Vice President J.D. Vance doesn’t put up with the drama. He simply calls it like he sees it.
And when Vance’s speech went sideways, he had this incredible response.
Vice President J.D. Vance Addresses Protesters and Defends American Manufacturing in Michigan Speech
On Friday, March 14, 2025, Vice President J.D. Vance delivered a speech at Vantage Plastics, a plastic manufacturing facility in Bay City, Michigan, where he took a pointed jab at protesters gathered outside the event. Touring the plant alongside U.S. Small Business Administration chief Kelly Loeffler, Vance used the occasion to emphasize the Trump administration’s focus on revitalizing American industry. He suggested that the presence of demonstrators was evidence of a need to bolster domestic manufacturing—so people would have less idle time and more jobs to occupy them.
“We’ve got this great event, this great facility, great business and of course, great workers and I’m sure all of us saw there were a few protesters outside and I can’t be the only person wondering, you know, it’s a little after noon on a Friday, and don’t you all have jobs?” Vance remarked during his address. “I mean, who are the people? And I think that’s one of the reasons why we’ve got to rebuild American manufacturing and support great companies like Vantage Plastics because we want these people to get off the streets and back to work. It’d be good for them and it’s be good for everybody else too.”
The visit to Vantage Plastics was no coincidence. In 2023, the company secured a $1.2 million grant from the state of Michigan, a move that anchored its operations in the region and led to the creation of 93 new jobs, according to Bridge Michigan. The event with Vance and Loeffler centered on the “future of American manufacturing,” a key pillar of the Trump administration’s economic agenda. During the Michigan stop, Vance told workers that demonstrators should “get off the streets and back to work,” tying their presence to a lack of opportunity that he argued could be addressed through industrial growth.
The administration’s strategy to reclaim manufacturing dominance includes aggressive trade policies. President Donald Trump has outlined plans to slap tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China, including a steep 50% levy on Canadian aluminum and steel entering the U.S. These measures aim to incentivize companies to bring production back to American soil. Additionally, Trump recently unveiled plans for an “Office of Shipbuilding” to jumpstart both commercial and military maritime industries—an area where China has surged ahead of the United States in recent years.
The White House has touted early successes in this push. In February, the administration celebrated the addition of 10,000 manufacturing jobs nationwide, with 9,000 of those tied to the automobile sector—a sign that their efforts may be gaining traction.
Vance’s Michigan remarks come amid a busy week for the vice president, who has faced both applause and opposition on the road. On Monday, during a speech at the National League of Cities in Washington, D.C., hecklers interrupted him as he criticized the economic fallout of illegal immigration. Unfazed, Vance shot back, accusing some of wanting the U.S. to suffer economically due to unchecked borders. Later, on Thursday, he brushed off boos from attendees at the John F. Kennedy Center during a symphony orchestra performance, casually waving and sipping his drink as the crowd jeered.
Through it all, Vance has remained a vocal advocate for the administration’s vision, using platforms like the Vantage Plastics event to tie job creation and industrial renewal to everyday concerns. His quip about the protesters in Michigan doubled as a call to action, framing manufacturing as not just an economic priority, but a societal fix—one that could, in his view, get people off the streets and into the workforce.
JD Vance Champions Trump’s Economic Vision Amid Tariff Battles
On Thursday, Vice President JD Vance took to the airwaves to deliver a spirited defense of the American economy under President Donald Trump’s leadership. Speaking with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Vance painted a picture of resilience and promise, even as Trump’s bold tariff policies send ripples through the stock market. “You never can predict the future, but I think the economy, the fundamentals of the economy are actually quite strong right now,” Vance declared, exuding confidence in the direction set by the administration.
At the heart of this economic strategy are Trump’s tariffs, which Vance hailed as a masterstroke to revitalize American industry. He argued that these measures are designed to coax businesses into investing in the nation’s workforce by pulling supply chains back to U.S. soil. “We are going to make this economy stronger over the long haul and that is the president’s ultimate goal,” Vance asserted, framing the tariffs as a long-term win for American workers and manufacturers.
The vice president didn’t shy away from defending Trump’s latest salvo: a threat issued Tuesday to slap tariffs as high as 200 percent on European wines, champagnes, and liquors. This came as a direct response to the European Union’s plan to impose a 50 percent tariff on American whiskey and bourbon. With the U.S. importing 50 percent of its wine from the EU—including a staggering $2.5 billion from France in 2024 alone—Trump’s counterpunch signals a refusal to let Europe dictate terms. Vance stood firm, accusing the EU of decades of economic bullying. “Of course, we care about European security, Laura, but they don’t treat us like an ally when it comes to economics,” he said. “They actually hammer American consumers and American workers in the process.”
Vance pointed to what he called “ridiculous tariffs” levied by the EU on American goods, praising Trump for finally drawing a line in the sand. “If Europeans do something to us, we’re actually going to fight back economically for the first time in 40 years we have at who is standing up for America,” he said, casting the president as a fearless defender of national interests. While acknowledging that some industries might adapt quickly to retool their operations, Vance admitted others could face a longer transition. Still, he insisted the shift is non-negotiable: “We’re not going to do this anymore, we cannot run an economy where Americans borrow, go into debt that other people make for us we’re going to make it in America again, we have to.”
Trump himself echoed this sentiment during a Wednesday Oval Office meeting with Ireland’s Taoiseach Micheal Martin. The president didn’t mince words about Ireland’s success in luring American pharmaceutical giants, a move he blamed on past administrations’ incompetence. “We do have a massive deficit with Ireland, because Ireland was very smart,” Trump said. “They took our pharmaceutical companies away from presidents that didn’t know what they were doing — and, you know, it’s too bad that happened.”
The tariff tussle escalated further as the EU retaliated against Trump’s 25 percent duties on European aluminum and steel, hitting $28 billion of U.S. imports with their own levies. Unfazed, Trump doubled down during Thursday remarks from the Oval Office, branding the EU “one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World, which was formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States.” He vowed unwavering resolve: “We’ve been ripped off for years and we won’t be ripped off anymore. I’m not going to bend at all. Aluminum or steel. Or cars. We are not going to bend.”
From Vance’s optimistic take on the economy’s foundation to Trump’s unrelenting stance against foreign exploitation, the administration’s message is clear: America First isn’t just a slogan—it’s a battle plan. They’re steering the nation toward a future where economic strength is forged at home, not borrowed from abroad.
