HENDERSON, Nev. – Sen. JD Vance pinned the blame on Vice President Kamala Harris Tuesday for “every failure” under the Biden administration, charging that she’s been “calling the shots” in the White House.
The Ohio Republican and GOP vice presidential nominee, speaking before a packed gymnasium of several thousand at Liberty High School here, argued that Harris, 59, played an outsized role in the current administration because of President Biden’s cognitive decline.
“Kamala Harris owns every failure of the Biden administration over the last four years,” Vance told the crowd.
“He didn’t know what was going on,” he said of the 81-year-old president. “So somebody was calling the shots, and we know it was Kamala Harris.”
Vance, 39, accused Harris, who’s likely to secure the Democratic nomination for president next week, of being responsible for the crisis of the southern border and record-high inflation under Biden – urging Nevadans to elect former President Donald Trump in November to “take our country back.”
Inflation and immigration are regularly listed as top concerns for voters heading into Election Day.
The “Hillbilly Elegy” author further alleged that Harris helped “cover up” Biden’s “declining mental capacity for years,” calling it the “worst of all” her “faults.”
“Anyone who is too blind to see Biden’s incompetence, or more likely, too dishonest to admit it, is not fit to serve as commander in chief of this country,” Vance asserted, referring to the vice president.
Vance’s appearance in Henderson – a booming suburb of Las Vegas – was one of two stops Trump’s running mate was scheduled to make in the key swing state on Tuesday.
The Ohio senator is slated to hold a rally in Reno, Nev., in the evening.
A Redfield & Wilton Strategies poll released last week showed Trump leading Harris in Nevada by 2 percentage points.
The Silver State went for Biden in the 2020 election by less than 3 points.
Karie Harwood was one of many who trekked across the Las Vegas valley to see the Republican vice presidential nominee.
What to know about President Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race:
- President Biden announced Sunday he is dropping out of the 2024 presidential race — after weeks of prominent Democrats and donors calling on him to withdraw following his disastrous performance in the first presidential debate.
- In a letter posted on X Sunday afternoon, Biden admitted that it is in the “best interest of my party and country” for him to step down as the Democratic nominee.
- Biden wrote that he intends to serve out the remainder of his term and will address the country on his decision later this week.
- In a follow-up X post, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the suddenly open Democratic nomination. “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” the president wrote.
- Former President Donald Trump reacted to the news by labeling Biden the “worst president in the history of our country” in a call with CNN.
Was she concerned about Democratic criticisms of Vance’s “childless cat lady“ remarks?
“I think it’s garbage,” she told The Post. “Because I think a lot of people have taken simple things that he said – that didn’t, that didn’t mean it as that – and they’ve turned it into something else.”
“I came to see JD Vance’s heart,” said retiree Patricia Robertson of Las Vegas, calling him “a good guy.”
Physicist Wayne Moore of Henderson said he believes the GOP presidential ticket will carry the Silver State for the first time in two decades.
“I see a movement that is so strong that I don’t think there’s any way can be overcome,” he told The Post in Nevada. “Now the down ticket is a more concern. But the Trump and JD I think they’re a cinch.”
In a marked contrast to most Democratic events in the state, an overflow crowd of hundreds packed out the high school’s cafeteria to hear Vance speak.
Trump, 78, did not attend the rally, but his supporters waited in 95 degree heat to get past security checkpoints for the chance to listen to his running mate.