J.D. Vance made some cringe-worthy mistakes and a Freudian slip at his comments in Milwaukee on Friday.
Speaking to the Milwaukee Police Association, Vance took a question from a reporter who asked about a recent ABC/IPSOS poll showing voters view Minnesota Governor Tim Walz more favorably than Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick. The Ohio senator’s troubles began when he started out by appearing to misgender the reporter.
“What’s your response to that poll, and what can you do ahead of the October debate to try to win over more Americans?” asked the journalist.
Vance showing off his public speaking skills when asked about Walz beating him in the polls:
• seems to misgender reporter
• calls Minneapolis “the biggest city in his country” and then mixes up Minnesota and Minneapolis
• highlights Walz and Harris’s “anti-crime” record pic.twitter.com/4sUPcRxONk— pg (@paigehtml) August 16, 2024
Instead of answering the question, Vance tried to deflect by associating Walz with the Black Lives Matter Protests of 2020—but fell right on his face.
“This is a guy who actively encouraged rioters to burn down Minneapolis during the summer of 2020, it’s the biggest city in his country,” said Vance. “His running mate, Kamala Harris, was offering to burn—to bail those rioters out of prison.”
During the protests, Harris did tweet out a link to Minnesota Freedom Fund, a nonprofit organization that operates a bail fund. But claiming that she was personally involved is dubious.
Vance also clearly needs a geography lesson, as he then went on to say that Walz “let rioters burn down the largest city in Minneapolis.”
In the same breath, Vance misspoke yet again. “I think when people know the truth about Harris and Walz, their anti-crime record …” Vance said before pausing, looking frustrated at his mistakes.
Referring to the Democrats’ record as “anti-crime” is something that Harris and Walz wouldn’t dispute. Considering the vice president’s background as a prosecutor and the Minneapolis Minnesota governor’s experience cracking down on gun-related crime, they probably wouldn’t mind the framing.
It seems like Vance is trying to give Trump a run for his money for most flubs in one minute.
