- Senator Vance told the crowd: “There was a time when I wasn’t a Trump supporter either.”
Senator JD Vance made his call not to boo firefighters at a conference in Boston on Thursday.
The Republican vice presidential candidate took in stride the boos that arose amid the cheers at the International Association of Fire Fighters conference when he urged them to give him a chance to make his “pitch” to win their vote.
“It seems like we have some fans and some detractors, that’s fine,” Vance said.
But he urged the crowd to “listen to what I have to say here and I will make my speech.”
Sen. JD Vance made his “pitch” to get the votes of firefighters who booed at a conference in Boston, Massachusetts, on Thursday: “This may come as a surprise to you, but there was a time when I was not a Trump supporter either.”
The Ohio Republican spoke in the liberal city just a day after his Democratic counterpart for vice presidential nomination, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, delivered remarks to the same audience.
Acknowledging that many of those present at Thursday’s conference are not Trump fans, Vance spoke about his history of not supporting the former president until now joining his 2024 bid, explaining that it was a firefighter friend, Matt, who helped him change his mind.
“I know this is a diverse union. Some of you love President Trump and some of you clearly don’t. I’ve listened to both sides who just made this little speech,” Vance said.
“This may come as a surprise to you, but there was a time when I wasn’t a Trump supporter either,” he joked. “And believe me, the president never lets me forget it.”
“What you may not know is why I changed my mind,” he continued. “And it was largely thanks to a firefighter friend from Dayton, Ohio, who convinced me that I was wrong about Donald Trump and that he was right.”
Vance’s shift from being “never a Trump supporter” to endorsing him and now running with him for the White House has been widely reported.
And the Republican senator has embraced that reality, saying his thoughts on the former president changed over time when he saw how his policies were good for America.
“Over the last 70 years, union membership in this country has — and this is not a good thing — declined. The influence of unions has declined, and wages for workers — both unionized and non-unionized — have not kept pace with inflation over the last three and a half years,” Vance said during his remarks in Boston on Thursday.
“I want to ask you a question that Donald Trump asked the United States in 2016: What the hell do you have to lose?” he concluded.
Vance’s comments came the day after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz spoke at the same fire conference.
Vance also received some boos from the crowd when he said at a different point in his remarks: “President Trump and I are proud to be the most pro-worker Republican ticket in history.”
Unions and their members historically lean toward voting Democratic because the party is known to promote policies that are more beneficial to this demographic.
But this year, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien made history by speaking on the first night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July.
Democrats typically get the coveted endorsement of the Teamsters, a union that represents more than 1.3 million members in a variety of industries, from truck drivers and transportation workers to health care, food and beverage and construction workers.
The Teamsters have not yet officially endorsed a candidate for the 2024 race.