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    • JD Vance tells Flint to make the American dream affordable to Trump
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    JD Vance tells Flint to make the American dream affordable to Trump

    Pabio Posted on

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    Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance made a final speech to Genesee County voters Monday, telling them he and his running mate, former President Donald Trump, would fix the inflation-plagued economy.

    He said a growing number of Americans are behind on their credit card debt and auto loan payments.

    “This election is fundamentally about whether the American dream will be affordable for our citizens and I think we need to do better,” Vance said. “There are so many people who are struggling.”

    The Ohio senator arrived with his wife, Usha, and spoke for about 35 minutes to a crowd of about 800 people at the FIM Capitol Theater in downtown Flint. He said it was an ideal location for his final campaign visit to Michigan and he promised to return as vice president.

    Vance reiterated the campaign’s call for tariffs, saying some Chinese companies employ slave labor and should not be able to sell their products in the United States without paying a price. He also blamed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for the porous southern border that allows fentanyl to flow into places like Michigan.

    “We are going to wage war on the Mexican drug cartels and stop this poison from entering Michigan communities,” Vance said.

    He also blamed Harris and President Joe Biden for a flow of migrants into the United States that he said is overwhelming schools and hospital emergency rooms and threatening to bankrupt local communities. He said Americans are the most generous and compassionate people in the world, but they have limits.

    More: Mapping Biden, Harris, Trump, Vance and Walz visits to Michigan

    More: In Michigan and the United States, the 2024 elections are about uncertainty

    “The compassion of the American president belongs to American citizens, to people who have a legal right to be here, not to those who should not be here in the first place,” he said.

    Vance spoke on a stage with a banner behind him that read “jobs jobs jobs.” Attendees were given red and blue signs reading “Trump will fix this.” Warm-up speakers included Republican candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.

    Local Democratic leaders, including retired U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint, and Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley, held a news conference to counter Vance’s speech. Kildee said Trump was ending his campaign with a “venomous and frightening approach” to politics.

    “There is a huge difference between what a Kamala Harris presidency will mean – hope, optimism, rolling up our sleeves and getting the job done for the American people – and what a Donald Trump presidency will look like – angry, venomous, dark and dystopian .vision of what America should be,” Kildee said in a statement.

    Harold Lawrence, 46, of Flint, does HVAC and is an avid poker player. He attended the rally and said he looked forward to voting for Trump for the third time on Tuesday. He said his grandfather was a World War II veteran and a lifelong Democrat, but he believes the party has changed since those days.

    “If he were alive today, I think he would vote conservative. Trump,” he said. “I’m all in on Trump. I’d bet the ranch is on Trump.”

    Donna Smith, 64, is a retired nurse who lives in Linden. She saw Trump when he visited Flint in September, but she was looking forward to seeing Vance, hoping he would discuss the economy.

    “Just assurance of our safety and the economy, you know, groceries and all that,” she said. “Everything is getting so expensive that you can’t really get there right now.”

    More: Vice President Kamala Harris Expresses Optimism for America in Closing Message to Michigan Voters

    Vance concluded by urging everyone who has not yet voted to do so.

    “We have to go tomorrow and take everyone you know,” Vance said.

    Trump and Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz were both scheduled to speak in Michigan later Tuesday.

    Contact John Wisely: [email protected]. On X @jwisely

    Pabio
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