Speech: JD Vance Holds a Midterm Political Rally in Rome, New York - November 2, 2026

How are we doing, New York? You know, I hope everybody had a great -- a great Halloween. Oh, we have an Ohio-an out there? Amazing. So I went as, uh, Dumbledore for Halloween. You know, Harry Potter, Dumbledore, and people said, why did you go as Dumbledore? And I said, well, because I lost a bet with my children, that's why.

Why else would a grown man dress up in an ugly wig, which was very uncomfortable, by the way. And, uh, you know, I looked more like a -- an Iranian sheikh than I did an American vice president in that costume. But we had a good time. And then after Halloween, yesterday, actually, I was talking to my daughter who's four years old, and I said, honey, we're going to start getting ready for our toy drive.

We try to, you know, give some -- some toys to Toys for Tots. We're -- we're now in November getting ready for -- for Christmas, and I'd like you to identify maybe a couple toys you'd like to -- to donate here. So she brings me two of her brother's toys. [Laughter] And I realized that despite my best efforts, ladies and gentlemen, I have apparently raised a Democrat, stealing -- stealing her brother's toys to give to somebody else.

And that's what we got to do in just one day, is beat the Democrats and win for America. So this is, of course, my final day on the midterm campaign trail, and I was trying to think, where is the best location to kick off this final day? And I wanted a place with beautiful scenery. I wanted a place that builds and grows things.

I wanted a place that's filled with red-blooded, patriotic Americans who love this country and are going to fight for it. And it hit me, ladies and gentlemen, to get all those things, all roads lead to Rome, New York. But before I want to -- before I go any further, I want to give a shout out to some of the amazing people that are here today.

First of all, a great friend of mine and a great patriot, Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright. Chris, thank you. And we're of course, honored to be joined by a man who needs no introduction. He's maybe even more famous than I am, the great Donald Trump Jr. Don, we love you. We have got a couple of incredible candidates running to represent the fine people of upstate New York.

First, we've got Kailee Buller. Kailee, thank you so much. So all the voters in the 22nd district, get out there and vote for Kailee. And of course, we're here to celebrate and honor a man who is going to make a great Congressman for the 21st district, Anthony Constantino. Anthony, thank you, man. Ladies and gentlemen, this is an amazing part of the United States of America.

This is an amazing part of our country. You've got the Adirondacks, you've got Lake Placid. You have some of the most beautiful farmland that our nation has to offer Bbut most importantly -- but most importantly, you've got great people, proud men and women who have spent generations building this community, building this country and we show no signs of stopping.

Now, up in Massena, workers at Alcoa have been smelting aluminum since 1902. And right here in Rome, Revere Copper traces its roots 225 years back to Paul Revere himself. That's amazing. Now, that's -- that's before you count the dairy farmers, the paper makers, and the soldiers serving our nation at Fort Drum.

Give a -- give a round of applause to them. So when I look out at a crowd like this, I see a place that is not all that different from the place that I grew up in. Even though it's far away in terms of geography, it's very close and the kinds of people that made this place. Now, I came from Middletown, Ohio, a place where my grandfather spent 40 years as a union welder, and he never finished any kind of higher education, but that mill gave him the chance to earn a good living that supported three generations in my family.

I remember, ladies and gentlemen, how proud he was of the work he did, how he could point out on the road to a car that was made with American steel, knowing it was something that he and his friends had helped build. But -- but as I grew up, I watched that world disappear. I watched factories close down.

I watched businesses boarded up. I watched families who'd lived in Middletown for generations began to leave in search of opportunities elsewhere. And I remember how it was that the leaders of a country that owed so much to communities like mine, how they had forgotten and left behind the very people who made America run in the first place.

And I remember asking myself how it was that our leaders left behind the people who built our factories, the people who made our steel and our aluminum, the people who helped make America the richest nation on earth, how could our leaders have forgotten about them? But the story of places like Rome or Middletown, ladies and gentlemen, it's not just a story of what America has lost, it's also a story about what America still has the power to rebuild.

New York Republicans stood with Donald Trump and helped pave the way for an America first revolution. Thanks to people like your Congresswoman, Elise Stefanik, give it up for Elise. Thanks to the man who should have been your governor, Lee Zeldin. Give it up for Lee. Thanks to so many New York Republicans, we made sure in 2022 that there was a voice of common sense representing the people of New York and Washington.

