JD Vance Doubles Down on Trumpism, Pushes Reactionary Agenda at GOP Convention
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Vice-presidential candidate JD Vance, channeling Trump’s divisive rhetoric, told a Dallas crowd he should lead the Republican Party, parroting far-right talking points and launching attacks on Democrats.
JD Vance used his closing address at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas to aggressively position himself as the successor to Donald Trump, embracing the former president’s reactionary politics. He told the audience that the party must focus on the November elections before pursuing their longer-term agenda, and lavished praise on Trump, calling him “the toughest SOB in American politics”—a clear signal that the GOP remains in thrall to Trump’s toxic legacy.
Vance rattled off a litany of Republican grievances, stoking fears about immigration, crime, and so-called 'cultural issues.' He accused Democrats of wanting to “destroy the nuclear American family,” a tired right-wing trope used to demonize progressive social values. Vance even repeated Trump’s baseless claim that Democrats in New York “cheered” the October 7 attack on Israel, further fueling dangerous misinformation. He warned of a supposed “new generation” of Democrats seeking to defund the police and abolish the border, echoing the GOP’s relentless fearmongering.
When a protester dared to interrupt, Vance responded with a xenophobic quip, telling the individual to “go back” to Mexico and offering to buy a plane ticket—an outburst that drew disturbing applause from the crowd, highlighting the convention’s embrace of anti-immigrant sentiment.
Vance also paid tribute to the late Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist whose divisive rhetoric contributed to the current climate, calling him “a good man” and urging supporters not to abandon the party over policy disagreements.
A recent poll of likely Republican primary voters showed Vance leading with 43 percent support for the 2028 nomination, ahead of Marco Rubio and Donald Trump Jr.—a worrying sign of the party’s continued shift to the far right. Other speakers, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Senator Ted Cruz, piled on with more attacks on Democratic policies.
Vance ended his speech by declaring Trump the “greatest president,” before yielding the stage to the former president, cementing the GOP’s ongoing allegiance to Trumpism.