Republican Vice Presidential Candidate JD Vance speaks at a rally at the Pima County Fairgrounds in Tucson, AZ on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024.
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance rallied voters at the Pima County Fairgrounds Wednesday afternoon. During the event, he pledged to deport undocumented immigrants, be tough on war, and tackle rising costs of living.
“If you want to secure a southern border, if you want to lower the prices of groceries, if you want to lower the price of housing in this country, you're welcome to vote for Donald J Trump for president, because he's the person who's actually going to fix those problems.”
In his speech, Vance, in a similar fashion to former president Donald Trump, blamed issues like housing affordability and long emergency room wait times on undocumented immigrants.
“[Kamala Harris] has forced American citizens to compete with people who shouldn't even be here for the American dream of homeownership,” Vance said. “Donald Trump and I, we have a simple plan. American homes for American citizens.”
To rectify the issue, Vance promised deportations–something he says has fallen short during the Biden-Harris administration.
“Kamala Harris came into office as the border czar bragging that she was going to undo Donald Trump's border policy,” he said. “She did exactly that, and now Tucson is facing a historic border crisis and a historic increase in crime, in fentanyl, in drug trafficking and sex trafficking. Kamala Harris bears the failure.”
He urged Latino voters to “be pissed off about Kamala Harris's wide open southern border” and that “it is an insult to them to have Kamala Harris welcome people who break our laws.”
“You know what President Trump's message to illegal aliens who are in this country without any right to be here? Pack your bags, because in four months, you're going home.”
A clip of an interview that Harris conducted this week on ABC’s The View was played at the rally. In the excerpt, Harris is asked if there is anything that she would have done differently than President Joe Biden during the last four years. She says, “there is not a thing that comes to mind…I've been a part of most of the decisions that have had impact.”
His visit comes on the first day Arizonans can submit an early ballot for the election. Vance urged voters to “swamp the vote.”
“The best way to make sure your voice is counted is to make sure it's counted early,” Vance said.
Pima County residents Sandy and Jerry Burngardt attended Wednesday’s event. For them, the issues most important are the border, the economy and abortion.
“They want everyone to be equality,” Jerry said. “We have no equality. Citizens are being trampled on.”
Sandy plans to submit her ballot “as soon as it gets in the mailbox.”
“Do your research,” she said. “Vote your entire ballot. Don’t just vote for president.” . Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Walz also visited Southern Arizona Wednesday afternoon. In 2020, former President Donald Trump lost Arizona to President Joe Biden by a margin of 11,000 votes.
By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.