(The Center Square) – Newly-appointed running mate to former President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, held a rally in Glendale, Ariz., Wednesday evening.
Vance took the stage at the Arizona Christian University and spoke to a crowd of cheering people holding up Trump and Vance campaign signs.
“In 96 days, we’re going to take back our country and elect Donald J. Trump and it’s going to start right here in Arizona,” Vance said on Wednesday. “We are grateful to have Republican leaders in the State of Arizona and across our country who are committed to putting citizens first.”
Additionally, Vance stated that if current Vice President Kamala Harris is elected, it would negatively impact Arizonans due to how the southern border would be controlled.
“500,000 kids have been trafficked by the drug cartels because of her policies,” Vance said. “Loyalty is protecting our children from fentanyl, not allowing the cartel to deal it in our playgrounds.”
Before he spoke, numerous Republican Arizona lawmakers encouraged voters to elect Vance as vice president. Vance also brought Kari Lake, who won the state’s U.S. Senate primary Tuesday, to speak.
She stated that the first time she met Vance, he told her “We need people who don’t love Washington D.C. to go to Washington D.C.”
Vance served in the Marines and was later elected as a U.S. Senator for Ohio in 2022. He worked as a lawyer and wrote a memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, that was turned into a feature film.
Vance came as a surprise VP pick for Trump as he was vocal in opposing Trump’s candidacy in 2016. However, he has since switched gears and has supported Trump in his 2024 campaign for president.
Trump and Vance will be running against Kamala Harris, most likely to be nominated as the Democratic presidential pick at the Democratic National Convention beginning on Aug. 19 in Chicago. Harris has yet to announce a running mate but is expected to make a selection known next week, according to multiple media outlets.
