Vance says he will “never” forget “where he came from” in first speech as VP nominee at RNC Day 3

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance made his national debut Wednesday night at the third night of the Republican National Convention, tying his own personal life story made famous in “Hillbilly Elegy” to a call for the “Make America Great Again” agenda.

“To the people of Middletown, Ohio, and all the forgotten communities in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio and every corner of our nation,” Vance said. “I promise you this: I will be a vice president who never forgets where he came from.”

Vance called out his grandmother, who he referred to as “Mamaw,” and his troubled mother, Beverly, who struggled with drug addiction in his early life and who he said was in attendance and “10 years sober.”

Vance highlighted some of the policies President Biden and other Democrats supported in Washington, saying that the result was that “in small towns like mine in Ohio, or next door in Pennsylvania, or in Michigan and other states across our country, jobs were sent overseas and children were sent to war.” 

Vance’s keynote speech set a different tone than the rest of the speeches on Wednesday, which focused heavily on immigration. The night had a broad theme of foreign policy, although most of the speakers used the platform to call for stricter immigration laws. 

The Republican National Convention is occurring amid one of the most dramatic weeks in politics in history. President Biden continues to face calls to step aside for the Democratic nomination in May, with Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Adam Schiff of California — a close ally of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — becoming the most prominent member of the Senate to call for Mr. Biden to step aside. 

Additionally, both campaigns are reeling after Saturday’s assassination attempt of Trump. A bullet grazed his ear — described by Eric Trump as a “flesh wound” — and a sniper took out the gunman, identified as a 20-year-old Pennsylvania man. The shooter’s motive remains unclear days after the shooting. A bystander was also killed, and two other people who were shot are now in stable condition after being critical for days. 

Trump made his first public appearance since the assassination attempt on Monday, the first night of the RNC, and he attended Tuesday and Wednesday as well. His son, Donald Trump Jr., and 17-year-old granddaughter Kai also spoke Wednesday.