Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance described a decline in public safety and repeatedly criticized the Biden administration for its immigration policies during a visit to Eau Claire on Tuesday.
Speaking for an hour to supporters, the Ohio U.S. senator focused on the impacts of illegal immigration, tying the issue to the opioid epidemic, declining rural hospitals and several other struggles faced by Wisconsin communities.
“When Donald J. Trump is president, all of them are going home,” said Vance, getting a standing ovation from supporters at the rally. “We’re going to deport the criminal migrants in this country.”
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Vance and Wisconsin Republicans pointed to the recent arrest of a Venezuelan man in Prairie du Chien for charges including domestic battery and physical abuse to a child as evidence of the negative effects of the Biden administration’s policies on immigration.
Local police said in a statement on Facebook that Alejandro Jose Coronel Zarate, who they believe is associated with a Venezuelan gang, had previously been arrested in Minneapolis in November and was charged in December in a similar case involving battery and false imprisonment in Dane County.
Vance said the case “drives home that every community is a border community.”
Coronel Zarate’s case has become a rallying cry for Wisconsin Republicans on the issue of immigration, including U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Prairie du Chien, who represents Eau Claire and much of western Wisconsin.
Speaking at the rally Tuesday, Van Orden claimed crime and consumer prices were better for Wisconsinites before the Biden administration, adding that “the only man that’s going to bring that back” is Trump.
Vance urges Wisconsin swing voters to turn out for Trump
Vance has recently faced criticism for repeating a false claim that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, are abducting and eating pets. According to the Associated Press, local and state officials have said the claims are untrue and have led to several bomb threats since Trump mentioned them in the presidential debate last week.
When asked by a reporter whether he had a responsibility to verify claims before repeating, Vance simply stated the media has the responsibility to fact check.
Vance was last in Wisconsin three weeks ago for a rally in De Pere. Calling the state “one of the most important” in the country, Vance said western Wisconsin is a key area for turning out voters. He said the Trump campaign’s message to swing voters is that “our country could be doing so much better.”
“We can have lower grocery prices,” Vance said. “We can have a housing market where young people can afford to buy the American dream of homeownership. We can have a country with a secure southern border. We can have neighborhoods that are safe for our children to walk down. These things are all possible. We just need better leadership.”
This is Vance’s second visit to Eau Claire, after holding a press event at a local manufacturing plant in early August. His Tuesday rally was held at Eau Claire Events District, the same location where Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota visited together last month.
Harris is scheduled to return to Wisconsin on Friday for a rally in Madison.
Eau Claire voters voice support for Trump, but say family, coworkers are split
Shaun Messer, a resident of Eau Claire, was one of the supporters who came to hear Vance. Speaking before the event, Messer said he was eager to hear Vance’s plan for halting illegal immigration.
“I’m just really concerned about the security of our country and the policies that are currently in place and are not working,” he said.
Messer said he hopes Wisconsinites will turn out to vote for Trump and Vance this November, especially the union employees at the local mechanical contracting firm where he works. While many labor unions continue to support Democrats, Messer said the union workers at his firm are in favor of Republicans.
“Their paychecks, ultimately, are coming from the unions, so they don’t want to be pushing against them too hard,” he said, adding that he tries to reassure the workers that “they’re doing the right thing” by supporting Republicans.
Pam Cotton, another Eau Claire resident, said this is her first time at a political rally. She came to hear Vance speak with her 17-year-old son, who she said is dating someone from a Democratic family. Cotton said she tries to “stay neutral”.
“Sometimes it can be hard because people tend to lean one way or the other,” she said. “I try not to force my opinions and thoughts down his throat, so to speak. But I do like to educate him, and he educates me as well if there’s things that mom’s out of the loop on.”
Cotton said she has liked Vance since before he became the vice presidential nominee. She first learned about him through the movie based on his book, “Hillbilly Elegy.”
“Look where this kid came from, and look at everything he’s overcome,” she said. “That, in itself, just touches my heart. I mean, I can’t think of a better role model.”
Speaking before the event started, Cotton said she hoped to hear Vance address not only immigration but also how he and Trump would help family farmers who are facing increasing pressure from consolidation.
The liberal group A Better Wisconsin Together issued a statement Tuesday attacking Vance for “spreading dangerous lies” in Eau Claire, “a city known for its welcoming nature and vibrant immigrant population of hard workers who make our communities stronger.”
“Wisconsinites see right through Vance and Trump’s lies,” said Lucy Ripp, the group’s communications director. “We have come together to reject this extreme right-wing agenda in the past, and we will continue holding them accountable for prioritizing the wealthy few over hardworking Wisconsin families.”
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