Ryan Mackenzie (00:00):
When every American said they needed more tax relief, we stopped the Democrats' push for the largest tax increase in history and instead cut taxes for every single American. This is what happens when you have a Congress and an administration that puts America first. When we put workers, families, and small businesses first, we know that we can succeed. This is the alternative to the last administration that was America last, funding their special interests and making sure that nobody could actually get ahead. As we continue this work, we will make sure that the real results Americans deserve higher wages, more domestic investment, and greater affordability are delivered every single day. Now, there is more work to be done. There is no doubt that it takes a long time to roll back all the failures of Bidenomics, but we aren't going to quit until the job is done, and we're going to get it done because we have a president, a vice president, and a Congress that is putting America first and the American people first. I just want to say again, in closing, what an honor and a privilege it is to represent the Lehigh Valley, my home community. You have given so much to me over the years, and I look forward to giving back to you every single day that I'm in office. Thank you again for being here. Merry Christmas, everybody. God bless and God bless the United States of America.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Secretary of Labor, Lori Chavez- DeRemer.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer (02:11):
Good morning, everyone. Good morning, Lehigh Valley. Good morning, Pennsylvania. It's an honor to be with you here and with the vice president right here at ULINE. As your 30th Secretary of Labor, I get to work alongside some incredible people, including your dedicated congressman, Ryan Mackenzie. Let's give him another hand. Nice job. I just want to say, Ryan, you're doing an excellent job. I know that you are fighting tirelessly to support the president's pro worker agenda, and I cannot thank you enough for that. I actually kicked off my 50 state tour, America at work. Listening right here in Pennsylvania earlier this year, as we started with the backbone of American manufacturing for a simple reason. It's important to the president to build the golden age of the American industry, and that starts by hearing how your actions and our actions are impacted daily in Washington DC and how it affects your lives right here at home.
(03:24)
President Trump and Vice President Vance understand that too. They trusted me in this role because I promise to listen to the voices of the forgotten working class. I've hit 36 states and what I'm hearing from coast to coast is a fresh sense of optimism. People are taking pride in their work again and pride in this country because they know we have a strong America first leaders back in the White House who finally have their backs. And common sense. Thanks to President Trump and the common sense … Did you write my speech? And the common sense policies of this administration, the golden age of America is on the horizon. Under Biden, workers lost over $2,900 in purchasing power as inflation rose faster than wages. But under Trump, inflation is coming down and real wages are back on track to increase by nearly $1,200 after his first full year in office. Trump's deregulatory efforts are saving 180 billion or 2,100 per family of four. And let's not forget the largest tax cut in American history. I was a former member of Congress, and I can tell you that was the biggest piece of legislation they will probably ever vote on in this lifetime. And it's for the support of the working family, the no tax on tips, overtime, and social security. And thanks to the working family tax cuts, a family of four in the state of Pennsylvania will see 7,000 to $11,000 more in take home pay. That is their money that they earned and it should stay in their pockets.
(05:19)
We're reversing Biden's cost of living disaster that hurt so many working families, dropping of drug prices, gas prices at the lowest in four years. Jobs are coming back online and people are finally getting off the sideline. The labor participation rate is going up. We want more people to be looking for jobs and in the workforce. We just received the jobs numbers this morning. A positive 64,000 jobs were added under this administration. Here's a number to note that I think is very important, and I want you to remember this. And at your next rally, I want you to go say this. Under President Trump, 687,000 jobs have been in the private sector and have gone to Native born Americans.
(06:17)
We have a master negotiator in the Oval Office. That shouldn't be a surprise to any of you, who is putting America interests first by striking the new trade deals to restore the US as the world's manufacturing superpower. More than $18 trillion have been committed as investments into this country to hire thousands of new Americans and thousands of new jobs. Made in America is back. US exports are up 6% over the last year and the trade deficit continues to shrink. President Trump is leveling the playing field for American workers, manufacturers, creating an economy that works for you, not against you. I can tell you at the labor department, we remain laser focused on putting American workers first. Under President Trump, all job gains have, as I mentioned, have gone to American-born workers. Employed today more today, 2.5 million American workers more than when he took office.
(07:20)
The Department of Labor is investing in skills training and educational pathways to help the workers get their foot in the door without that needy four-year degree. Not everyone will receive a four-year degree, and that is pride back in America. My dad was a teamster. I know what it was like to work hard. I know what it's like to build something with your hands, and that's what America needs. They need to know that it's okay to make a six-figure income with a trade school, be a tradesman or woman, be a craftsman. That's what we want here in America.
(07:53)
You all know that the future of this country won't be forged in the halls of these woke universities. It'll be at the hands of the skilled worker. Thank you. We recently awarded $86 million in industry skills funds to prepare the American worker for those in demand jobs of the future. President Trump set a goal. I talk about this all the time. One million active apprentices across this country. And since he has taken office, we have registered more than 300,000 new active apprentices and registered over 2,400 new programs at the Department of Labor.
(08:42)
I partnered with Secretary McMahon to help administer the CTE programs and create a streamlined federal education and workforce system. Nearly 70% of fourth and eighth graders are not proficient in reading. The current top-down structure is failing our kids, and so we're going to dismantle the bureaucracy in Washington DC and give the autonomy to the states and send those dollars so that we can have a direct line for the in market demands of what the jobs are and having the skilled workforce and draw the line from A to B. It's that simple. Get these workers in the workforce. It's what they want each and every day, and we're bridging that gap for those labor market shortages so that you can have mortgage paying jobs. Listen, as I wrap up here, I want to emphasize to all of you, it's an honor to defend your shot at the American Dream.
(09:36)
No matter your background, the industry, President Trump's Department of Labor has your back. And that's why you are so special to me, and it's special to be here today. Getting to see thriving family owned businesses like ULINE that started from the ground up. That's the American dream right here. And I'd like to now introduce who embodies that dream. He serves the American people with a deep understanding of what hardworking men and women in this country are up against and what they are capable of. He embodies the same tireless work ethic that built our great nation. He and the second lady share that with their children and in turn share that with America's children. Our vice president knows that the true heartbeat of America isn't in Washington, DC. It's right here with you. He's doing an incredible job to help revive our manufacturing sector and ignite our economy.
(10:33)
And it's an honor to work with him to put you, the American worker, first. Please join me in welcoming the Vice President of the United States, Mr. JD Vance.
JD Vance (10:47):
Thank you. Thank you. Wow. It is great to be here in Pennsylvania. It's a good day anytime you get out of Washington, DC. And I got to tell you, I want to go to the bar and drink whatever these guys over here are drinking because they're having a good time. They're having a good time. I want to thank a few people before I get started here. First of all, I'm so honored to be joined by our wonderful second lady, Usha Vance, my lovely wife, Usha. I want to thank our great Secretary of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who's doing an amazing job, and she's focused on something that
JD Vance (12:00):
That I think is very much close to the heart of our great workers here in Pennsylvania, which is just very simple idea that you ought to be able to raise a family and earn a good wage even if you don't go to college. We don't want to force everybody to go to college. We want to empower people who want to work with their hands to earn a good wage and do a good job, but she's fighting for that every single day. Lori's doing a great job. We have got our great Congressman, Ryan Mackenzie. Ryan, please stand up and say hello to everybody. Ryan is doing a good job in Washington. He's got a great heart for the people of this district. He's only been in town for a couple of years, maybe only a year now, right? That you've been in Congress.
(12:47)
And you see it all the time. You see it with Democrats and Republicans. Sometimes people go to Washington and forget who they serve, not Ryan Mackenzie. You are very lucky in Pennsylvania to have one of the good ones, and Ryan is helping us every single day fight for American workers.
(13:09)
I believe, young man, shouldn't you be in school? We got a great young patriot over here. You ought to come up and take a photo afterwards. But I also want to give a shout-out to Treasurer Stacy Garrity. Stacy, thanks for everything that you do and thanks for being here today. Where is she? There we go.
(13:34)
And of course, finally, to all the employees and the management, the good people of ULINE for making it possible to be here. This is a massive facility and I think that it speaks to what's going on in the United States of America under the past 10 months of Donald J. Trump's presidential leadership.
(13:57)
Under this president, my friends, we are building again. We are investing in the United States of America again. You heard our Secretary of Labor talk about it. 61,000 jobs added in the month of November, and that's not all. We saw private sector wage growth grow at a rate of 4.2%. You know what that means? That means we're seeing the fastest private sector wage growth that we have seen in this country in many, many years. And we're doing it by having a president and an administration that believes in you and fights for you. That is what we're trying to do every single day.
(14:39)
Now, I will say as excited as I was to be here this morning, I remember when I got off the airplane and it is cold. And like a good gentleman, I let my wife come down the steps first. And then I get to the bottom of the steps and there's a bunch of firefighters from the Great Leigh Valley who want to take a photo with me. And obviously I love our firefighters. I'm happy to take a photo.
(15:01)
Now here's the problem. To the right of me is all these media cameras probably broadcasting my every moment on national television. Some of the fake news gathered with us here today.
(15:15)
And to the left of me, and to the left of me is these great firefighters. And there before me is a sheet of black ice. And I think to myself, if I walk over to those guys and take this photo, I am going to bust my you-know- what, I'm not going to say it because we have this very bright young man here. I don't want to teach you any bad words. I don't want your mom and dad to be mad at me. So I do what any self-respecting man would do in a situation like that. I send my wife to go and take a photo with the firefighters.
(15:46)
No, I didn't. I actually didn't. I did it the right way, but I did do sort of the Biden slow shuffle to get over there. I did not want these national cameras to catch me doing anything. Because if I fell, if I wiped out on that runway, you all know that would be national news for the next week. Now, Joe Biden could fall walking up the steps in broad daylight in 80 degree weather, nobody would mind it, but if me or the president do anything like that, it's going to be plastered all over the news.
(16:15)
But now we're here. We've made it. We have not wiped out and we're here to talk about America's economic comeback. And ladies and gentlemen, we needed an economic comeback in the United States of America. We needed it.
(16:27)
When we talk about all the wage growth, when we talk about all the people who are coming into the United States to invest in the American worker, we've got real money, real jobs, and real opportunity. What that means for the State of Pennsylvania is that in just the last 11 months, we're creating 60,000 good-paying jobs for Pennsylvania families. And we're bringing in just in this one Commonwealth, a hundred billion dollars of new investment into this great place. That is real opportunity for the American people. That is real wage growth for the American people.
(17:13)
And look, I grew up in a community. I was raised by my grandmother in a community where when I was growing up, the factories were closing down. And those good paying jobs, they weren't coming into our communities. They were getting shipped overseas by politicians and Washington DC. The President of the United States has set this entire administration on a different course.
(17:34)
We are sick of rewarding companies that ship jobs overseas. We're going to reward companies that build right here in America and give Americans good wages to do it.
(17:48)
And you already see it, my friends, you already see it in some of the numbers that we're seeing. When I talk about what we are most proud of, I probably start with what we've been able to do at the southern border and we'll talk about that in a second. But right after that is if you go to the Biden administration, the average American family lost $3,000 of take home pay through the terrible inflation of the Biden administration.
(18:13)
In just 10 months of the Trump administration, the average American family has gained about $1,000 of take home pay. Now that difference could not be starker. When Joe Biden was president for four years, he took $3,000 out of your pocket. And in just 10 months of the president's leadership, we have put $1,000 back in your pocket. That's what that means. And that's just the beginning, my friends.
(18:46)
That is just the beginning. Because if you look at what we are doing every single day, you are going to have, and if this doesn't turn out to be true, I'll come back here and you can all tell me I'm wrong. But I'm telling you, it's going to be true. You are going to have middle-class Americans, middle-class Pennsylvanians, some of the best tax season in 2026 that you've ever had.
(19:08)
Because if you look at no taxes on overtime, no taxes on tips. When we talk about no taxes on your auto loans if you buy an American-made car, now those are political words. I'm sure you've heard them on TV. But starting with tax season in just a couple of weeks, you are going to see that in your tax refund. That's what that means. More money in your pocket because you've got a president and a Congress that are fighting for you for a change, and that's exactly what it should be.
(19:46)
And I got to say, I'm a little surprised. I'm a little surprised by when the Democrats talk all the time about affordability. Democrats say, "You know things aren't affordable. This isn't affordable. This has gotten more expensive. Drugs have gotten more expensive. Housing's gotten more expensive." And you know what? They're right, and it was because of them.
(20:11)
It ain't that hard. If you go back to the four years of the Biden Administration, why did housing get so expensive, double in price during the Biden administration? It's because Joe Biden let in 20 million illegal immigrants who took homes that ought by right go to American citizens and to the people of this great state.
(20:35)
When we talk about why did healthcare get so unaffordable during the Biden administration? It's because Joe Biden allowed prescription drug companies to take advantage of this country. Europeans were paying way less for prescription drugs than our American citizens. It took Donald J. Trump to haul those pharmaceutical executives into the Oval Office and say, "No more." Europe's going to pay more for drugs and America's going to pay less for drugs because we got to fight for the American people for a change.
(21:09)
Why have rents gone down for four consecutive months? And I know they're still too high, but why have rents gone down for four consecutive months? Because we're starting to get those illegal aliens out of the United States of America. Those criminals, those gang members, those people who are taking homes that ought by right go to the people in this room and your children and your grandchildren. It's simple economics. If you have fewer people, fewer illegal aliens trying to buy homes, that means American citizens are going to finally be able to afford a home again. It's very, very simple economics.
(21:42)
When you ask, why is it that we have trillions of dollars of new investment coming into the United States of America? Because we finally got a president who says, "If you're going to build in America, if you're going to invest in America, we're going to make it easy for you. But if you're not going to build anything in America, if you're going to try to ship an American job overseas, then we are going to penalize you for doing something overseas that you ought to do in the United States of America." That's why we've got so much money coming in.
(22:10)
So if you look at every single affordability crisis that we talk about in the United States of America today, it's because we inherited a nightmare of an economy from Joe Biden. The highest peacetime debt and deficits in the history of the United States of America. That blows the door off inflation.
(22:34)
The highest energy prices in the history of the United States of America. We are in one of the great energy regions in the entire world. Not just in America, in the entire world. You know why energy prices are lower? You know why gas prices have come down so much? Because we finally got an American president who wants to invest in American energy and American workers instead of green energy boondoggles that are produced overseas. Thank you.
(23:06)
So on all these things, my point, ladies and gentlemen, is that we are making progress. And I never forget where I come from. I never forget who I serve and I know that there is so much more progress to be made. I remember my grandmother in times like this of the holidays, of course, I think a lot of us remember the loved ones that we've lost. I remember my Dear Mamaw, that's what I called her.
(23:26)
And I was in a particularly hard math class in high school and she said, "What do you need to do well in this class?" My grades weren't so good. And she went out, even though she could not afford even the essentials in life, she went out and got me a calculator, a very expensive calculator so that I could do well in this math class.
(23:44)
I remember what it feels like for American families when you have the government take $3,000 out of your pocket through higher taxes and higher inflation. I know what it's like for a woman who's trying to support a grandson but can't afford her prescription drugs
JD Vance (24:00):
Drugs because pharmaceutical companies are taking advantage of the United States of America. I remember what it's like when you'd have to choose between putting food on the table or getting the prescription that you need to stay healthy. That is not a life that Donald Trump or I want for the citizens in the greatest country in the world. We want you to be able to afford the things that you have to to give your kids and your grandkids a good life. We want you to check your credit card statement and for that to be an annoyance, something you got to do rather than something that causes a lot of stress and anxiety. We don't want a single parent or grandparent to have to look at their checking account and decide whether they're going to buy food or whether they're going to buy medicine this month.
(24:51)
We are fighting for you every single day. And I don't want you to think for one second that because Joe Biden gave us the worst economy in the world that we forget it. No, we know. We know exactly what we're left with. We know exactly the consequences that it's caused for so many of our great families all across Pennsylvania. And I promise you, there is no person more impatient to solve the affordability crisis than Donald J. Trump, the President of the United States.
(25:24)
I hear these guys, I hear these Democrats talk about this as if you were going to fix these problems in a single day. It reminds me of probably the third day in the Oval Office, where eggs had gotten so expensive under the Biden administration. Look, I'm the Vice President of the United States, I'm a very blessed man, but we have three little kids who eat a lot of eggs, and so I know the price of a dozen eggs. The price of eggs got really high during the Biden administration. It was the third day in the White House and some reporter said, "What are you doing about the price of eggs? Haven't you seen they are so expensive?" And the president's like, "Lady, we've been here for three days. It takes a little bit of time to fix something that was so fundamentally broken."
(26:04)
And so when I hear the Democrats talk about the affordability crisis that they created, it's a little bit like Charles Manson criticizing violent crime. Look in the mirror, my friend. You are the cause of the problem and Donald J. Trump's administration is the solution to the problem that you've created. I want to say one more thing here, and then I want to take some questions from the reporters, and then we'll have to hit the road.
(26:34)
This is such an amazing time to be in Pennsylvania. As much as I complain about the cold, and I do, as much as I almost busted my rear end on the tarmac today, I love being in the great state of Pennsylvania during this time of year. I love Christmas time. I love the beautiful trees. I love the snow on the hill. I love everything about this state this time of year. It reminds me a lot of my home state of Ohio for reasons that you all know well. But here's the thing. During this Christmastime, I think that we got to remember that we have a lot in the United States of America to be grateful for, and I am at the very top of the list of people who have a lot to be grateful for.
(27:16)
I'm very grateful to my beautiful wife and our healthy kids. I'm very grateful to have this job for the trust that all of you have put in me. I'm very grateful that we have a President of the United States, who would literally take a bullet for this country, and in fact, actually did. But I just ask all of you to count your blessings this holiday season, because there is a lot good out there. There's a lot that we're still working to fix, but I just wanted to say, from the President of the United States, from the entire administration, my friends in Pennsylvania, Merry Christmas to you. I hope your families have a happy New Year. Thank you.
(28:09)
All right. Thank you all. Please, sit down. Sit down. We're not done yet. We're not done yet, please. All right. We're going to take a few questions from the reporters, and we're going to start with the most egregious of the fake news. Is that right, Luke? No. We're going to start with the local reporters who have some integrity. So let's start with our local cameramen, and then we'll move on to the fake news if we have some time. Sir, or ma'am.
Jaxon White (28:34):
Hi, I'm Jaxon White from WITF in Harrisburg.
JD Vance (28:36):
Hey, Jaxon, how are you doing?
Jaxon White (28:37):
I'm good. Many Americans are still reporting that they're experiencing high costs of groceries and other living expenses. How does the administration plan to lower those costs, and how long might that take for them to experience those lower costs?
JD Vance (28:51):
Well, it's … Jaxon, as I said earlier, I think the best way to understand this is, if the American people had $3,000 taken out of their pocket, it's going to take a little bit of time before they really feel like that money's been put back in their pocket. That just takes a lot of time. It's a lot of work. And I think the best way to do it is on the one hand, you got to lower cost. That's why that we're lowering regulations on American energy to get gas and groceries down. Now, how does energy connect to groceries? Because if the truck that takes the groceries to the grocery store is paying out the wazoo for diesel fuel, then that means every American's going to be paying more at the grocery. If the farmers who actually grow our food are paying way too much for fuel and fertilizer, that means American citizens are not going to be able to afford their groceries.
(29:38)
So if we lower the price of energy, we lower the price of groceries, we lower the price of gasoline, and importantly, we bring good jobs back into this country so that wages go up. That's how you give people a shot at the American Dream again. That is our job. That is what we ran on, that is what we promised to do, and after 11 months, again, the average American family is $1,000 richer than they were 11 months ago. Now, if you had $3,000 taken out of your pocket by the Biden administration, of course you're still struggling to get by. Rome was not built in a day, but we are committed every single day to making every single American who works hard and played by the rules, we want them to get a little bit richer every single day. And we do believe that if we keep on making the right decisions, we keep on investing in the United States of America, we are going to find that the American citizens can afford a good life in their country again. That's our obligation and that's what we're trying to do.
Thomas Shortell (30:42):
Good morning, Mr. Vice President. My name's Thomas Shortell. I'm a reporter with Lehigh Valley Public Media. Congressman Ryan Mackenzie and a number of other battleground Republicans have been pushing to have tax credit extensions on the ACA. I was curious what your thoughts were on their efforts. Is that something that the administration is behind?
JD Vance (31:05):
First of all, just on healthcare costs, if you look at some of the worst healthcare costs for American citizens, the biggest drivers of increased healthcare costs, it is the cost of prescription drugs. It simply got way too high and it got too high because we allowed other countries to take advantage of it. I'm talking about the same exact drug that would cost $300 in Great Britain or $250 in France would cost an American $5, 000 or $10,000. We were subsidizing the entire world's prescription drugs and no president had the courage to put a stop to it, and Ryan McKenzie has been very supportive on this. Nobody had the courage to put a stop to it until Donald J. Trump said, "No. We are done getting fleeced on pharmaceuticals. Europe has to pay up, so that our great American citizens can pay less." That's the most important thing that we've done. Now, you are right that the health insurance market, the health insurance system is totally broken. It's been broken for 15 years, and we are working with Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, to come up with a solution. You talked about premium support. We think that everything should be on the table, but Democrats and Republicans, they got to work together and put something on the president's desk to sign. Now, I will tell you, we've been involved in probably 10 different healthcare bills. We've been talking to Ryan about it. We've been talking to my friend Bernie Moreno from the state of Ohio. We've been talking to Susan Collins about it. We've even talking to a few of the reasonable Democrats who are putting ideas out there, but Congress has got to get us something to lower the cost of health insurance for American citizens. The Obamacare system was broken. Donald J. Trump wants to fix it, but Congress has got to step up here.
Hannah Brandt (32:55):
Mr. Vice President, thanks for taking my question. I'm Hannah Brandt from NewsNation. As I'm sure you know, recent polling shows most Americans don't approve of how the Trump administration is handling the economy. I hear what you're saying, that it's going to take time to fix things, but the political reality is that the midterms are next year. Are you worried that affordability is a political liability for your administration and for Republicans?
JD Vance (33:21):
Look, I'm not worried about the politics, because I believe fundamentally in the wisdom of the American people. When we go out there and we tell our story that gasoline and energy got way too high under Joe Biden's administration, but we've lowered the cost of energy, the American people will understand that. The American people know that. When we go out there and talk about the fact that the affordability crisis that happened under Joe Biden's administration made a lot of Americans poor and we're working every single day to put money back in their pocket, I think the American people will understand and agree with that. Of course, they're going to be the ones who make the final decision, but I feel very confident that if we keep wages high, we keep energy prices low, we keep on chipping away at the affordability crisis created by Joe Biden's administration, yes, I believe the American people are going to reward us because the American people are smart.
(34:12)
They know Rome wasn't built in a day. They know what Joe Biden broke is not going to get fixed in a week. We got to stay with it. We got to keep on working on bringing good jobs and money back into the United States of America, and that will, it already has paid major dividends for the American people, it's going to pay a lot more in the year to come. Thank you.
Elizabeth Mitchell (34:32):
Thank you, Mr. Vice President. This is Elizabeth Mitchell from The Daily Signal. The Healthcare bill released Friday by the GOP doesn't include health savings accounts. Are you comfortable with that, and would you like to see the GOP use the special reconciliation process to address healthcare costs and other affordability concerns?
JD Vance (34:56):
Well, one of the things the president has said is, we have the weirdest health insurance system in the world, where we tax money from all these great Americans out here, and then we give boatloads of money to the insurance companies, why don't we give that money to the American people and let them buy insurance that works for them and their families? If you look at insurance company profits, they have been skyrocketing ever since Obamacare was passed. The insurance companies have done very well under Obamacare.
(35:29)
You know who hasn't done well under the Obamacare system of giving boatloads of money to the American people? All of you. That's what's broken about this system. It's good for insurance companies and bad for Americans. We are trying to get to a healthcare policy that's good for Americans. We don't care. If the insurance companies do well, great. If they do poorly, that's their problem. We are here to fight for the American worker and make health insurance affordable for them, so we're going to keep on working at it. You mentioned one piece of legislation. I've probably read a dozen
JD Vance (36:00):
Different pieces of legislation that are floating out there. Again, it's going to come to the point where Republicans and Democrats have to figure out what can be passed together. Of course, the president is going to drive a lot of that process. We're still reviewing some of these legislative texts as they come up. We believe that we can solve this problem, but again, the nature of our system, we're going to work with Congress to make sure we get something that's good for the American people through the Congress. Thank you.
Irie Sentner (36:30):
Thank you, Mr. Vice President. This is Irie Sentner from Politico. President Trump last week gave his economy a grade of A plus, plus, plus, plus. What grade would you give the economy today?
JD Vance (36:42):
A plus, plus, plus.
Audience (36:44):
USA. USA. USA. USA. USA. USA.
JD Vance (36:59):
Look, here's the simple fact of the matter. Again, you have to understand all of this stuff in context. You have to ask yourself, what has the Trump economy been able to build over the past 10 or 11 months, given what we inherited from the Biden administration? Ladies and gentlemen, we had the worst inflation crisis in 50 years in the United States of America under Joe Biden. We had the worst trade deficit in the history of the United States under Joe Biden. We had debt and deficits, the highest in the history of American peacetime in 250 years. What we have been able to do, higher wages, lower inflation, a massive amount of investment and money coming into the United States of America, that stuff is incredible. And that is something to be proud of. What I will say is that given how bad things got under the Biden administration, we are going to keep on working every single day to make sure that Americans feel the benefits of the Trump economy.
(37:58)
I am certain that, again, we've already seen great benefits for the American people, but we got a lot of rebuilding to do over the next three years, and the president is committed more than anybody to making sure that we do it.
Rob Manch (38:15):
Hi there, Vice President JD Vance. This is Rob Manch with 69 News, WFMZ. The jobs report you mentioned this morning, you said 60,000 jobs were added in November. However, it also said 100,000 jobs were lost in October and the unemployment rate currently stands at 4. 6%, which is the highest since the pandemic. So my question is, how do you inspire companies to hire people if people don't have jobs, income tax cuts aren't going to help them?
JD Vance (38:41):
Well, first of all, the idea that income tax cuts don't help is ridiculous. If more people have more money to spend in their pocket, that's good for businesses, it's good for families, it's good for everybody. It's one of the ways why we do this. When we talked about 100,000 jobs, you're talking about government sector jobs, and that is in a lot of ways the entire story of what we're trying to do under President Trump's leadership. We want to fire bureaucrats and hire these great Americans out here. That's what we're trying to do.
(39:23)
Now, you mentioned… This is an important point. You mentioned the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.6%. I think this is a very, very important point because you know what that means? What that data shows, and you got to get in the weeds a little bit, the unemployment rate only counts the people who are looking for work. So let's say you dropped out of work two years ago, you haven't been searching for a job. Well, you're unemployed, but you're not counted in the official unemployment statistics. What you're seeing as wages go up, as more investment comes into our country, is that people who weren't looking for work under Biden's administration are getting out there and looking for work in the Trump administration. That's exactly what we want. We want to get people off the sidelines and give them a good job with good pay, and we're seeing a lot of evidence that that is happening under President Trump's leadership. We'll take one more question.
Jacob Bogage (40:21):
Mr. Vice President, Jacob Bogage from the Washington Post, it's good to see you.
JD Vance (40:25):
Good to see you too.
Jacob Bogage (40:25):
Merry Christmas.
JD Vance (40:26):
Thank you. Same to you.
