J.D. Vance makes a pre-debate appearance in Traverse City

U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) speaking to voters in Traverse City. Sept. 25, 2024. Screenshot.

One week before the vice presidential debate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) warmed up in Traverse City Wednesday night saying he’s excited for the opportunity to tell American voters how a Donald Trump presidency will make people’s lives better.

Trump declared back in August during a press conference that he had agreed to three debates with Vice President Kamala Harris, but after the September 11 debate, where many analyses declared Harris the winner, Trump says he’s backing out.

“Kamala should focus on what she should have done during the last almost four year period. There will be no third debate!” Trump posted on Truth Social the day after the debate, referencing his previous debate with President Joe Biden as his first debate, Harris’ being the second.

But Vance said he’s looking forward to debating Harris’ pick for vice president, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Whereas the Harris campaign talks to voters about future plans like “they’re children”, Vance said the Trump campaign talks to voters like “they’re citizens”, sharing specific plans to address the real issues Americans face.

“What I’m going to try to show is very simple, that the candidacy, the team of substance, the team that actually has a record that we’re proud of, instead of we’re running away from and the team that actually has a plan is the team of Trump Vance,” Vance told the crowd in Traverse City. “It’s an opportunity for me to get to tell the American people how I think we can make their lives better, and how Donald Trump’s policies can make them more prosperous, can make the world more peaceful and can secure that Southern border.”

Vance entered the event with his wife, Usha Vance, sharing with locals in Traverse City that he’s grateful for the farmers in the area responsible for producing the majority of the country’s tart cherries.

“Usha will tell you that I am actually the baker in the family…So I actually make a lot of cherry pie,” Vance said. “So from my children to you all, thank you.”

There’s a lot to talk about in the upcoming debate on October 1 as there’s a lot at stake in the election, Vance said. While answering questions from the media, Vance acknowledged that Northern Michigan cities like Traverse City have particularly been victimized by the national housing crisis, a crisis he pins on Biden and Harris.

Though Harris likes to talk about what she would do Day 1 if elected, Vance said the country has seen enough of what Harris has done to the economy and to border security.

“This goes to the heart of why housing prices are so high… you see a lot of people who cannot afford the cost of a house, because when you allow foreign people who are in this country illegally to buy houses that ought by right to go to Americans, then you make it impossible for American citizens to afford the American dream of homeownership,” Vance said. 

Harris and other Democrats like to talk about their middle-class upbringing, Vance said, but they don’t stand with the American middle class and come November, the middle class is going to send a message to Harris that she’s “fired” and can “go back to San Francisco”.

“Kamala Harris is why the world is at war right now in nearly every single continent, Kamala Harris is why the border is wide open,” Vance said. “We see it all across our country… municipal budgets that get stressed, police officers that can’t do their job because they’re dealing with illegal aliens. You see students that can’t learn in their schools because they’re flooded with children who don’t even speak English. You see car accidents going up because a lot of people aren’t properly licensed to drive, and you, of course, see a massive increase in crime.”

Michigan as a battleground state holds coveted votes for both campaigns and Vance, an Ohio State University alum, is hoping football rivals in Michigan don’t hold his Buckeye status against him.

“They did kick our ass three years in a row, the least they can do is vote for me,” Vance said after the crowd started booing the OSU team which may fall to the University of Michigan Wolverines for a historic fourth time in a row in November.

“But I think we can all agree, there’s something much more important than football. There’s something much more important than any sport. It’s saving this country,” Vance said.

Though the Trump campaign led the charge against early voting and mail in ballots in the last presidential election and the campaign continues to rail against the security of the 2020 election, Trump and Vance are stepping, reluctantly, on-board with early voting this election season.

“I’m a firm believer that we ought to have Election Day instead of election season, but it is what it is, my friends, we’ve got election season. It is here, at least for now, and so we’ve got to play by the rules, and we’ve got to play to win,” Vance said, acknowledging that early voting allows, for example, parents of small kids to not have emergencies derail their involvement in the election.

“In a close election, that is the difference between Donald Trump being the president or Kamala Harris being the president,” Vance said. “And so we’ve got to figure out how to get every single person that plans to vote for our side to get out there and vote.”