U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance speaks at a rally in south Philadelphia on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (Capital-Star photo by Peter Hall)
MONROEVILLE — U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), the GOP vice presidential nominee, campaigned in Pennsylvania on Saturday, starting the day at an evangelical Christian conference in suburban Pittsburgh before heading to an evening rally in suburban Philadelphia.
Vance appeared at the Monroeville Convention Center for an event billed as a “town hall,” part of self-described prophet Lance Wallnau’s “Courage Tour.” Wallnau is a major part of the religious movement seeking to secure Christian dominion over American society.
Who is Lance Wallnau and why is J.D. Vance joining his ‘Courage Tour’ in Pennsylvania?
The Courage Tour has stops in seven swing states, and Wallnau is a supporter of former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee for president.
But after emceeing much of the day’s activities Saturday and introducing other speakers, Wallnau did not join Vance on stage, or even introduce him, leaving that role to local pastor Jason Howard.
Vance stayed on message for the roughly 40-minute conversation, blaming Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, for policies that he viewed as having an adverse impact, several times referencing the southern border and immigration as problems caused by Harris and President Joe Biden.
The discussion began with an audience question about the substance use epidemic, and what Vance and running mate former President Donald Trump would do to address it. Vance has spoken at length about his mother’s battle with addiction, and she was in attendance on Saturday. He blamed fentanyl for causing a lot of the current crisis.
“I think what this fentanyl crisis has done is it’s deprived us of so many second chances,” Vance said, citing the case of a woman he knew who was in recovery but had relapsed and taken something laced with fentanyl, which proved fatal. “We’ve got to get [fentanyl] out of our country and make our streets safer so that people can get clean and stay clean and if they backslide, it doesn’t take their lives.”
He added he would like to “empower Christian charities” to receive federal assistance. “Unfortunately, sometimes our federal government says, ‘if you’re a person of faith we don’t want you helping out. And I think our attitude ought to be. If you’re a person of faith, we welcome you to help out because you’re doing it for the right reasons. And that’s what we want.”
Another audience member who said she was homeschooling her children, expressed concern “about socialism being pushed so strongly in our education system.” She asked what Vance and Trump would do “to save our schools and children.”
Vance blamed the federal Department of Education for allowing “radical groups” to receive tax dollars and shape public school curriculum.
“The American education system used to be the envy of the world,” he said. “Well, now we’ve got American children who can’t add five plus five, but they can tell you that there are 87 different genders. And I think both of those things are related because we’re teaching kids radical ideas, we’re not teaching to the basics, we’re not teaching them reading, writing, arithmetic.”
To get the “creepy socialism” out of schools, Vance said, the solution is to cut off tax dollars “for radical organizations that are poisoning the minds of our kids.”
Democratic National Committee spokesperson Aida Ross criticized Vance’s appearance at the Courage Tour event Saturday.
“After planting himself firmly in an echo chamber of anti-choice extremism, election conspiracies, and hateful rhetoric, JD Vance is now campaigning with Lance Wallnau – a conspiracy theorist whose record includes accusing women of ‘witchcraft,’ calling abortion ‘apocalyptic,’ and being at the Capitol on January 6,” Ross said, calling Vance’s appearance “shameless pandering to the far-right.”
Vance also urged the audience members Saturday to not only vote but to get five friends to go to the polls in November as well.
“We’ve got to get Christians to the polls because if Christians aren’t out there voting Christians are not going to have a voice in this country,” Vance said. “And I think that’s the worst possible outcome.”
This is a developing story that will be updated.