JD Vance: 'Don't Vote for the People Who Caused These Problems'
The midterm pitch, in one line
JD Vance: Don't vote for the people who caused these problems. The vice president made the remark on The Sean Spicer Show, in a clip posted on Friday, October 16, as he discussed the cost of living, gas prices and inflation ahead of the midterm elections. Vance argued that inflation is lower and rent more affordable than before President Trump was elected to a second term, while conceding the job is not finished.
"Don't elect the people who caused these problems, elect the Republicans who are working on these problems and solving them every day," Vance said.
Critics heard a slogan for the other side
"There's still a lot more work to do which is why I say to the American people, 'Don't elect the people who caused these problems, elect the Republicans who are working on these problems and solving them every day,'" Vance said. The line was aimed at Democrats and the Biden administration, which Vance has repeatedly blamed for the affordability squeeze, and at voters being asked to give Republicans more time to finish the work.
Critics online heard it differently. Commentators mocked the remark as an own goal from an administration that has held power for two years, suggesting it belonged in Democratic campaign ads, with responses like "So don't vote Republican?" and "This should go in Dems campaign ads." It was not Vance's first midterm appeal to draw that reaction: an earlier podcast appearance in which he asked voters to give Republicans "another chance" prompted similar pushback in September.
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Options market and stocks to watch
With the midterms on November 3, affordability is the issue both parties are running on, and the cost-of-living data between now and then matters more than the rhetoric: SPY and QQQ price the broader risk backdrop, while XLE tracks the gas prices voters see every week.
Watch the final inflation and rent prints before Election Day, and follow the midterm run-up on the Unusual Whales news feed.
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