JD Vance awkwardly crosses tarmac to confront Air Force Two

Dreaming of inhabiting the plane one day, Vance told pool reporters that he'd been hoping to run into the VP

By Griffin Eckstein

News Fellow

Published August 7, 2024 10:23PM (EDT)

Republican vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) speaks with media gathered outside the Park Diner on July 28, 2024 in St Cloud, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Republican vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) speaks with media gathered outside the Park Diner on July 28, 2024 in St Cloud, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Ohio Senator JD Vance continued his trailing campaign following Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz, with the three crossing paths on an Eau Claire, Wisconsin runway on Wednesday.

While Harris and Walz prepared for an electrifying rally featuring a performance from Bon Iver, Vance took a break after his own, much smaller, event to gawk at the vice president’s empty plane.

“I figured I’d come by and uhh, one, just get a good look at the plane because hopefully it’s going to be my plane in a few months,” Vance said, bombarding pool reporters covering Harris’ appearance, before accusing the vice president of running a campaign “from a basement and a teleprompter,” minutes before she spoke to a crowd of over 12,000.

“This is a person who has to answer questions from the media and it’s disgraceful that she runs from you guys, and it’s also insulting to the American people,” Vance said, claiming Harris hadn’t answered press questions in the days since she became the Democratic candidate.

Harris and Walz, who had left the area moments earlier after being greeted by thousands of supporters and stopping to meet with a local Girl Scout troop, didn’t seem to acknowledge Vance’s presence on the rally stage, though they were sure to remind voters of Vance’s “weird” antics and beliefs.

On TikTok, the Harris campaign poked fun at Vance’s plane, which lurked in the background of a video featuring a viral audio clip of "Dance Moms" star Abby Lee Miller saying, “All of a sudden, I hear this agitating, grating voice.”

Vance, who is trailing Harris and Walz both in popularity polling, has taken a more prominent role in the campaign despite his negative reception and off-putting comments, as Trump takes an extended, unexplained pause from campaigning, planning just one Montana appearance this week as the race enters its final three months.


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