On Wednesday, Sen. J.D. Vance, Vice President Kamala Harris, and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, visited Eau Claire at the same time. Vance spoke at the NMC-Wallard Co./Wallard International Airport aircraft depot. In his speech, he outlined some of the goals of his and former President Donald Trump’s campaigns, including tariffs on Chinese products, immigration reform and efforts to protect rural health care, among other topics.
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WKOW) — Sen. J.D. Vance, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, visited Eau Claire at the same time on Wednesday.
Vance spoke at the NMC-Wallard Corp./Wallard International Airport aircraft depot. During his speech, he outlined some of the goals of his and former President Donald Trump’s campaigns, including tariffs on Chinese products, immigration reform and efforts to protect rural health care, among other topics.
The recent closure of two hospitals in the Eau Claire area has raised questions about what the Trump-Vance campaign will do to protect rural health care.
One of those clinics was also a resource for people battling addiction, which Vance said is becoming an increasingly real problem for Americans, something he attributes to the Biden administration’s border policies.
Vance said the Biden administration is more focused on providing health care to “illegal immigrants” than on maintaining rural health systems. He also said at the rally that hospital closures have been a problem since the passage of Obamacare, and that limited access to health care will make it harder for Americans to fight addiction.
“We must put the interests of our people first,” Vance said, “and that starts with prioritizing hospitals, health care services, food, housing, and more. I want America to be a generous nation… And that generosity starts with investing in the American people.”
Vance also addressed the Biden administration’s criticism of President Trump’s “failed Foxconn program,” to which Vance responded by saying “not every facility is going to work perfectly” and that President Trump’s manufacturing plan is a long-term project.
“First, we need to be able or willing to impose tariffs on Chinese products,” Vance said. “China is using slave labor to undercut wages in the United States and to import huge amounts of cheap products.”
Another topic at Vance’s rally was immigration policy. According to a University of Wisconsin-Madison study, about 70% of dairy workers in Wisconsin are illegal immigrants. Vance referred to the current administration’s immigration policy.
“When you talk to farmers, they don’t want to hire illegal immigrants,” Vance said. “They actually want to hire American workers, they want to hire legal residents, but with 20 million people in the country illegally, you can’t have a system that works for American farmers.”
At the end of his campaign rally, Vance said that if elected, he would pursue policies he believes will make the American Dream more attainable for young Americans.
