GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance holds first rally in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- For the first time as the vice presidential nominee on the GOP ticket, JD Vance was in Pennsylvania at an intimate setting inside the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia.
The Ohio senator came out onstage to a standing ovation from supporters in the crowd.
"Kamala Harris has been such a disaster as vice president of this country that everywhere she goes chaos and uncertainty follow," Vance said.
One focus of Vance's rally surrounded the drug crisis and how issues at the border are having an impact on it.
Vance was quick to criticize Harris.
"Every time Kamala Harris took an action to open the American southern border, it is families, like many of those who stand behind me today, who have suffered the most," he said.
Two of those families, including a couple who say they lost their daughter to an accidental overdose, shared their personal stories.
"The border travesty that this current administration has neglected, allowed and even supported is infuriating and quite frankly complete lunacy on multiple levels," Denise Trask said.
The GOP VP pick also called on the media to get Harris to sit down for an interview.
"She ought to answer for the fact she wanted to ban fracking and now she allegedly doesn't," Vance said.
As for Gov. Tim Walz, Vance said he called to congratulate the Minnesota governor, and down the line, he said he would agree to debate him.
"The reason I didn't say a whole lot about Tim Walz is because the Democrats have showed a willingness to pull a little switcharoo on us," Vance said. "I don't even know if we're actually going to get Tim Walz out of this campaign."
From South Philly, Vance is heading to Detroit to speak at a campaign event on Wednesday. Former President Donald Trump is set to hold a rally in Montana on Friday.
Later Tuesday evening, Kamala Harris is set to speak for the first time with Walz in North Philadelphia.
