Here in Milwaukee, Ohio Senator JD Vance accepted the Republican vice-presidential nomination Wednesday as he took to the stage on day three of the Republican National Convention. Vance appealed to the working class and voters in the Rust Belt’s swing states. Vance touted his Appalachian roots and lashed out at President Biden over his foreign policy record, including Biden’s support of NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Vance blamed for exporting thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs to Mexico, as well as then-Senator Biden’s role in the Iraq War. Vance is a U.S. Marine veteran who served in Iraq. Vance also promoted tougher policies on China, which he’s described as the “biggest threat” facing the U.S., and blamed Biden for skyrocketing inflation.
Vance was introduced by his wife Usha Vance, the daughter of Indian immigrants — much of the RNC has centered on anti-immigrant hate speech and policies. Among the other speakers yesterday were Donald Trump Jr., Texas Governor Greg Abbott and former Trump adviser Peter Navarro, who was released from a Miami federal prison earlier on Wednesday before flying to Milwaukee. Navarro served four months in prison for contempt of Congress, after he defied a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection.