DE PERE (WLUK) — The Republican vice presidential nominee made his first campaign stop in northeastern Wisconsin.
Senator JD Vance spoke to several hundred supporters in De Pere on Wednesday evening, about 20 minutes before he was scheduled to take the stage.
He gave a speech at AmeriLux International, a manufacturing company that has hosted other Republican politicians in recent years.
For Vance, this was the fourth stop in Wisconsin in the last three weeks alone, which once again highlights the importance of this swing state.
For Vance, however, it was his first trip to the Green Bay area.
The focus of his speech was on the economy, inflation and energy. Vance used the speech primarily to attack Kamala Harris on these issues.
“She stands in front of crowds like this and says without a hint of irony or shame that on day one, my friend, she’s going to address the affordability crisis that affects American families, and on day one she’s going to make food more affordable, and on day one she’s going to enable young people to afford their own homes, and every single person with an ounce of sense says, ‘So, Kamala, day one was 13,000 days ago,'” Vance said. “What the hell have you been doing during that time?”
Local Democrats say voters should remember that the pandemic has fueled inflation. They believe the Biden-Harris administration has helped America recover quickly compared to others.
“Fortunately, we weathered inflation better than many other developed countries after the Biden administration took power and calmed things down somewhat, rolled out the vaccine and got the economy back on its feet,” said Christy Welch, chair of the Brown County Democratic Party and candidate for the 88th District.
Vance spoke to his supporters in De Pere for about 13 minutes before answering questions from reporters for another 17 minutes.
FOX 11 asked Vance what he wanted to see happen on the abortion issue.
“What I want on the issue of abortion — and this is, to be clear, President Trump’s view — is that every state should make its own abortion policy,” Vance said. “Wisconsin will have a different view than California. California will have a different view than Alabama. What the president has made clear is that he wants voters in every single state to make these decisions, and that his administration will focus on reducing the costs for American families.”
The nonstop focus on Wisconsin continues Thursday when former President Donald Trump visits La Crosse. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, will be in Milwaukee on Labor Day, and President Joe Biden will visit the southwestern state next Thursday.
Ahead of Vance’s visit, a small group of protesters gathered outside AmeriLux, several carrying signs with anti-Republican messages.
Some protesters also carried a large doll of Vance, complete with a red MAGA hat and a sign on his chest that read “I (heart) Project 2025.”
Brent Bergstrom, a music educator and president of the Green Bay Education Association, said he was there to speak against Project 2025, calling it the “backbone” of Vance’s campaign.
“Project 2025 is hurting our public schools. They have stated outright that they are going to dismantle the Department of Education, and that is not what is going to protect our students. For me, education is the number one priority because that is the future of our country,” Bergstrom said.
He added: “Project 2025 would end Title I funding, which would result in over $6 million in cuts to our schools in Green Bay alone… This is extremely important because it protects some of our most vulnerable students, and $6 million would result in the loss of far too many jobs in our public schools.”
Trump denied any involvement in Project 2025, saying he supported some of the ideas but opposed others.
FOX 11’s Ben Krumholz will report on Vance’s visit on FOX 11 News at 9 and 10.