And as you all know, there's a lot of common sense in New York politics, but there's also a lot of crazy. There's Chuck Schumer and Katie Hochul. [Audience boos]

But by Reelecting Donald J. Trump two years later, the men and women of this district stood tall for common sense, they stood -- stood strong for patriotism, and they sent a message that Rome was sick of being left behind by its leaders. They sent a message that America still belongs to those who love it, not to those who hate it. They sent a message that America belongs not to illegal aliens, not to corporations that ship our jobs overseas, but to the men and women who built this country.

Because more than anything else, ladies and gentlemen, our movement is about sovereignty. It's about returning control of the United States to the people in this building. It's about returning control to you, ladies and gentlemen. And with the help of a few very smart, very capable New York leaders like Elise, we got to remember everything we've been able to accomplish in just the past 18 months.

With their help, we ended taxes on overtime. With their help, we ended taxes on tips. And with their help, we ended taxes on Social Security. We took money -- we took money away from the fraudsters and the bureaucrats, and we put it back in your hands, which is exactly where it belongs. We brought trillions of dollars in new investment to American shores.

Right here in Rome, Chobani is putting $1.2 billion into a brand-new dairy plant for the people of this district.

[A protester calls out, interrupting the event.]

[Audience chants "USA"] We had a little protester, ladies and gentlemen, and it's funny that she was protesting right at the point that we were talking about all of the amazing things that are happening right here in this Congressional district. Why can't we celebrate America's victories for a change? Why don't we celebrate the thousands of good paying, permanent jobs that are being brought back in to this region of the state?

Why don't we talk about protecting and celebrating the good jobs that are already here in this district of the state? You know, what the haters never talk about is that we have done so much, and we can do so much more to rebuild good lives for working people of the 21st Congressional District. One of the things I'm proudest of, ladies and gentlemen, is that all across the country, we saw a lot of visa fraud, we saw a lot of foreign corporations that were firing American workers and bringing in foreign indentured servants to replace them.

And, ladies and gentlemen, that stopped with us. We believe in our movement, that sovereignty starts with giving American jobs to the American people for a change. We believe that for too long, you and your parents and your grandparents were paying too high of a price for prescription drugs. And I'll never forget when Donald Trump Jr.'s father hauled in the pharmaceutical companies into the Oval Office and said, how dare you charge Americans more than you're charging for Europeans.

And that's why we've had the biggest drop in prescription drugs in 50 years in the United States. We banned Wall Street and illegal aliens from buying up American homes so that a young couple in Plattsburgh can finally buy a home, because American homes ought to go to the American people. We fought for our farmers, ladies and gentlemen, investing billions of dollars in new fertilizer production at home and in new markets abroad for our farmers, so that the farmers of this district can sell their goods wherever they want to without somebody else rigging the game against American farmers, because we got the best product, we just need fair rules for our farmers to get out there.

And as you all know, perhaps the most important element of sovereignty is being able to control who is in your country for the first place. And that's why under Donald Trump's leadership and with good Congressional leadership in the 21st district, we have had zero illegal border crossings in 17 months in our country.

Now, I want to give a shout out to some of our border control agents, many of whom are joining us here today. Gentlemen, thank you all for your service. Let's give a round of applause to these guys. And one of the things that they know, and one of the things that you know too, is that under Joe Biden's leadership, the northern border became an open gate for fentanyl, for illegal drugs, for trafficking, for higher and higher violent crime. [Audience boos]

So when we talk about closing the border, we're talking about making sure that no one is allowed to use our border, north or south, for illegal drug trafficking. We've put a stop to it and those guys helped us. Thank you guys. Love you all. You know, I know a lot of people out here know somebody who has struggled with addiction in some form or another.

And there are a lot of statistics I throw out there, but maybe the thing that I'm most proud of is that under President Donald Trump's leadership, we have got fentanyl deaths to the lowest level in over a decade by going to war against the drug cartels. Now, all of this, my friends, that's what happens when you've got a government that is doing the common sense thing, they're looking out for you, not for fraudsters, not for bureaucrats, not for illegal aliens.