Jacob Bogage (40:28):
Unfortunately, I have to ask a bit of an off-topic question from affordability, because news events do intervene, and that is the interviews that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, gave to Vanity Fair, in which she's quoted as referring to you as, excuse me, and again, not my words, sir, but a conspiracy theorist of the decade, and described your transformation from someone who once opposed President Trump to now his vice president as an act of political expediency. And I'd like to give you the chance to respond to that, sir.
JD Vance (40:59):
Well, first of all, if Susie… I'll trust what you said. I haven't looked at the article. I of course have heard about it, but conspiracy theorist, sometimes I am a conspiracy theorist, but I only believe in the conspiracy theories that are true. And by the way, Susie and I have joked in private and in public about that for a long time. For example, I believed in the crazy conspiracy theory back in 2020 that it was stupid to mask three-year-olds at the height of the COVID pandemic, that we should actually let them develop some language skills. I believed in this crazy conspiracy theory that the media and the government were covering up the fact that Joe Biden was clearly unable to do the job.
Audience (41:50):
[inaudible 00:41:55].
JD Vance (41:58):
And I believed in the conspiracy theory that Joe Biden was trying to throw his political opponents in jail rather than win an argument against this political opponent. So at least on some of these conspiracy theories, it turns out that a conspiracy theory is just something that was true six months before the media admitted it. And that's my understanding. Now, look, I do want to say something about Susie though, because again, having not read this article, Susie is a person I've come to know very, very well. And a lot of you probably ask yourself, what is it like behind the scenes? What's going on actually behind the scenes of the Trump administration? And I'll tell you, the president is exactly in private who he is in public. I'll tell you a little story. A few, maybe actually a week or so ago, I walk into the Oval Office and Marco and I are sitting there talking with the president about something.
(42:53)
He says, "Stop." And he looks at our shoes and says, "You guys have terrible shoes." So he goes and gets a shoe catalog. Now remember, this is the Christmas season, so the president's got some holiday cheer. He goes and gets a shoe catalog and gets his favorite shoes and orders like four pairs of shoes for me and four pairs of shoes for Marco because he's like, "We need our Vice President, our Secretary of State to look their very best." And then we went back to talking about whatever major international issue we were talking about. Again, he is exactly in private who he is in public. That's not true of most people in Washington, DC. It's not. And I've seen so many people who will say one thing to the president's face, Democrats and Republicans, and then will do the exact opposite behind the scenes. You know why I really-
Audience (43:40):
They're traitors.
JD Vance (43:41):
You know why… They are. And you know why I really love Susie Wiles? Because Susie is who she is in the president's presence. She's the same exact person when the president isn't around. I've never seen Susie Wiles say something to the president and then go and counteract him or subvert his will behind the scenes. And that's what you want in a staffer, because as much as I love Susie, the American people didn't elect any staffer. They elected the President of the United States, and what you want and what you want in a staffer is a person who understands they are there to effectuate the will of the American people and they're there to follow the orders of the duly elected commander-in-chief of the United States. And Susie Wiles, we have our disagreements. We agree on much more than we disagree, but I've never seen her be disloyal to the President of the United States, and that makes her the best White House chief of staff that I think the president could ask for.
(44:42)
And the last thing I'll say is if any of us have learned a lesson from that Vanity Fair article, I hope that the lesson is we should be giving fewer interviews to mainstream media outlets. So with that lesson internalized, I'm going to stop taking questions and just leave you with one final note. And again, it's just a note of gratitude. This is the coolest job I've ever had. Agree with us or disagree with us. I'm sure that every single person in this room made something happen to get me to this job. You went out there and voted. Maybe you persuaded one of your relatives to vote, maybe even volunteered or knocked on doors or made phone calls for us. I will never forget that my job every single day is to make it so that you guys can have a safe and prosperous life in this country that all of us love.
Audience (45:44):
Thank you.
(45:44)
Thank you.
(45:46)
Thank you.
JD Vance (45:47):
Thank you. Thank you. We inherited a mess, ladies and gentlemen. I'm not going to…