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JD Vance criticizes Democrats' criminality during visit to Kenosha

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KENOSHA – Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance attacked Democrats on crime and public safety issues Tuesday, just hours before Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, were scheduled to speak at a rally 40 miles away in Milwaukee.

During his third trip to Wisconsin in as many weeks, Vance announced, “I practically live in Wisconsin now.”

Speaking at Kenosha District Court, in a city rocked by social justice protests that turned violent in 2020, Vance sharply criticized Harris and accused Democratic Gov. Tony Evers of waiting to deploy the National Guard during protests that came into the national spotlight after the police shooting of Jacob Blake and the shooting of Kyle Rittenhouse.

“Who pacified the streets of Wisconsin and made sure that these riots did not get out of control and burn down the whole city? That was President Donald J. Trump,” criticized Vance Evers. “Without him, I believe Kenosha would still be recovering from these terrible riots today.”

It was Vance's third visit to the state since former President Donald Trump named him his vice presidential running mate during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. He spoke to reporters in Eau Claire, 3.6 miles from Harris and Walz's rally, on Aug. 7 and sought to link illegal immigration to crime during a visit with a small group of law enforcement officials and reporters to the Milwaukee police union last Friday.

At Tuesday's event, Vance spoke for about 25 minutes to a crowd of 100 supporters. In his remarks, he emphasized Trump's support for police and attacked Democrats' leadership on crime during the summer 2020 protests. He also reiterated his campaign promises to abolish sanctuary cities and deport illegal immigrants.

He said Wisconsin suffered from “two failures” of Harris's vice presidency: Harris's manufacturing and energy policies, which he said led to a decline in manufacturing jobs, and her “failure” on public safety.

“You saw in the unrest in Kenosha in the summer of 2020 that Wisconsin suffers when there is no good, smart, public safety-promoting leadership, and that is exactly what Donald Trump and I want to bring back to the White House.”

Meanwhile, Harris and Walz were preparing to speak to thousands of supporters at the Fiserv Forum – the same venue where Trump was crowned the Republican nominee a month earlier – and planned to watch DNC speeches by former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama following their addresses.

Vance said he had heard “a few bits and pieces” from the DNC and said the contrast between Harris' and Trump's security policies was “really striking.”

“It's almost a joke to me that they held the convention in Chicago, which has become the murder capital of the United States of America thanks to very failed Democratic leadership,” Vance said. “My little theory as to why they decided to hold the convention in Chicago is because Tim Walz went around claiming he had served in the war, and maybe they held it in Chicago so they could actually and justifiably claim he had gone to a combat zone.”

Vance, a military veteran, criticized Walz's military career and the timing of his retirement before his deployment to Iraq.

Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde, Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil of Janesville and Kenosha County Sheriff David Zoerner joined Vance. Trump has not visited Wisconsin since the RNC.

The visit comes as Trump and Harris are statistically neck and neck in Wisconsin, a crucial swing state in November's presidential election. Trump defeated Biden in conservative-leaning Kenosha in 2020 by 2,779 votes.

Vance said Wisconsin could “very well be the most important state in the country” in terms of the election.

“I practically live in Wisconsin now. You're going to see a lot of me over the next few months,” Vance said. When someone in the crowd chanted “Go Packers,” he replied, “I'll have to see that, sir.”

Back in Chicago, Democratic delegates sharply criticized Vance’s visit.

Delegate Henry Pahlow of Maribel said voters would experience “the dichotomy between a campaign of hope and enthusiasm” by Harris and Walz and a campaign by JD Vance that “wants to take us back 50 years.”

“We're upset that he's coming to Kenosha at the same time as them (Harris and Walz),” said Kenosha delegate Sally Simpson. “We don't really know what his goal is.”

After his remarks outside the courthouse, Vance visited Tenuta's, an Italian deli in Kenosha known for its family-owned operation and its line of stuffed olives. Vance ordered an Italian beef sub with provolone and excitedly noted that the store carried the peanut butter fudge candy called Ohio Buckeyes.

One customer, Dan Klemack of Pleasant Prairie, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he had just ordered a Polish sausage when he noticed Vance flanked by a member of the Secret Service. As Vance left the restaurant, he shouted, “Get it!”

“I would love to see him in the White House with Trump again,” Klemack said. “The last time Trump was in the White House, I thought my bank accounts would be a lot bigger than they are today.”

When asked about Vance's sandwich choice, he said it was “a classic choice.”

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