immigration event

In a fireside chat in a Phoenix-area church with conservative activist Charlie Kirk, GOP vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance took former President Donald Trump’s favorite football and ran with it, blaming immigration for everything from the cost of housing to the fentanyl boom to jobs and unemployment to what he expects will be the destruction of Social Security.

Vance accused Walz of supporting legislation he sees as “legalized kidnapping” — legislation that would allow judges to consider parental support for a child’s identity in family disputes. (Similar laws have been passed in other states, including California.)

“He supported legislation that would remove children from their parents if their parents did not want to undergo gender reassignment surgery,” Vance said, a statement that was not based on the facts.

The conversation with Kirk, like Trump’s recent one before a Moms Demand Action event in Washington, D.C., was a friendly gathering with a friendly moderator designed to rile up members of their political base. Both were asked softball questions about “allowing men to play in women’s sports.” Both made unsubstantiated comments about gender reassignment surgery on minors. Both also blamed Democratic policies for the high cost of living across the country.

But when asked how the Republican ticket could lower the cost of child care for working families, Vance stumbled. First he suggested that families find other relatives or friends to care for the children, and then he floated the idea of ​​lowering the qualification requirements for child care workers.

“We have a lot of people who love children, who would love to care for children, but they can’t because they don’t have access to the education they need, or perhaps more importantly, because the state government says you can’t care for children unless you have some ridiculous certificate that has nothing to do with caring for children,” Vance said.

The event, which promoted Turning Point’s “Chase the Vote” initiative, also gave Vance the opportunity to broach another favorite talking point of Trump and his allies: election security.

“A colleague of mine in the Senate, another great conservative, said when he was campaigning for me in the state of Ohio in 2022, I want you to go out and have everyone in this room vote 10 times,” Vance said.

The room was silent for a moment until Vance stumbled forward. “Look, we don’t do that — we’re Republicans, we don’t vote 10 times. We only vote once. Just like you can legally vote 10 times, you take yourself and nine of your friends and family members and make sure they get to the polls on or before Election Day.”

Vance continues his Arizona campaign Thursday in downtown Phoenix with an event at the Arizona Biltmore.