VP nominee Sen. J.D. Vance speaks exclusively to Channel 2 ahead of Atlanta rally

ATLANTA — Republican Vice Presidential nominee Senator J.D. Vance made his first campaign visit to Georgia on Saturday afternoon.

The 40-year-old junior senator from Ohio addressed thousands of supporters at the Georgia State University Convocation Center in downtown Atlanta.

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Vance spent much of his speech firing shots at presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.

“America will never elect a San Francisco liberal,” he said to applause. “Kamala Harris won’t get a promotion to president.”

He goes on to say Harris is to blame for her inflation and higher gas and energy prices under the Biden administration.

“It’s not the price we pay for democracy, it’s the price we pay for her failed leadership,” Vance said.

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Before taking the stage to address supporters, Vance spoke exclusively with Channel 2′s Richard Elliot.

He told Elliot he doesn’t think Harris’ position in the presidential race is all that different from President Joe Biden’s before he dropped out of the race.

“You have a different figurehead now in Kamala Harris compared to Joe Biden, but I think, fundamentally, the American people want to take the country in a different direction,” he said. “So whether it’s Kamala Harris or Joe Biden, the policies aren’t working.”

While addressing supporters, Vance also mentioned nursing student Laken Riley, who was killed while jogging on the campus of the University of Georgia. The man accused of killing her is in the country illegally from Venezuela.

“Loyalty is protecting Laken Riley, not allowing an illegal immigrant to take her life,” Vance said in reference to Democrats claiming Trump supporters are disloyal to America.

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Vice President Kamala Harris held a campaign rally at the same venue earlier in the week. She’s expected to return to the Peach State next week with a visit to Savannah as part of a nationwide battleground state tour with her currently-unannounced vice presidential nominee.

Former President Trump, VP candidate Vance visiting Atlanta Saturday

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