JD Vance's Attack on Kamala Harris Questioning His Loyalty Goes Viral

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance's comments on Saturday night regarding Kamala Harris questioning his loyalty went viral on social media after a campaign rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

In a YouTube video posted two weeks ago, Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said that Vance would be "loyal only to Trump, not to our country" and a "rubber stamp for [Trump's] extreme agenda."

Vance took aim at those comments during his speech, which preceded Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, at Saturday night's rally in the critical swing state. The Ohio native received loud cheers from the Minnesota crowd when he noted his service in the Marine Corps. He was also loudly applauded when he said that Trump "took a bullet for this country," bringing attention to the recent assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.

"It's an interesting word, loyalty. No greater sign of disloyalty to this country than what Kamala Harris has done at our southern border," Vance told the crowd. "What has she done to question my loyalty to this country? I served in the United States Marine Corps. I went to Iraq for this country. I built a business for this country. And my running mate took a bullet for this country.

"So, my question to Kamala Harris is, what the [expletive] have you done to question our loyalty to the United States of America? And the answer my friends is 'nothing.'"

The video shared to Vance's X, formerly Twitter, account had been viewed nearly 5 million times as of 10 a.m. Sunday.

On July 21, President Joe Biden announced he would not seek reelection and endorsed Harris, who has since become the presumptive nominee to replace him at the top of the Democratic ticket.

Vance and Trump have been ramping up attacks on Harris since Biden stood down, especially characterizing her as extremely left-wing and out of touch with moderate voters, as well as holding her responsible for the ongoing border situation.

"The chief of border patrol was appointed over a year ago, but border czar Kamala Harris hasn't spoken a word to him. This administration handed 3 million work permits to illegal immigrants, destroying American jobs and wages," Vance said Saturday.

Vance's attack on Harris' "loyalty" comments were largely lauded by conservatives on social media, including Donald Trump Jr., who shared the video and wrote, "JD just absolutely torched Kamala. Watch this right now."

However, critics of Vance and Trump blasted the comments with many pointing out Harris' service as attorney general of California and as a U.S. senator.

"For one, she put criminal con man rapists like your boss in prison. And now, she's running in part, so the yam-dyed dotard you're pretending to be loyal to, doesn't use the Oval Office to shield himself from the law ever again," @JoJoFromJerz, who has nearly a million followers, posted on X.

"You are a fake country boy who supported a coup, who has pledged loyalty to a wannabe dictator...Kamala Harris has been a Senator and VP and Attorney General of California," author S.A. Cosby posted on X.

Newsweek emailed the Harris campaign Sunday morning for comment about Vance's remarks.

Vance's appearance with Trump on Saturday comes amid reports that the former president may come to regret picking Vance as his running mate.

The Republican's communications director, Steven Cheung, denied claims that Trump was second-guessing his choice of running mate.

"President Trump is thrilled with the choice he made with Senator Vance, and they are the perfect team to take back the White House. And any reporting to the contrary is nothing but ridiculous fake news from either nonexistent sources or individuals who have no idea what's going on," Cheung told Newsweek on Tuesday.

"Meanwhile, Democrats are in complete disarray after their coup that forcibly removed Biden from the campaign, proving they are the real threats to democracy."