JD Vance addresses economic issues during campaign stop in North Philly
PHILADELPHIA - Pennsylvania is holding steady as the big prize in the presidential campaign as candidates make repeated stops in the Commonwealth, including Republican J.D. Vance Monday in Philadelphia.
Vance campaigned at DiSorb Systems, a North Philadelphia manufacturer of medical equipment.
Taking the stage in the early afternoon, Vance was met with a room full of supporters, some wearing MAGA-gear and the colors of the USA flag.
"Has your life been better under Democrat leadership?" Vance asked supporters. "No," they responded.
Vance then asked, "has your community gotten safer under Democrat leadership?" "No," folks responded.
Vance, a 40-year-old U.S. Senator from Ohio, struck familiar themes against the Harris-Walz ticket, accusing them of driving up the cost of food, gas, and transportation.
Speaking to energy costs, he said under Donald Trump America will "drill baby drill."
"We’re going to stop buying energy from tinpot dictators all over the world who hate this country," he said. "We’ll buy from our own land, from our own people, our own workers and that starts on day one."
Vance accused Kamala Harris, who campaigned in the Pittsburgh area Tuesday with her running mate Tim Walz, of being scared to sit for interviews with reporters.
He said he expected to win Philadelphia, despite its overwhelming Democratic registration, and predicted victory in Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state with 19 Electoral College votes.
In a statement, the Harris-Walz campaign wrote, "Pennsylvanians kicked Trump out of office in 2020 because he made their lives worse. On Monday, JD Vance will remind voters why they were so eager to see Trump go."
The campaign stop lasted about 30 minutes with Vance returning to the theme of pocketbook issues.
"We’re going to stop the reckless spending you’ve seen from the Harris Administration and give more Americans more of their hard-earned money back- -stop the affordability crisis," said Vance.