As the electoral cycle rages on, Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance has ramped up his rhetoric, especially when it comes to unlawful immigration. As Politico recently described it: Vance has become "an attack dog" for the Trump campaign.
On Wednesday, during a Republican rally at Raleigh's Union Station, Vance continued to hammer the message, linking "illegal aliens" to the rising cost of housing there and accusing the Biden administration of prioritizing immigrants without legal authorization over U.S. citizens, a claim that had already been laid out by former president Trump a few days back during a policy speech to the Economic Club of New York. As Vance put it:
"I think it's the most disgraceful thing that Kamala Harris has done this cycle, is not just flood this country with cheap labor and people who are competing with you for homes, but to then tell you that you're a bad person for daring to speak up and to have a voice about what's going on in your own country."
His statement was met with "build the wall" chants.
Housing affordability hit a record low in Raleigh last year, as Axios reports, and home sales remain sluggish as mortgage rates increased home values and a lack of inventory are dampening the appeal and feasibility of buying a home.
However, economists have largely attributed the rise in home prices to pandemic-related factors like mortgage rates and housing inventory shortages. As one piece from the Washington Examiner puts it: "migrants who have crossed the border illegally generally don't compete for the same houses and apartments that others are trying to rent or buy."
Vance also tied energy policy to Harris's economic policy, saying the cost of living is up in North Carolina and the way to lower costs on American consumers "really is, drill, baby, drill." Rally-goers started chanting "drill, baby, drill."
Vance went on to assert that Harris "wants to bankrupt Medicare by giving Medicare to illegal aliens" amid chants of "build the wall" from the attendees. To back up his claims, Vance pointed to Harris's support of a 2017 "Medicare for All" proposal, which aimed to expand health coverage to all U.S. citizens and an interview often shared by Republicans in which Harris expressed opposition to policies that would deny public health access to anyone in the country.
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