They're looking out for you. And before I talk a little bit more about Anthony, let me offer a brief word about the race next door in the 22nd district, because on one side, you have got an amazing patriotic candidate in Kailee Buller. Kailee grew up in a blue collar family in Auburn. Is that right? She went to work for us at the Department of Agriculture, where every single day, she fought for the farmers of this district and the farmers of the entire country.

Under her leadership and her hard work, we helped roll back the worst parts of the Green New scam. She fought to bring egg prices down, and she took on the big meat packers all across the United States of America. And now Kailee is going to bring that same spirit and that same fight to the United States Congress.

Now, her opponent is a politician currently representing the district in Congress, a guy by the name of John Mannion. [Audience boos]

You said the right thing. Now, John likes to call himself a moderate, but Nancy Pelosi could not imagine a more reliable ally than John Mannion. You almost couldn't believe this but John Mannion votes with Congressional Democrats 98 percent of the time. John Mannion voted no on ending taxes on tips, he voted no to ending taxes on overtime, and he voted to raise taxes on Social Security for the seniors of the 22nd district. [Audience boos]

If that's a moderate, ladies and gentlemen, I'd hate to see what a liberal looks like. So if you've got friends next door in the 22nd, tell them to send Kailee to Congress. Send John Mannion packing. Send Kailee to fight for us. And, of course, I cannot leave here without talking about the next amazing Congressman for the 22nd -- the 21st district, Anthony Constantino.

Anthony. Now, Anthony build a great American company right here in upstate New York. Back when everybody, everybody said that you had to send manufacturing jobs overseas to countries that would pay subsistence wages, Anthony built a business building things right here in this district. Anthony didn't hire slave labor in some foreign country, he hired Americans.

He built an American. He paid good wages to American citizens because he loves this country. Today, that company employs hundreds of American citizens at good wages and it has put $2.7 billion into New York's economy. Ladies and gentlemen, for my entire political career, I have criticized a corporate leader who would build overseas instead of right here at home.

I have attacked foreign corporations for hiring slave labor overseas than American citizens right here at home. Ladies and gentlemen, right now you have somebody running for Congress that has actually lived putting American workers first for a change. He has fought for American workers. Let's fight for Anthony tomorrow at the ballot box.

Now, the other thing that I like about Anthony is that he is funding his campaign out of his own pocket. Let's give it up for a guy who is funding his campaign himself. You know, the problem is that too many people, they go to Washington not to fight for the people of their district, they go to Washington owned by donors.

And I happen to remember a man that we sent to Washington in 2016, because he wasn't owned by his donors. That was President Donald J. Trump and Anthony is cut from the same cloth. Now, sometimes people in the media, this is unfair, ladies and gentlemen, and it breaks my heart, because I'm really a sweetheart, you know that?

But some people say that I'm an attack dog. And I will say that I do like the part where I get to talk about how crazy these lunatics are who are running on the other side. We got to talk about not just how amazing Anthony is, and he is amazing, ladies and gentlemen, but we also got to talk about the lunatic that's running against him, because I'm not sure if I have seen a candidate this entire cycle who treats American workers, who treats his fellow citizens with such naked contempt.

Now, the guy that Anthony is running against is a guy by the name of Blake Gendebien. Did I pronounce that right? Blake Gendebien. The crowd has corrected me, Blake Gendebien. Now, let's ask ourselves, what has Blake Gendebien, what has he said about the people of this district? He has said that he prefers hiring illegal aliens over workers right here in New York. [Audience boos]

He has said it's hard to find even one worker upstate who doesn't have a drinking problem, or a domestic abuse problem, or some messy custody battle to deal with. Well, you know what I find so preposterous about this, is that he's running against a guy who has found plenty of American workers who will work hard, and that's Anthony.

But you know what else Blake -- Blake Gendebien has said while complaining that he can't find people to hire, he says that kids in the North Country lack, quote, practical independence, and, quote, the ability to think. What an asshole, ladies and gentlemen. [Audience chants "JD"]

I apologize to the parents out there. I see a few kids. Listen to your parents, do not talk like the vice president of the United States. You know, my -- my wife gets on me about this a little bit. I was raised by a grandmother who, by the way, was the most devout Christian, a person who loved the Lord more than any person I have ever met in my entire life.

