Republican delegates from several battleground states chanted “48” at Vice President JD Vance during a closed-door breakfast Thursday in Dallas, according to four people in the room.
The chant, a reference to Vance potentially becoming the 48th president, broke out as the vice president addressed GOP lawmakers, state party officials, and convention attendees from Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin ahead of his primetime convention address. Vance never mentioned the 2028 race or his own political plans.
Instead, Vance urged the room to make the midterms a national contest, telling attendees the party had two jobs before November.
“Number one, we have to remind the American people of all the good things that we’re doing, and number two, we have to remind the American people of how effing crazy the Democrats have become over the past couple of years,” Vance said, according to audio obtained by NBC News.
“We’ve got to nationalize this election,” the vice president added. “We’ve got to talk about all the crazy things the Democrats are doing.”
Vance warned that if Democrats retake Congress, they would “bury the American people in investigations and bullshit for the next two years,” according to audio obtained by Politico.
House GOP Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) spoke earlier in the event, where Vance was the featured guest. “The stars are the limit for the vice president,” Emmer said.
The vice president placed heavy emphasis on Trump’s executive actions to lower prescription drug prices, describing the policy as “the single issue that has the most broad popular appeal.” Top Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio has told Republicans in private briefings that the effort polls well with voters.
Vance did not mention Trump’s Wednesday pledge of a $5,000 dividend for every American adult if Republicans hold the House and Senate, though he defended the offer on Fox News and suggested it could carry income limits.
The remarks continued a theme Trump laid out Wednesday night.
