| WASHINGTON, DC—Vice President J.D. Vance went to Allentown, PA today to advocate for the Trump Administration’s economic success and policies. Here are key excerpts of his remarks: Growth and Wages Vance touted private sector job growth, saying, “We’re doing it by having a president and an administration that believes in you and fights for you. That is what we’re trying to do every single day.” He joked that when he walked off the plane and took a photo with local firefighters, he was afraid he would slip and fall on a patch of black ice. “If I wiped out on that runway, you all know, that would be national news for the next week,” he said. Vance then brought up his upbringing in Ohio, raised by his grandmother “community where, when I was growing up, the factories were closing down.” “Those good-paying jobs, they weren’t coming into our communities. They were getting shipped overseas by politicians in Washington, DC. The President of the United States has set this entire administration on a different course,” he added. He pledged that middle-class Americans would have “one of the best tax seasons in 2026 that you’ve ever had.” “I’m a little surprised by when the Democrats talk all the time about affordability,” Vance said. “Democrats say, you know, things aren’t affordable. This isn’t affordable. This has gotten more expensive. Drugs have gotten more expensive, and housing has gotten more expensive. And you know what? They’re right. And it was because of them.” Rents Are Too Damn High Vance said he knows rents are “still too high,” but touted rents coming down for four months. He attributed that to “starting to get those illegal aliens out of the United States of America, those criminals, those gang members, those people who are taking homes that ought, by right, to go to the people in this room, and your children and your grandchildren.” “So if you look at every single affordability crisis that we talk about in the United States of America today, it’s because we inherited a nightmare of an economy from Joe Biden,” he added. “My point, ladies and gentlemen, is that we are making progress. And I never forget where I come from, I never forget who I serve, and I know that there is so much more progress to be made.”
Cash Strapped
“I remember what it feels like for American families when you have the government take $3,000 out of your pocket through higher taxes and higher inflation. I know what it’s like for a woman who’s trying to support a grandson but can’t afford prescription drugs because pharmaceutical companies are taking advantage of the United States of America. I remember what it’s like when you have to choose between putting food on the table or getting the prescription that you need to stay healthy. And that is not a life that Donald Trump or I want for the citizens in the greatest country in the world.” “I promise you, there is no person born patient to solve the affordability crisis than Donald J.Trump, the President of the United States.” Vance then took several questions from reporters. He said he would give today’s economy a grade of “A++++,” and the crowd responded with chants of “USA.” Obamabust On expiring ACA subsidies: “We’re working with Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, to come up with a solution. You talked about premium support. We think that everything should be on the table, but Democrats and Republicans, they got to work together and put something on the President’s desk to sign. Now, I will tell you we’ve been involved in probably 10 different healthcare bills. You know, we’ve been talking to Ryan about it. We’ve been talking to my friend Bernie Marino from the state of Ohio. State of Ohio. We’ve been talking to Susan Collins about it. We’ve even talked to a few of the reasonable Democrats who are putting ideas out there. But Congress has got to get us something to lower the cost of health insurance for American citizens.” On polling showing Americans are unsatisfied with the administration’s handling of the economy: “Look, I’m not worried about the politics because I believe fundamentally in the wisdom of the American people.” Vanity Fraud On the Vanity Fair Susie Wiles profile: He said he hadn’t read the article but “of course” had heard about it. “Sometimes, I am a conspiracy theorist, but I only believe in the conspiracy theories that are true.” He said he and Wiles had joked about that “in private and public for a long time.” He cited mask mandates for toddlers and Joe Biden’s health and mental acuity. “On some of these conspiracy theories, it turns out that a conspiracy theory is just something that was true six months before the media admitted it.” “I’ve never seen Susie Wiles say something to the President and then go and counteract him or subvert his will behind the scenes. And that’s what you want in a staffer.” “I’ve never seen her be disloyal to the president of the United States, and that makes her the best White House chief of staff that the president could ask for.” | 
