Vance says he's annoyed that he won't have the chance to debate Harris

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Sen. JD Vance was not happy when President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign, throwing the Democratic Party’s ticket into turmoil and robbing Vance of a moment he was looking forward to: debating Vice President Kamala Harris.

“I was told I was going to debate Kamala Harris,” Vance said here Monday during his first solo event as former President Donald Trump’s running mate. “And now President Trump is going to get to debate her? I’m kind of pissed off about that, if I’m being honest with you.”

The event, held at the high school Vance graduated from in 2003, came a day after Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. Biden, who was under pressure to step aside amid questions about his fitness for office and ability to run a winning campaign, endorsed Harris to replace him as the Democratic nominee. Much of the party’s establishment has followed suit — a development that Vance in his remarks cast as an affront to democracy.

“Elite Democrats,” Vance said, “got in a smoke-filled room and decided to throw Joe Biden overboard. That is not how it works. That is the threat to democracy, not the Republican Party.”

A moment later, Vance made a pitch to Democrats who might not be happy with their choices.

“You are welcome in the Republican Party where we think we should persuade voters and not lie to voters,” the Ohio senator said. “Come on in, the water’s warm.”

Vance, whose remarks were filled with expressions of gratitude to his hometown, also criticized Harris, accusing her of not sounding grateful enough when she speaks.

“Every country — just like every family, certainly mine — has its pockmarks, right? Not everything’s perfect,” Vance, who wrote about his family’s struggles in his 2016 book