Trump’s Running Mate Booed at Firefighters’ Conference
Senator JD Vance faced boos from the audience during his speech at the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) conference.
Senator JD Vance, selected by former U.S. President Donald Trump as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate, was booed as he took the stage to speak at the IAFF conference in Boston on August 29.
“It seems some people like me and some don’t,” he said. “That’s okay. Listen to what I have to say, and I’ll present my point of view.” The booing and jeers continued as Vance claimed that former President Trump and he are “the most pro-worker Republican candidates in history.”
Vance, who spoke a day after Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz addressed the same conference, urged the association to reflect on its past support for the Democratic Party.
“In 2019, you supported a Democratic candidate for president with high expectations,” he said. “But sadly, I think you were disappointed.”
“After decades of supporting Democrats, what have you received?” he continued. “Over the past 70 years, union membership in America has been steadily declining, and that’s not good news.”
Trump’s running mate emphasized that unions have lost influence, and that workers’ wages, along with the operating costs of both union and non-union organizations, have not kept pace with inflation since Joe Biden took office.
“So, I want to ask the question that Donald Trump asked Americans in 2016: What do you have to lose?” Vance stated.
Despite the boos, there were also moments of applause from the crowd, particularly when he pledged, “We will protect free speech rights, including the right to speak out against mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations imposed by the current administration,” and when he promised to “rehire firefighters who were unjustly dismissed.”
The audience also applauded when Vance assured that a Trump administration would respect workers’ rights to collective bargaining and when he mentioned Corey Comperatore, a volunteer firefighter who died in an assassination attempt on Trump in Butler in July.
The Ohio senator received mixed reactions during his speech and stressed that he too had once been skeptical of the former president.
“Some of you love Trump, and some clearly do not,” Vance said. “I listen to both sides.”
“This might surprise you, but back in the day, I wasn’t a Trump supporter either, and believe me, the president always reminds me of that,” he added before concluding his speech, assuring that regardless of who the audience supports, “we will never stop fighting for you.”
