Sen. JD Vance meets with veterans at Lower Burrell VFW Post 92
LOWER BURRELL, Pa. (KDKA) -- Vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance spoke to veterans on Thursday morning at an event in Lower Burrell.
In his first visit to the Pittsburgh area since he was picked as Donald Trump's running mate, Vance made remarks in front of an invite-only crowd inside the VFW Post 92 off Wildlife Lodge Road.
The message Vance shared with veterans was repeated often. He says that he and Donald Trump are the best choice for veterans in the upcoming election.
An energized crowd met Vance Thursday. Among the crowd was 20-year Army veteran Philip Miller and his service dog. He says he doesn't hear politicians talking to veterans enough
"Listen to the veterans. We have been there, we have seen what war looks like," Miller said.
He says the comments Vance made are exactly what he was looking for.
"We have got to get back to a presidency that looks after veterans," Vance said.
He says Donald Trump did just that.
"His record and his vision is a vision of always being faithful to those who put on the uniform," Vance said.
Vance says Trump didn't just talk. He says Trump put policies in place that benefited veterans, including at the VA.
"Donald Trump's leadership cut down on those disability backlogs, and when you had veterans who were unable to get health care because sometimes things were just a little too backed up, he promoted Veteran Choice," Vance said.
He says under President Biden, the disability backlog has gotten worse. While true that Trump's tenure did see low disability backlogs, the recent increase was due to Biden's signing of the 2022 PACT Act, which expanded benefits and services for veterans exposed to toxic substances.
Vance also attacked Vice President Kamala Harris for how the administration has housed undocumented immigrants.
"We've got 300,000 veterans who are homeless in this country right now. Let's take care of them first and leave the illegal aliens to their own countries," Vance said.
Vance also took a number of questions from the press. He says Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz should do the same.
Pennsylvania's role in the presidential election
Pennsylvania is a battleground state and will likely be visited several more times by the presidential candidates and their running mates leading up to the November election.
Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz will be hitting the road as part of a bus tour and it will kick off in Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Former President Donald Trump will hold a rally in Wilkes-Barre this weekend, and while commissioners say they have no details yet, he's vowed to return to Butler County in October after he was shot during an attempted assassination that injured two others and killed a firefighter.
Philadelphia was also chosen as the spot for the Harris-Walz campaign's first rally after Vice President Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate last week.