Trump’s VP pick, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), decided to take a closer look at Air Force Two and take a shot at Vice President Harris after they touched down at the same time at a Wisconsin airport.
“I figured that I would come by and get a good look at the plane because hopefully it’s going to be my plane in a few months,” Vance said while he was in front of the plane.
“I also thought you guys may get lonely, because the VP doesn’t answer questions from reporters.”
The Harris campaign dismissed the Republican lawmaker’s antics as “weird.”
According to Harris spokesperson Ammar Moussa, “JD Vance is flying around the country following Vice President Harris. He approached her plane today because he just wants to talk. And now he’s begging her for a debate? This is getting weird.”
Vance and Harris on the same tarmac in Eau Claire.
Vance comes over to cameras covering AF2 arrival…
"… hopefully it's going to be my plane in a few months. I also thought you guys may get lonely, bc the VP doesn't answer q's from reporters…"
Vid: @WEAU13News pic.twitter.com/QhUS2MtEby
— James Stratton (@StrattonWISN) August 7, 2024
Trump’s campaign spokesperson, Steven Cheung, responded to the situation with a scathing tweet. “Make sure AF2 is deep cleaned because Lord only knows what Kamala Harris and her team have done on there. The smell alone on that plane must be crazy,” he posted.
At the airport, Vance ribbed Harris failing to hold any press conferences in the days since Biden passed the baton to her.
“Have they given you guy’s explanations about why she hasn’t answered questions?” he asked reporters.
“Well I hope she changes her mind because it would be good for the American people and for all of you if she ran a real campaign instead of one from her basement and a teleprompter. It’s just disgraceful.”
When asked by a reporter what questions he’d like Harris to answer, Vance responded, “I’d love her to answer what she wants to do and also explain why every position she has ever had has changed.”
Vance also criticized Walz for his military service, saying, “What really bothers me about Tim Walz as a Marine who served his country in uniform? When the United States Marine Corps — when the United States of America — asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I did what they asked me to do it, and I did it honorably, and I’m very proud of that service.”
“When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did?” Vance asked rhetorically. “He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him.”
Walz reportedly left the Army National Guard after two decades of service to run for Congress.
Vance also took issue with a video shared by the Harris campaign in which Walz claimed to have carried weapons during war. The Ohio senator questioned whether Walz had actually been in combat or carried a weapon.
“What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage,” the Ohio Republican explained. “Do not pretend to be something that you’re not, and if he wants to criticize me for getting an Ivy League education, I’m proud of the fact that my mamaw supported me, that I was able to make something of myself. I’d be ashamed if I was him, and I lied about my military service, like he did.”
Walz bashed Vance for his education and financial backing during a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
“Like all regular people I grew up with in the Heartland, JD studied at Yale, his career funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, and then wrote a best seller, trashing that community. Come on, that’s not what Middle America is,” Walz remarked.
On Wednesday morning, Vance clapped back that he grew up in a poor family and was the first one to go to law school.
“The fact that Tim Walz wants to turn it into a bad thing, that I actually worked myself through college, through law school, and made something myself,” he responded. “To me, that’s the American dream. And if Tim Walz wants to insult it, I think that’s, frankly, pretty bizarre.”
Meanwhile, Trump said he was “thrilled” that Harris selected Walz as her running mate.
“I would say my reaction is, I can’t believe it. I never thought I was going to be the one who was picked,” Trump said in an interview on “Fox and Friends.” “He’s a very liberal man, and he’s a shocking pick. I could not be more thrilled.”
Trump suggested that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) would have been a better pick than Walz and insinuated that Shapiro was passed over because he’s Jewish.
“I’m no big fan of Josh Shapiro. I know the state very well … but I would have said it would have been a better choice,” the Republican nominee remarked.
“I have very little doubt … it was because of the fact that he’s Jewish, and they think they’re going to offend somebody else,” Trump stated.
