Vice President JD Vance traveled Friday to one of the most competitive states in the upcoming midterm elections to make the case for President Trump’s affordability agenda as Republicans fight to keep control of Congress.
“The president who caused an affordability crisis was Joe Biden, and the president who has made the American people $1,300 richer is Donald J. Trump,” Vance told a cheering crowd in Rocky Mount, NC.
Polls show voters routinely rate the cost of living as one of their top concerns going into the Nov. 3 elections, and Vance devoted much of his remarks to trying to ease his audience’s pocketbook anxiety.
“A year and a month of President Trump’s leadership is that the average American family — while they lost $3,200 when Biden was president — they’ve gained about $1,300 while Donald Trump was president,” Vance said, referring to tax credits the president has championed.
The vice president has become the top surrogate for the administration when it comes to making the case for the economic success of the Trump presidency.
“We have seen new home purchaes rise to their highest level in five years, since the last time Donald Trump was president,” Vance said. “We have seen the cost of rents drop for six months in a row. We have seen the average tax refund that will come to the people of North Carolina — about $3,700 per family — and we have interest rates the lowest they have been since the last time Donald Trump was president.”
Despite the administration’s rosy outlook, a Fox News poll released earlier this month found only 30% view the economy positively, while a majority of voters remain worried about the costs of groceries, utilities, healthcare, housing, and gas.
The Trump administration is trying to ease fears, in part by describing high prices at the pump as a temporary side effect of the war with Iran.
“My friends, the president is impatient,” Vance told his audience. “He’s the most impatient person I have ever met. In fact, he constantly is pressing on the gas. He wants us to do more. I stand here proud to say after the first year, we are rebuilding the American dream.”
North Carolina’s Senate race is one of the most competitive of this cycle, with both parties vying to win the seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.
Vance arrived in the state 10 days after the Democratic and Republican primary elections, won by former Gov. Roy Cooper and former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, respectively.
“Roy Cooper is one of these people who clearly cares way more for foreign countries than he does the United States of America,” Vance said. “You see the passion in his voice when he talks about protecting illegal aliens. You’ll never hear that passion when he’s talking about the people in this room.”
The vice president also targeted Democratic Rep. Don Davis, who is seeking re-election in a competitive House district that is considered one of the GOP’s best pickup opportunities.
“Don Davis voted against cutting taxes on those making $100,000 a year and voted against going to war against violent criminals,” the VP said. “Don Davis is not a man that stands for the people of this state or district. He does exactly what Nancy Pelosi tells him to do, and in November, we are going to send him home and get him out of Washington, DC.”
Laurie Buckhout, a military veteran, won the Republican primary March 3, setting up a rematch with Davis, who beat her by 1.5 percentage points in 2024.
