JD Vance, Trump's running mate, addresses economy, immigration at NC rally

JD Vance, U.S. senator from Ohio and Donald Trump's running mate, rallied in Raleigh on Wednesday.

The visit comes as North Carolinians from East to West are experiencing a flurry of candidate visits. Kamala Harris just rallied in Charlotte and Greensboro last week, Tim Walz visited Asheville on Tuesday and Trump was in Charlotte and in Asheboro in August and September. The blitz will continue into the weekend with the former president set to rally in Wilmington on Saturday.

Vance’s visit also comes just days after what authorities are referring to as an assassination attempt against the former president at his Florida golf course on Sunday.

Outside the venue, a line filled with American flag dresses, MAGA caps and monochrome red power suits wrapped around the side of the Raleigh Union Station. The downtown venue is more intimate than a stadium and is located in downtown Raleigh -- a place that is home to the state's legislative business and has a solid blue voting track record.

Much of Vance's time focused on the economy, immigrants and slamming Kamala Harris.

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He began by bashing Harris for her relationship with media.

"If you want to be the American people's president, you ought not be afraid of friendly American media," he said.

Later, Vance took questions from several reporters in front of the crowd, while also saying the media is "gaslighting" the public. He said multiple times that he has been more transparent and available to the media.

"Yes, I change my mind on things over the years," Vance said. "You know the difference between me and Kamala Harris? Is I actually stand in front of the American people and explain why."

When diving into economic policy, he echoed his running mate's motto of "Drill, baby, drill," specifically in terms of energy. He said higher energy costs lead to higher grocery and housing costs, too.

Vance made a bid to connect with middle class voters as he explained that during his childhood there were times when his family could not afford to turn on the heat during the winter.

"No matter where you grew up, or no matter where you're from, you ought to be able to afford a nice meal on a Friday night," he said telling attendees the American Dream is about being able to afford a good life.

Vance later dove into his stance on immigration and how he believes it's intertwined with the economy. He claimed that illegal immigrants were a cause for higher housing costs and that Harris is to blame for an influx in immigrants.

"When you take the same number of houses and you bring in 25 million people who shouldn't even be here, and you force Americans to compete against those 25 million then that's gonna drive up the cost of housing for everybody," Vance said.

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He also blamed car insurance rates and unsafe road conditions on immigrants.

"If they can't follow the laws to get here in the first place, you think they're following stop signs? Absolutely not," Vance said.

In response to a reporter's question about the Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, Vance said he will still call immigrants who are in the United States legally, through programs like Temporary Protective Status, illegal immigrants.

Voters like Susan Hansen, 55, from Wake County were looking forward to Vance speaking on the economy, because it's a top issue for her. She's concerned about inflation in particular, she said.

"How is it going to be affordable for our young people to buy homes, and to achieve the American Dream, you know," Hansen said. "It's so out of reach now."

Ken Gregory, 67 from Wake County, agreed that inflation was a big concern.

"I don't think there's anybody that I know of that's not been affected by higher food prices and inflation more than the middle class," Gregory said.

Hours before Vance took the stage, Harris supporters gathered on a virtual press call to sound an alarm about the Trump, Vance ticket and Project 2025. Former U.S. Congressman Joe Walsh, R-IL, a Republican for Harris, said on the call that some Republican voters are looking for an alternative to Trump.

"These are Republicans who want their democracy saved and they want their party back," Walsh said. "If you want your party back, the Republican Party back, a party of freedom and opportunity and tolerance, the only way to get it back is for Trump to lose."

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: JD Vance, Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, rallied in Raleigh, NC