Vance’s battleground state blitz mirrors plans of Harris, Walz
Written by ABC AUDIO on August 7, 2024
(WASHINGTON) — The same week Vice President Kamala Harris and her newly minted running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are set to go on tour, hitting the battleground states in five days, vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance will be on their tail.
Vance will also conduct his own blitz in several of the battleground states, closely mirroring Harris’ campaign schedule for this week.
Vance, Harris and Walz will visit Pennsylvania on Tuesday — hours after Harris’ big running mate announcement.
The trio will visit Michigan and Wisconsin on Wednesday before that all head to North Carolina on Thursday.
Since being announced as former President Donanld Trump’s running mate three weeks ago, Vance has hit the ground running and has already made campaign stops in most of the battleground states.
But instead of holding traditional campaign events, Vance will use his events this week to speak to the media and is expected to use his time to attack Harris on several policy fronts, including immigration and the economy.
It’s likely Vance will also attack Walz — after the Ohio senator claimed Harris’ choice of Walz highlights how “radical” the vice president is.
“Obviously, the big news of the day is that Tim Walz has been nominated as the VP or is now the presumptive nominee, I should say, for Kamala Harris. My view on it is it just highlights how radical Kamala Harris is,” Vance said on Tuesday ahead of his rally in Pennsylvania.
Asked by ABC News if he had been in contact with Walz, Vance said he called Walz but the governor didn’t answer, so he left a voicemail.
“I didn’t get him, but I just said, ‘Look, congratulations. Look forward to a robust conversation and enjoy the ride,’ And maybe he’ll call me back, maybe he won’t,” Vance said.
In a Trump campaign fundraising email following Harris’ announcement, Vance wrote, “I HAVE THREE WORDS FOR TIM WALZ: Bring. It. On.” The email’s subject is “I will wipe the floor with Tim Walz.”
Vance has made it clear since being announced as Trump’s running mate that he would like to debate whoever the Democrats’ vice-presidential nominee is.
“I really don’t care who it is,” Vance said of Harris’ running mate before the selection of Walz. “Certainly, I think we should debate. I’d love to have a robust debate. I expect that we will.”
Democrats are already pushing back against Vance’s upcoming visit to some of the battleground states, attacking him and Trump.
“JD Vance’s visit to our state will only serve as a reminder of Donald Trump’s long record of failures and broken promises,” Wisconsin Democratic Coordinated Campaign Rapid Response Director Kristi Johnston said in a statement on Monday.
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