Read the full transcript of Ohio Senator JD Vance’s remarks at Donald Trump’s campaign event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on October 27, 2024.
Listen to the audio version here:
TRANSCRIPT:
It is an honor to be here with all of you at Madison Square Garden. Now, think about this, for more than a century, America’s most celebrated heroes and legends have made history inside this iconic arena. This, where we stand, is where the greatest of all time, Muhammad Ali, faced Joe Frazier in the “Fight of the Century.” It’s where the king, Elvis Presley, played for 80,000 screaming fans. It’s where the immortal Hulk Hogan pinned the Iron Sheik and let Hulkamania run wild.
And now, on the eve of the most important election in our history, the greatest champion of them all, Donald J. Trump, has come to Madison Square Garden. And I believe in just eight short days, we are going to turn the United States of America red and make Donald J. Trump the president of the United States.
The Trump Presidency
Now, my friends, I’ve got the easiest job in American politics. Think about this: All I’ve got to do is remind people what life was like when Donald J. Trump was president of the United States. We had peace. We had prosperity. Take-home pay was rising the fastest that it had in 40 years. Inflation was at 1.5 percent, the lowest it had been in a generation. Gas and groceries were affordable. And when Donald Trump was president, we had the most secure border in the history of this country. That’s the Donald Trump record, and that’s a record that’s going to win in just nine short days.
Comments on Governor Tim Walz
Now, I’m going to maybe surprise a little bit of the folks in this arena, because I’m going to be a little bipartisan here.
I’m going to talk about Governor Tim Walz, and I’ve got to be honest with you, I feel bad for him. No, no, no. Well, it’s fair prayer for Governor Tim Walz, because he’s got the hardest job in American politics.
He’s got to convince the Americans. You all can say that. I probably shouldn’t say that. But think about it. Our friend Tim Walz has got to convince the American people that Kamala Harris is going to somehow fix the very problems she’s been creating over the last three and a half years. He’s got to pretend that Kamala Harris didn’t open up the southern border and let millions of illegal aliens in, even though we know she did. He’s got to pretend that Kamala Harris didn’t cast a deciding vote on trillions of dollars of new spending, which created the worst affordability crisis in 40 years in this country. And he’s got to pretend that Kamala Harris actually has ideas in her head for how to govern the United States of America.
Critique of Kamala Harris
Now, if you are the praying type, and I imagine a lot of us are, please say a prayer for Tim Walz, because they’re asking him to do the impossible. Kamala Harris acts like she’s the candidate of change when she’s been in office for four years. She says she can fix everything, but Kamala, day one was 1,400 days ago. What the hell have you been doing that whole time?
Now, my favorite Kamala Harris moment is that when somebody asks her for specifics on how she’ll make life more affordable or groceries cheaper, she’ll say, “Well, I grew up in a middle-class family.” You say, “Kamala Harris, how are you going to close down the southern border because for four years you’ve left it wide open?” And she’ll say, “Well, I made the hash browns when I worked at McDonald’s and I was pretty good at it.” And anybody with a lick of common sense is saying, “Kamala Harris, you didn’t answer the question.” You didn’t actually tell the American people how you’re going to fix what you broke. And I got to be honest with you, even on that McDonald’s answer, I’m not sure that she ever worked at McDonald’s. In fact, I think our president, Donald J. Trump, has probably worked at McDonald’s for longer than Kamala Harris has.
Now, I will say, I’m going to say one thing in Kamala Harris’s defense, she does one thing very well. Look at this. You guys, you weren’t expecting me to be so bipartisan, but I will say this for Kamala, that every time she does an interview, I think Donald Trump picks up about 100,000 votes.
Now, we’re, of course, in one of the proud baseball cities in the United States of America. So, you know, the problem with a softball interview is that you’ve got to be able to hit a softball still. And that’s the problem with Kamala Harris is I don’t think that she can hit a tee ball based on what we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks. When she was asked what she would do differently compared to Joe Biden, she said, “Nothing comes to mind.” She’s running, she’s running on how she’s going to be different, but she couldn’t name a single thing that she would do differently than Joe Biden.
Harris’s Response to Mistakes
Now, I will say that could be the Kamala Harris official campaign slogan: “Kamala Harris, nothing comes to mind.” Now, the other day, CNN asked if she had made any mistakes as vice president. Now, here’s what she actually said, and I am quoting word for word: “In my role as vice president, I mean, I’ve probably worked very hard at making sure that I am well-versed on issues, and I think that is very important. It’s a mistake not to be well-versed on an issue and feel compelled to answer a question.” Now, I have no idea what any of that means, and frankly, neither do any of you. None of us know what the hell she says.
Now, she may not be able to make, she may not be able to name any of her mistakes, but the American people sure can. And non-days from now, we’re going to tell Kamala Harris, “You’re fired. Go back to San Francisco where you belong. Get the hell out of the White House.”
Now, together, together, Donald J. Trump and all of us as part of this movement are going to unleash a golden age of American prosperity. We’re going to make life affordable again in the United States of America. We’re going to put the American dream of homeownership within reach for millions of American young people. We’re going to secure our border, and we’re going to keep our families safe. We’re going to protect your right to free speech and religious liberty, and we’re going to do it all thanks to the leadership of one man.
Now, we have to remember that one man, Donald J. Trump, eight years ago, go back eight years, he had everything. He had fame, he had fortune, he had family, he had friends, but he gave up the easy life to save the United States of America. When they couldn’t beat him, they tried to bankrupt him. When that didn’t work, they tried to impeach him. When that didn’t work, they tried to put him in federal prison, and when that didn’t work, they even tried to kill him.
But as sure as the American flag still waves, Donald Trump still stands, ready to fight, ready to win, and ready to make America great again. God bless you all. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for being here. Let’s do it.
