Where is Joe Biden?
On Tuesday, Senator JD Vance directly placed the responsibility for the Biden administration’s numerous failures squarely on Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing her of being the principal decision-maker in the White House. Speaking to a crowd of several thousand at Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada, the Ohio Republican, who is also a GOP vice presidential nominee, asserted that Harris has taken an unusually dominant role in the administration due to President Biden’s cognitive decline.
“Kamala Harris is accountable for every misstep of the Biden administration over the past four years,” Vance declared. He criticized the 81-year-old president’s perceived lack of awareness, stating, “If President Biden was not fully aware of what was happening, then it is evident that Kamala Harris was the one making the decisions.”
Vance, 39, did not hold back in his critique of Harris, who is expected to clinch the Democratic nomination for president next week. He accused Harris of being behind the administration’s mishandling of critical issues such as the crisis at the southern border and the surge in inflation. He urged voters in Nevada to support former President Donald Trump in the upcoming November election to restore the nation’s direction.
Inflation and immigration are among the top issues that voters are concerned about as Election Day approaches. Vance, known for his book “Hillbilly Elegy,” also claimed that Harris has been complicit in concealing Biden’s deteriorating mental faculties, calling this aspect of her record the most severe of her failings.
“Anyone who cannot see or refuses to acknowledge Biden’s incompetence is unfit to serve as the commander in chief,” Vance asserted, directing his comments at the vice president.
During his campaign stop in Henderson—a rapidly growing suburb of Las Vegas—Vance held another rally in Reno later that evening. His speech in Reno was briefly interrupted by a malfunctioning microphone, leading Vance to humorously comment, “I’ve been told this is an American-made microphone” when given a replacement.
In his remarks, Vance pointed out Harris’s extreme liberal voting record during her time in the Senate, arguing, “Kamala Harris was the most liberal senator in the entire U.S. during her tenure. That is not a moderate record; it’s an extreme one.” He expressed confidence that she would never become president, stating, “We’re not going to let that happen.”
Vance also shared a light-hearted moment, joking that he wouldn’t bring his wife, Usha Vance, on stage with him, as she would make him “sleep on the couch” if he did.
A recent poll by Redfield & Wilton Strategies indicated that Trump leads Harris by 2 percentage points in Nevada, a state Biden won by a narrow margin in 2020.
Local residents, like Karie Harwood, defended Vance from Democratic criticisms of his comments, suggesting they were taken out of context. Retiree Patricia Robertson praised Vance as a genuine individual, while physicist Wayne Moore expressed confidence that the GOP ticket could win Nevada for the first time in two decades.
In contrast to the often sparse Democratic events in the state, Vance’s rally drew a substantial overflow crowd to the high school’s cafeteria. Although former President Trump did not attend, his supporters braved 95-degree heat to attend the event and hear his running mate speak.
