JD Vance interrupts himself mid-speech to read card showing the name of group he’s addressing

15 August 2024

Despite being a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), 2024 Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) apparently has trouble remembering the name of the group.

On Thursday, while Vance was addressing a group of Pennsylvania VFW voters, he had to interrupt his own speech to pull a card out of his pocket to correctly read the name of the group. In the video, the Hillbilly Elegy author is seen having to rifle through his jacket to find the card as he's addressing the room of veterans.

"It’s great to be here, it's great to be part of VF post, uh, VFA— VFW Post 92," Vance said. "I've actually got the card right here in my pocket. I'm officially a member, so it's not gonna be the last time you see me."

The Ohio Republican, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a military correspondent in Iraq, has been attempting to shore up veteran support for the GOP ticket since former President Donald Trump named him as his running mate last month. However, he's ruffled the feathers of some veterans by denigrating the record of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz — Vice President Kamala Harris' 2024 running mate – who served for 24 years in the National Guard.

Vance suggested that Walz, who attained the rank of command sergeant major (the most senior member of a battalion), let his unit down by retiring in 2005, just months before it was deployed to Iraq. However, the timeline doesn't support Vance's attack, as military retirements typically require submitting paperwork months in advance. Additionally, the unit didn't get its notice of deployment until months after Walz actually retired from service. And while members of the military can retire after 20 years of service, Walz notably stayed on an additional four years after he was eligible for retirement.

Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, who is a Navy veteran, ripped Vance in a recent CNN interview for his attack on Walz. Ventura said that aside from the George W. Bush administration's highly unusual move of sending the National Guard overseas, it was inappropriate for him to attack his fellow brother in arms.

"Governor Walz served honorably for 24 years in the National Guard. After 20 years you are eligible to retire at any time you deem necessary," Ventura said. "They talk about him missing his deployment. Well maybe Mr. Vance should ask the real question: What is the National Guard doing deploying to a foreign country in a foreign war?"

In a poll conducted earlier this week, Vance's approval rating registered at just 37% according to Newsweek. And when breaking down demographic data, the group of voters that includes Vietnam veterans (voters aged 59 to 77) has the highest disapproval rating of the Ohio senator, with 52% viewing him negatively. Additionally, 46.3% of voters in that group said they viewed him "very unfavorably."

Watch the video of Vance below, or by clicking this link.

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