Sen. J.D. Vance said Saturday that inflation, slowing military recruitment and the immigration crisis are “far greater threats than any foreign threat,” and Donald Trump called Democratic leaders “the enemy from within.” He defended former President Trump’s remarks.
The Ohio Republican said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that these problems “are caused by broken leadership.”
“Hey, if you look at the biggest threats to America, Kristen, the fact that people can’t afford groceries, the fact that we won’t be able to meet our military recruiting goals, the fact that Americans have a wide open southern border, this is a far greater threat than any foreign threat,” Vance told host Kristen Welker.
“And yes, it is caused by broken leadership,” he added.
Specifically, Vance cited former Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the catalyst for America’s decline.
“Under Nancy Pelosi’s years of public leadership, the United States rose from one of the world’s leading industrial powers to second only to China,” Vance said. “It’s basically on Nancy Pelosi’s shoulders that if we want to have a richer country, we have to blame our own leadership for losing our industrial base to China.” We need to recognize that.”
Mr. Vance, who has emerged as a powerful messenger to defend and explain Mr. Trump’s views, attempted to clarify Mr. Trump’s remarks on Saturday, saying, “What[Trump]said was the greatest thing for our country. The threat is not a foreign enemy. We can handle them. We can handle foreign conflicts.”
Vance’s comments come weeks after President Trump claimed that Democrats, as “domestic enemies,” are more dangerous to America’s future than foreign enemies.
The former president told Fox News earlier this month, “We have enemies without, and we also have enemies from within. In my opinion, we have more enemies from within than China, Russia, and all of these countries.” It’s dangerous.”
The former president also specifically named Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) as two of these “enemies from within” in separate remarks earlier this month.
“You have China, you have Russia, you have all these countries. If you have a wise president, you can deal with all of them. What’s more difficult is, you know, the Pelosi people. These people, they They’re very sick and they’re “very evil,” President Trump said during a Fox News town hall.
