Vance hits Harris in Virginia in his second solo rally — ‘A million times worse’ than Biden

RADFORD, Va. — Republican vice-presidential nominee J.D. Vance took to the stage for his second solo rally of the day — and the race — Monday evening, holding back no punches against Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s newly anointed leader (at least for now).

Harris is “a million times worse” than Biden, Vance declared, and the Biden record is the “Kamala Harris record.”

“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he’s not fit to serve as president,” Vance added at Radford University’s Dedmon Center hours after his hometown rally in Middletown, Ohio.

The southwest Virginia city is right in the middle of Appalachia — and culturally similar to where Vance grew up in Ohio and Kentucky.

The crowd broke out in a “U-S-A! U-S-A!” chant when Vance talked about the need to bring manufacturing jobs back from overseas to America’s Rust Belt.

“For years, Washington insiders in both parties have sold out places like Middletown, Ohio, and Radford, Virginia. Both parties shipped millions of good-paying manufacturing jobs overseas. They decided that we didn’t need to make anything in America again, and now we are way too dependent on the Communist Chinese to make things that we need, from our weapons of war to the drugs that we put into the bodies of our children.”

These “decisions were made by broken leadership that decided we didn’t need to make anything in this country. President Trump has a different vision. Let’s make more things in America.”

The seats filled up with more than an hour to go before Vance’s scheduled speaking time. An overflow crowd filed in behind the chairs, surrounding the press pen.

Jobs and inflation were the biggest issues for most attendees.

“We need jobs — and not just for young people leaving school too. We need better jobs for older folks and elderly people too,” said Tina Compton, 57, a tax-support specialist who’s lived in Virginia for decades. “But it’s also about safety. Opioids have touched just about every family in this county at this point including mine.”

“It’s also about respect,” added Raymond Young, a retired Army officer. “Growing up we respected presidents. We respected our flag. J.D. is a great choice to help get us back there.”

“I love that he’s a Christian too,” Compton concluded. “He was an atheist in college but is now a very devout Christian. That’s important to me.”

President Biden’s withdrawal from the race was also on attendees’ minds.

“I feel just awful for him,” Young said. “He’s sick. He should be getting help right now. What they’ve done to him, it’s just terrible.”

Security at the event seemed tightened in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Butler, Pa., this month. There was even a Secret Service agent stationed in the women’s restroom.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, one of the warmup speakers for Vancem remarked to The Post, “It’s the moment for us to come together as a country, lock arms and make a change.”

Asked about the Democratic ticket, Miyares said, “The problem is not personnel, it’s the policy. That’s the problem. The policies have led to 30% inflation, rent is sky high, mortgages sky high, gas is sky high. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said ‘Make groceries affordable again.’ That pretty much sums up where we are as Americans. We’ve seen a complete irresponsibility at the federal level and federal spending, and they’ve led to these inflation prices.”

At the event’s conclusion, K.V., a 16-year-old poet, told The Post she found the speech “very empowering. I can’t vote yet, but I’d vote for [Vance] if I could.”