Sen. J.D. Vance, former President Donald Trump’s running mate, blames illegal immigration for Nevada’s housing crisis and urges supporters to vote early at a campaign stop in Las Vegas on Wednesday. I encouraged them to do so.
With less than two weeks until Election Day, Vance addressed a crowd at Treasure Island before heading to Reno.
Polls show Vice President Kamala Harris and President Trump are tied in Nevada. Vance said it’s possible to win states and the presidency, but “only if you go out and vote.”
Trump and other prominent Republicans have downplayed early voting in previous elections and spread misinformation about baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, particularly regarding mail-in voting, but recently the campaign urges people to vote early and to vote this cycle. Early voting in Nevada begins Saturday and runs through Nov. 1.
“We are now in a world where early voting, mail-in voting, Election Day voting are all election methods in which you must vote,” Vance said. “If Kamala Harris’ team is using all the tools and we’re only using one method of voting, we’re going to get killed.”
Vance also urged his supporters to vote for veteran Sam Brown, who is running against incumbent Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen.
“Sam is a once-in-a-generation guy,” Vance said of Brown, who plans to run for the Nevada Senate for the second time after losing the 2022 Republican Senate primary. With that candidate, the Democratic Party could be in charge for the next 20 years. ”
In his speech, Mr. Vance criticized Mr. Harris, the current vice president, for not doing enough to pass policies to address the housing crisis and tackle the costs of inflation.
“Who is the majority leader in the United States Senate? A Democrat,” Vance said. “Who are the President and Vice President of the United States? Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. If Kamala Harris truly believes these policies will make Americans better off, she should try them now.” We welcome you to try it out.”
He omitted the fact that Republicans have controlled the House of Representatives since 2022. Additionally, a 60-vote majority in the Senate is required to overcome the filibuster.
Vance also blamed Harris for the rise in “illegal immigration,” calling it “the greatest crisis facing the United States.”
Congress was working on a bipartisan immigration bill earlier this year that would have given Biden the power to terminate asylum applications. The bill was repealed after President Trump voiced his opposition.
Trump began his campaign in 2015 by attacking immigrants. Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance continue to spread anti-immigrant rhetoric on the campaign trail, including spreading lies about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. President Trump has vowed to order mass deportations of illegal immigrants if elected president.
Mr. Vance spent much of his speech blaming, without evidence, illegal immigrants for the lack of affordable housing and the rise in drug overdose deaths. Economists largely reject the Trump campaign’s frequent claim that immigrants have a large impact on housing costs.
Mr. Vance said Mr. Trump would work to build millions of new homes if elected.
Vance said the government will open up federal land for development, eliminate regulations that “make it harder for our construction companies to build,” and eliminate illegal immigration to “make American housing affordable for Americans.” He said he would do so by deporting them.
