DE PERE (NBC 26) — Vice presidential candidate Senator JD Vance visited Amerilux International Wednesday evening to deliver a speech on the economy, inflation and energy.
- About 250 people gathered at a warehouse to hear the Ohio senator speak, hours after he spoke at a trucking facility in Erie, Pennsylvania.
- The opening act featured Amerliux CEO Kurt Voss, State Rep. Ty Bodden and Congressional candidate Tony Wied.
- Vance emphasized American manufacturing, and Wied echoed the Trump-Vance team’s emphasis on tariffs.
- In response to Vance’s visit, the Harris-Waltz campaign team said, among other things: “Like Trump, Vance will have to answer to Wisconsin voters who are deeply concerned about why they are trying to raise the costs for working families with their extreme ‘Project 2025.'”
- They continued: “The people of Wisconsin cannot afford another Trump presidency.”
(The following is a transcript of the entire broadcast)
Both presidential candidates continue to campaign in Wisconsin, and on Wednesday they visited northeastern Wisconsin. Vice presidential candidate Senator JD Vance visited Amerilux International.
A crowd of about 250 people had come to the sales company to hear Vance’s speech – and the senator spent the first ten minutes of his speech taking aim at Vice President Kamala Harris’s record.
“Kamala! The first day was 1,300 days ago – what the hell have you been doing all this time?” he said.
Vance compared Harris’ policies to those of his running mate, President Trump, saying housing and food costs are too high under Harris and President Biden and focused on keeping energy production in the United States.
“Donald Trump’s message and solution is simple: Drill, baby, drill,” Vance said. “Open America’s energy markets and get the money from our own workers.”
Manufacturing American products was a key theme Wednesday for another speaker, congressional candidate Tony Wied, who said he agreed with Trump and Vance on high tariffs.
“Tariffs can be used as a tool to negotiate really good and fair deals and good and fair trade with other countries to bring jobs back here – to bring good and strong manufacturing jobs right back here to this country,” Wied said.
NBC 26 asked Vance if his campaign was capable of winning the Badger State while a third-party candidate is still on the ballot.
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will remain on the ballot here, the Wisconsin Elections Commission says, even as he tries to get off it here in swing states – how do you think that affects you and former President Trump’s campaign?” we asked.
“I think it’s ridiculous that RFK is supporting Donald Trump. He’s requested to be removed from the ballot in Wisconsin, but a bunch of bureaucrats want to keep his name on the ballot because they think it will hurt Donald Trump,” Vance said. “I think we’re going to win Wisconsin anyway, and we’re going to fight for every single vote. That’s our plan.”
Winning Wisconsin is the Trump campaign’s top priority, says Brian Schimming, the state’s Republican leader.
“Green Bay, the upper Fox Valley and northeastern Wisconsin are probably the best places in the state,” said Chairman Schimming. “There are a lot of swing voters here; that was crucial.”
Previously, Senator Elizabeth Warren was in northeastern Wisconsin on Tuesday, former President Trump was scheduled to be in La Crosse on Thursday, and both President Biden and vice presidential nominee Governor Tim Walz were also scheduled to be in Wisconsin next week.