TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Vice President JD Vance, speaking in his home state of Ohio before visiting Minnesota on Thursday, blamed the “far left” for the turmoil surrounding the White House’s deportation campaign.
“If you want to turn down the chaos in Minneapolis, stop fighting immigration enforcement and accept that we have to have a border in this country,” Vance stated in Toledo. “It’s not that hard.”
During his visit, Vance is set to meet with ICE agents in Minneapolis, where protests erupted following the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a mother of three, by an ICE agent earlier this month. The Republican vice president defended the agent’s actions, labeling Good’s death as “a tragedy of her own making.”
He also lauded the arrests of protesters who disrupted a church service in Minnesota, expressing expectations for further prosecutions. Protesters had chanted “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good” during their disruption.
“They’re scaring little kids who are there to worship God on a Sunday morning,” Vance said. “Those people are going to be sent to prison so long as we have the power to do so.”
Vance underscored that while individuals have the right to protest, they must respect others' rights to worship as they choose, asserting that interruptions of worship violate the law.
The vice president’s remarks come as he aims to bolster the Trump administration's positive economic narrative amid ongoing skepticism about the economy's health. He emphasized patience as necessary for financial recovery, noting the challenges inherited from the previous Democratic administration.
Vance's appearance also serves to support important Republican candidates in the lead-up to the midterm elections.