But, but my mamaw, she also loved the F-word. And I've got -- I got both those things in me, ladies and gentlemen. Sometimes it just comes out. To this beautiful girl here, don't talk like the vice president of the United States. Your mom's going to be very mad at you. But, ladies and gentlemen, whether you talk like me or not, look -- look around this room, look at each other.

Think about it, Blake is not just talking about some random person, he's talking about us. He's talking about your families. He's talking about your neighbors. He's talking about your children. When he talks about us lacking the ability to think, he is showing a contempt for the people of this district that is totally beneath a person that you would send to Congress.

Our message to Blake should be this, the workers of this district don't need your opinion of them. Tomorrow, they're going to give you theirs. And tomorrow, the workers and the people of this district are going to send a message, they know exactly how to think and they're going to elect Anthony to represent them in Congress.

You know, if Blake has no respect for you, if Blake has no affection for the people of this district, you've got to ask, who would he actually work for? Well, we know the answer, Kathy Hochul told us. She said on TV that she and Hakeem Jeffries handpicked Blake to run and that they helped fund and staff his campaign. [Audience boos]

So while Anthony is owned by nobody but himself, and Anthony serves nobody but the people of this district, Blake is actively bragging that he is owned and controlled by Kathy Hochul and Hakeem Jeffries. [Audience boos]

[Audience chants "Ditch the witch"] They're saying, ladies and gentlemen, I don't endorse it, but for those who can't hear it, they're chanting ditch the witch on TV. That's a proper -- that's a proper and appropriate Halloween message. I'm not necessarily endorsing it. I wouldn't want anybody to think that I would -- I would necessarily say that, but ditch the witch.

Rest assured, Blake, if you send him to Congress, and you're not, is going to fall right in line with the other New York Democrats. Start with the ones in Albany who voted to take mother and father out of state law. [Audience boos]

For all the moms in here, do you know what the Democrats now want to call you, a gestating parent? Then look at Blake's would be colleagues, the far left Democrats that New York City will vote to send to Congress tomorrow. One of them cheered on Hamas the day after October the 7th. Another said, and this is my favorite, that July 4th is actually about the liberation from Palestine to Puerto Rico. [Audience boos]

You can just imagine Thomas Jefferson sitting there with his quill pen, writing about the liberation of Palestine to Puerto Rico. These are the crazies, ladies and gentlemen, that Blake will vote right alongside if he wins tomorrow. And let me tell you, it's because deep down, as much as he might pretend otherwise, he agrees with them and believes in exactly the same thing.

Is this what the people of the New York 21st believe? [Audience responds "No"]

Or do we believe that this is still the greatest country on God's green earth? And do we believe that we're going to send patriots like Anthony to fight for us? The choice couldn't be clearer, Blake Gendebien answers to Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, and Anthony answers to you. It couldn't be more clear.

Now, let me just close with -- with an observation. Look, politics is actually not that complicated. All we want in this movement, all we want in our party is something very simple. We want your family and your kids to be able to live the American dream. For the young people, we want them to be able to afford a home and so we fight to make sure that American homes go to American citizens, not to illegal aliens and not to Wall Street.

For your kids, we want your kids to be able to go to a school that educates them rather than indoctrinates them. We want your tax dollars to go to you and to rebuilding the United States of America. We want it to stop going to fraudsters and illegal criminals. So much of what Washington has forgotten, this district remembers, which is that it's the job of elected leaders to fight for you.

Now you're -- you got a guy here in Anthony, who the Democrats have spent tens of millions of dollars slinging mud at a good man. They've tried to tear down his reputation. They've tried to lie to you about what he has done for his business, for his workers and for the people of this district. And they're trying to get you to send a message that even here in beautiful upstate New York, the communists can win. [Audience boos]

Ladies and gentlemen, you have an opportunity not just to elect a patriot to fight for you in Congress, you have an opportunity to send a message to Chuck Schumer, to Hakeem Jeffries and to Nancy Pelosi that here in the New York 21st Congressional District, we are fighting for people who love the United States of America, not those who hate it. You've got an opportunity to send a message that here in New York 21, we fight for common sense, not for crazy.

But the way to send that message, my friends, is to get out there and vote for Anthony. Take your friends, take your neighbors, take your grandparents. Get out there and let them know that we are going to send a message that America belongs to those who love it, not to those who hate it. Vote for Anthony for Congress and let's get out there and take this country. God bless you all.