A Republican rally organized in support of US Senator Ashley Moody ahead of the upcoming midterms turned controversial on Thursday, October 1, thanks to a comment by US Vice President JD Vance.
He told Democratic opponent Angie Nixon that she does not belong in America.
“Isn’t that racist? That seems racist,” one viewer wrote.
Nixon replied, delivering a single line that was praised online as “charismatic” and “straight facts.”
Highlights
- JD Vance told Angie Nixon to “get the hell out” of America while campaigning for incumbent Republican Senator Ashley Moody.
- Nixon fired back by calling Vance “the most ordinary man imaginable” while defending her place in the country.
- Vance later defended Donald Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein during an interview that same day.
Notably, Vance’s address came the same day he faced renewed scrutiny for defending Donald Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein during an interview.
JD Vance faced criticism for asking a Black lawmaker to leave the country
Nixon is known to hold socialist values and has advocated for Medicare for All, universal childcare, taxing the ultra-rich, and other progressive policies.
The vice president cited those same ideals while denouncing her US Senate candidacy.
“It is almost too easy to make fun of her, the self-described socialist that the Democrats put up against Ashley Moody this fall,” he began.
“Now, one of the things I love about Florida is you have so many people who came to this state legally, of course, from Latin America. People who know that socialism ki**s, people who saw it in their friends and their families,” he added.
Vance argued that Floridians should, therefore, reject Nixon and respond by telling her to “get the hell out of here.”
Social media users were quick to express their dissent over the vice president’s remarks.
“If your views are that Americans should leave America for having differing views than you, you should get the hell out of here,” one person replied, adding, “The word ‘capitalism’ is never mentioned in the US Constitution, but ‘freedom of expression’ is.”
“I believed he would go this low, and he will go lower before too long,” another added.
Soon, however, the commentary turned toward the possible racist undertones of the statement.
“He would never have disrespected a white socialist like this,” one person wrote.
“White supremacy has become fully embraced in America,” a second added.
Nixon doubled down on her principles while calling Vance “the most ordinary man”
In her response to Vance, Nixon said she would not be couching her words and delivered on her promise.
“I know JD Vance, his eyeliner, and Absent Ashley Moody are used to running away from people when things get tough because they care more about themselves and their billionaire buddies than the people they represent,” she began.
“But this is my home.”
“The most ordinary man imaginable came to my home state to tell me to get out of America while he and absent Ashley enjoy the comfort of buildings my ancestors helped build,” she continued.
“Imagine standing on the shoulders of the people who built this country and then telling their descendants they don’t belong here.”
Nixon further shared that wanting lower property insurance and healthcare for all “isn’t un-American.”
“It is what working people deserve,” she affirmed.
She lastly advised Vance and Moody to take their “weird, intrusive agenda somewhere else,” because she was not going anywhere.
“Straight facts. Florida is her home state,” a fan said.
“Women in politics are charismatic and nothing less,” added another.
Ro Khanna and Bernie Sanders rallied behind Angie Nixon amid the controversy
Democratic Representative Ro Khanna fired back at the vice president in an X post.
“Telling a Black woman who is a descendant of enslaved people to leave America, @JDVance. I do not know what to say. Even I didn’t believe you would go this low,” he wrote.
Bernie Sanders also shared his reaction to Vance’s comment on the same microblogging platform.
The independent senator, who identifies as a democratic socialist, endorsed Nixon in her Senate bid, writing, “It looks like the Republican establishment and their billionaire backers are beginning to panic about Angie Nixon. And they should.”
He explained: “She pulled off a huge upset in winning the Democratic primary and she’s going to do it again in the general election.”
“Go Angie!” he finally added.
Vance’s comments about Nixon were followed by his contentious defense of Donald Trump’s link to Epstein
Vance sat down with conservative presenter Sean Hannity for an interview on Fox News on the same day as his rally in Florida.
There, he claimed, “There was probably no person in the world that Jeffrey Epstein hated more than Donald Trump.”
Hannity added, “Donald Trump threw that idiot out of his club, what 25-30 years ago, and wanted to have nothing to do with him.”
Vance quickly chimed in, saying Epstein was not just thrown out of the club but was turned into local police for being a creep.
The vice president then said being hated by “bad people” like Epstein is the “greatest character reference” for the president.
His comments did not convince people online, as they pointed out that the Epstein files were never fully released.
“Dude is lying through his teeth. He knows the files were heavily redacted and much of it is missing,” said one person on X.
“It was a parent of a victim that turned Epstein in. Not Trump. His supposed phone call happened after Epstein was already arrested,” another added.
"He wants to be the next Trump so bad," a netizen said about Vance
