Vice President JD Vance went to Pennsylvania on Tuesday with a mission: Sell the administration’s economic agenda in a way that resonates with Americans’ lived experience — even as his boss has derided affordability concerns as a “hoax.”
Doing so required reconciling President Donald Trump’s messaging on the economy, which he has repeatedly celebrated as the “hottest” on Earth, with a disappointing jobs report showing unemployment rising to the highest level in more than four years and recurring polling showing most Americans are struggling with the economy.
Vance oscillated between touting what he characterized as an “economic comeback” courtesy of the Trump administration — including lower costs of gasoline and the president’s policies not to tax tips or overtime work — and urging Americans to be patient as they wait for more money in their pockets.
“Rome was not built in a day, but we are committed every single day to making every single American who works hard and played by the rules, we want them to get a little bit richer every single day,” Vance said.
He also dismissed the Democrats’ focus on affordability and sought to lay blame for the economy on them: “When I hear the Democrats talk about the affordability crisis that they created, it’s a little bit like Charles Manson criticizing violent crime,” Vance said. “Look in the mirror, my friend, you are the cause of the problem, and Donald J. Trump’s administration is the solution to the problem that you created.”
Trump, for his part, has repeatedly called affordability a “hoax” — including in his own Pennsylvania speech last week, which was supposed to focus on the economy but wound up being a meandering set of remarks in which he attacked his political opponents and waited 15 minutes before first saying the word “affordable.” That same day, Trump also told Politico that he would grade the economy under his leadership “an A+++++.”
When a reporter asked on Thursday, Vance gave the economy similar marks: an “A+++.”
“What I will say is that given how bad things got under the Biden administration, we are going to keep on working every single day to make sure that Americans feel the benefits of the Trump economy,” Vance added.
His efforts to tout those benefits, though, relied largely on claims that lack supporting evidence or have been disputed by experts.
Vance repeatedly claimed the Biden administration “took $3,000 out of your pocket, and in just 10 months of the President’s leadership, we have put $1,000 back in your pocket.” It was ostensibly a reference to inflation under Biden and projected tax refunds courtesy of the Trump-backed “Big Beautiful Bill,” but experts have said that the refunds will not impact all families equally. Plus, that bill also enacted historic cuts to both Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which many low-income families rely on to afford health care and groceries.
The vice president also blamed rising home prices on undocumented immigrants — a claim economists and housing experts reject. They point instead to housing shortages and elevated mortgage rates as the primary drivers of rising costs. Some warn that mass deportations could worsen the problem by further delaying the construction of new homes.
“If you have fewer people, fewer illegal aliens, trying to buy homes, that means American citizens are going to finally be able to afford a home again,” Vance said. “It’s very, very simple economics.”
Vance delivered his speech hours after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a delayed November jobs report showing that the unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in November — the highest rate in more than four years — and added just 64,000 jobs.
The vice president argued that rising unemployment was actually a positive sign, claiming people who stopped looking for work under Biden are now re-entering the job market under Trump.
“What you’re seeing as wages go up, as more investment comes into our country, is that people who weren’t looking for work under Biden’s administration are getting out there and looking for work in the Trump administration,” the vice president said.
In a statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the jobs report “strong,” and said it “shows how President Trump is fixing the damage caused by Joe Biden.”
Vance also skirted a question about the impact of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, which would leave more than 20 million low- and middle-income Americans with skyrocketing health care premiums if Congress does not extend the subsidies by the end of the year. On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., confirmed that, over some Republicans’ objections, he would not hold a vote to extend the subsidies — effectively guaranteeing their expiration at the end of the month.
“We’re working with Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, to come up with a solution,” Vance said. “You talked about premium support. We think everything should be on the table, but Democrats and Republicans, they got to work together and put something on the president’s desk to sign.”
In his speech, Vance encouraged Americans to “count your blessings this holiday season, because there is a lot of good out there,” adding, “there’s a lot that we’re still working to fix.”
Prior to the speech, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro predicted in a post on X that Vance would “try and convince Pennsylvanians that the rising prices, health care cuts, and chaotic trade wars hurting our farmers are just… made up.”
“I talk to Pennsylvanians every single day,” Shapiro added. “We’re smarter than JD Vance gives us credit for.”
Julianne McShane is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW.