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| - The quote is correctly attributed to Vance, but the circulating clip was removed from its full context. The full video of the speech makes it clear that Vance's statement referred specifically to Democratic leadership in Congress.
Users on social media and Reddit shared the rumor, some along with a purported video clip of Vance allegedly saying the quote.
Many of those who shared the clip said Vance had accidentally called for people to vote out the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which includes Vance. For example, one post began, "Vance f***ed up and told a crowd of Trump supporters to 'vote against the crazy leadership in Washington, D.C."
(X user @MikeNellis)
The quote was correctly attributed to Vance. He made the comment on May 18, 2026, in remarks he made during a visit to Milbank Manufacturing in Kansas City, Missouri. ABC affiliate KMBC reported Vance was greeted by "USA" chants.
However, the short clip included in most social media posts criticizing the statement excluded the crucial context that Vance was talking specifically about Democratic congressional leadership in Washington, D.C. The clip that spread online is 28 seconds long, while the full speech is around 30 minutes. Vance's windup to making his point is lengthy, but it clarifies who he was referring to.
The full context of Vance's remark begins around the 27-minute mark of the White House's official YouTube video of the speech [emphasis ours].
I'm not going to tell you I'm right about everything. Except maybe I am. But I'm not. You're going to disagree with me from time to time. Of course you are. You're going to disagree with the President of the United States from time to time.
That is the nature of living in a society with as big and diverse a population as we have. So, I'm not asking you to vote for Republicans because we're right about everything. I'm asking you to vote for Republicans because at least we know who we fight for and we fight for you.
And I'm asking you to vote against Democrats because they don't know who they fight for, or if they do know, they're fighting for illegal aliens and they're fighting for fraudsters. You know, we've gotten no help from congressional Democrat leadership on this anti-fraud task force. And with the exception we actually have, to their credit, a few of the blue states have been helpful in fighting against fraud.
A few of the blue state governors and their leaders have been helpful, but by and large, most of the big city states, excuse me, the big city mayors and the big state governors, they have fought tooth and nail against our anti-fraud efforts. You ask yourself, how does how do we get there? How do we get to a political party that promotes fraud and illegal immigration?
And the simple fact is that this is not my grandparents' Democrat party. Something has changed. Something is profoundly different about the modern leadership of today's Democrat party. And so I'm not going to ask you to agree with us on every issue because that would be impossible.
What I will ask you is if you want to make America great, if you want to protect your jobs and hopefully build jobs in this beautiful factory, if you want to make our streets even safer, if you want to rebuild the American dream for the next generation, vote against the crazy leadership in Washington DC.
Vote against the congressional leadership that will stand up and say we care more about illegal aliens than we do American citizens. And vote for the leaders in Congress who have promised that they're going to fight for you. Because I'll tell you, as much as I sometimes am frustrated with what happens in Washington DC, the difference could not be more clear. There is one set of leaders who fight for you. That's the congressional Republicans. And there is one set of leaders who seems to relish fighting for illegal aliens over the people who built this country.
We've reached out to Vance's office for further comment about these remarks and will update this article if we hear back.
The "anti-fraud task force" Vance mentioned during his remarks referred to a March 16, 2026, executive order that established the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, which Vance chairs.
The order said the task force's mission was to "use all available resources and authorities to fight fraud, close loopholes, enforce eligibility rules, and protect benefits for eligible Americans, while ensuring States administering Federal benefits programs do the same." It directly referenced alleged widespread fraud in Minnesota day cares and other services that receive federal funding, despite lingering questions about the scale of that fraud.
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