Vice President JD Vance delivered a speech Wednesday in Kinston, North Carolina, criticizing what he described as globalist policies pursued by leaders in both parties, while linking his own experience as a young Marine stationed in the state to his broader midterm message.
Vance recalled the sense of unity after the September 11 attacks, when he said Americans flew flags “because we loved our country and we wanted everybody to know it.” He said young people from towns like his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, enlisted in large numbers out of that same sense of national pride.
He tied that experience to the hospitality he said he received from North Carolinians during his military service. “When I think about the kindness that the people of North Carolina showed to me, none of them had to do that. They did it because I was a Marine, because they were proud of me, and because that was reason enough to treat me like family,” Vance said. “They understood something that Washington, DC spent 40 years forgetting: that being an American means something, and North Carolina deserves leaders who will never let Washington forget it!”
Vance criticized establishment figures in both parties for supporting open borders and the outsourcing of American jobs overseas, arguing those policies ignored the impact on the communities that elected the officials who backed them.
“Now to those people, the only thing that distinguished you and me from all the people who wanted to come here… they thought those in Vietnam or China could do the exact same thing. Besides, they’d grow out of poverty and become democracies as a result. So it was actually a good thing that we were shipping American jobs to places that didn’t care about the American nation,” Vance said.
He also criticized what he called “effective altruism” and the growth of nongovernmental organizations, saying resources went toward projects abroad instead of addressing crime and other domestic needs at home.
“If you didn’t like this new arrangement, you got called some names. You got called an isolationist or a protectionist, or accused of ‘economic anxiety,’ as if we had a mental disorder… We asked nothing of somebody who wanted to become an American. The generosity of our people, ladies and gentlemen, it was our finest quality. It was the best thing that we had. And eventually, our very leaders used it as something to be abused and weaponized against our own people,” Vance said. He added, “Being an American means something, ladies and gentlemen. It means that American homes and American farmland ought to go to American citizens.”
That line drew a strong reaction from the Kinston crowd when Vance said, “They saw potential citizens, but they forgot that they were meant to fight for the citizens who were already in the United States of America!”
A Message Aimed at the Midterms
Vance outlined a set of policy priorities he framed as straightforward. “I want for your family what I want for my own children: I want them to go to schools that educate them instead of indoctrinate them. I want them to be able to walk down the street in safety. I don’t want you to have to be a rich person to afford a home. We’re going to make sure your tax dollars go to the things they should, not to fraudsters,” he said. “I want your police officers to know that we’re going to empower them to put bad guys behind bars. I want to send a message to the business community that if you’re willing to work with us and invest in American workers, American jobs ought to go to American workers.”
Vance also referenced his own background as the grandson of a union steelworker who was raised by his grandparents, noting that he now serves as Vice President with a wife and children of his own. “I don’t just want the American Dream for myself. I want young people to be able to afford a home. I want my kids to raise a family in a country that is vibrant and thriving and free. Let’s keep on delivering for the American people,” he said.
The Kinston appearance is part of a broader midterm campaign effort in which Vance has focused on economic nationalism and immigration enforcement as core themes for Republican candidates.
