Press Gaggle: JD Vance Speaks to Reporters Before Air Force Two Departure - October 13, 2026

All right, good morning, everybody. Looking forward to going to campaign with Ken Paxton today in Texas. I think the second trip we've gone to Texas in just under two weeks. And look, Ken's a great guy, been a great attorney general, and he's running against a guy who's just a complete far left radical. So, we're going to try to get the people of Texas fired up, get them to turn out and vote for Ken Paxton. Questions?

You said that you wouldn't want to see Talarico's search history. What do you mean by that?

Well, he's just a guy who shows a weird focus on transgender kids and drag queens. And I think he said something to the effect of an 11-year-old in drag was a great sight or a very beautiful thing. He just says a lot of weird stuff. And I think typically people who say stuff like that tend to have some pretty unusual search histories.

Maybe he doesn't -- just guessing, but I wouldn't want to see it.

Republicans are campaigning in a lot of deep red states right now. What message does that send to the American people in the meantime?

Well, I think we're campaigning in red states; we're campaigning in blue states, we're also campaigning in purple states. I mean, it's the nature of a midterm election where you don't really know how things are going to go, and so you try to pick your targets. And, you know, Ken is obviously in a tight race.

He's a new Senator, a guy -- or a new candidate for Senate, a guy where the far left has spent well over $100 million trying to destroy him. And so, we're trying to build him back up a little bit. But I think Ken's a great guy; he's doing a great job. I think he's ultimately going to win, but I know from personal history, when a lot of money comes against you, that can have an effect even in a red state.

Republican -- President Trump said that you're looking at Representative Omar very strongly. Did you have advance notice that her home was being raided? What are you looking at when it comes to Representative Omar?

No, look, I did not have advance notice that her home was being raided. Look, I never -- we try to run our Department of Justice in a fair and honest way. We try to let the law follow the facts rather than creating facts just to prosecute people we don't like. And because of that, I think the president and I largely try to stay out of Department of Justice investigations and other prosecutions.

Now, I do know that there are some serious allegations against Ilhan Omar. We're going to look into those and, again, if there's a real case there, we're going to follow the facts. If there's not a real case there, then we won't.

Republicans are pulling money out of like New Jersey and some Iowa races. Do you think that means the House cannot be kept in control for Republicans?

No. I mean, look, New Jersey is a very blue state. It was always going to be a really, really big thing for us to win in New Jersey. But I think there are a number of races, for example, in Minnesota in traditionally blue areas where we think we have a real chance. So, I think the nature of a midterm election is sometimes these races have more of an individual rather than a national character.

I feel good about where we are. We know that we're swimming upstream, and I try to remind Republican voters all the time, it is historically unusual for a president who controls -- or his party controls the Senate and the House. Usually that president, that party will lose the midterm elections. So, we know that we're swimming against some serious historical trends here.

But I think that we have as good a chance as I've e ver seen to really defy those historical trends. So, we're not giving up anywhere, we're just trying to win the races that we can and focus where we can. All right, guys, we'll see you in Texas. Thank you.