Ohio Senator and GOP vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance recently backed former President Donald Trump’s statements calling Democratic leaders “the enemy from within,” asserting that the nation faces more significant threats from domestic issues than from foreign ones.
Speaking to NBC News on “Meet the Press” on Shabbos, Vance voiced agreement with Trump’s view, emphasizing that leaders within the U.S. government are exacerbating internal challenges more seriously than any external adversaries could.
Vance highlighted rising inflation, struggles in military recruitment, and a growing migrant crisis as examples of issues that, in his view, have worsened due to failed leadership. “These problems are caused by broken leadership,” he argued, referencing key concerns in the country. Vance specifically called out former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., suggesting that her tenure contributed significantly to America’s economic problems.
“Under Nancy Pelosi’s long life in public leadership, the United States has gone from the preeminent industrial power of the world to second, next to China,” Vance claimed. “That fundamentally belongs on Nancy Pelosi’s shoulders, and if we’re going to have a more prosperous country, we’ve got to recognize our own leadership is why we lost our industrial base to China.”
Expounding on Trump’s stance, Vance explained, “What [Trump] said is that the biggest threat we have in our country, it’s not a foreign adversary, because we can handle these guys. We can handle foreign conflicts.”
Earlier this month, Trump shared similar sentiments with Fox News, stating, “We have the outside enemy, and then we have the enemy from within, and the enemy from within, in my opinion, is more dangerous than China, Russia, and all these countries.” He identified Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., as prime examples of such internal threats.
In a Fox News town hall, Trump elaborated on his perspective, suggesting that external adversaries could be effectively managed with competent leadership. “We have China. We have Russia. We have all these countries. If you have a smart president, they can all be handled. The more difficult are, you know, the Pelosis. These people, they’re so sick, and they’re so evil,” he stated.
These statements have sparked pushback from Democratic leaders, who argue that such rhetoric weakens national unity and distracts from legitimate foreign challenges. Vance and his supporters, however, insist that acknowledging these internal issues is essential for the U.S. to regain its global stature.
{Matzav.com}