During a recent campaign event in Michigan, a local reporter was booed by the crowd of Trump supporters when asking JD Vance a question. During recent rallies hosted by the Trump-Vance campaign, supporters have continually booed reporters, demonstrating a frustration with the media, which has ramped up its hostile rhetoric against former President Donald Trump and JD Vance.
The reporter announced himself as a representative of a local newspaper, stating, “Senator Vance. This is Peter Cobbs from the Traverse City Record-Eagle, our hometown newspaper,” after which he was immediately met with boos from the crowd. “Yay and Boo,” the reporter said, acknowledging the unwelcoming response. “That’s okay. We’re used to it,” he added.
Vance said, “We’re having fun. You’re allowed to ask your question. They’re allowed to tell you how they think about it, right? So this America.” The local reporter then asked Vance about the dire shortage of affordable housing that is plaguing the nation, where the American dream of home ownership is unattainable for many.
He asked Vance “We have a very serious shortage of affordable housing in this we do, not just Grand Traverse County, but all over northern Michigan. Families with their kids can’t stay here because they can’t afford to buy a house. We can’t get service workers up here because the rental is too expensive. It homes that 10 years ago cost $100,000 are selling for $800,000. What can those people do now to address this problem? And how will you help them?”
Vance replied, “Let me just say one I appreciate, and I agree with the basic premise the question, which is, housing is way too expensive in this area and all over the country. And this is something that has really changed from even when I was a little kid and and, look, look, I did not grow up in a family with a lot of money. I think a lot of you know that. A lot of you have heard my story, but look, a lot of American middle class and working class people could afford to buy a home.”
Continuing to offer his insight, Vance said, ” I remember my family actually said something to me very recently, and it was, it was really sad. It kind of hit me how, how just unbelievably sad it is for American young people. You know, she was talking about buying a home herself, and she said, Isn’t it kind of crazy that when our parents were young, they could just go and work a job and raise a family and afford to buy a home? And I thought to myself, What a terrible job we’re doing for our young people. They feel like they cannot access the American dream of homeownership.”
Getting to his solution for the crisis surrounding affordable homes, Vance said, “But look, the answer is most immediately, it goes back to the border. And why does it go back to the border? Because every economist and every person with an ounce of common sense will tell you that if you bring in millions upon millions of people who are competing with Americans for scarce homes, it’s going to shoot the price of housing through the roof. So the first thing that you’ve got to do to make it more affordable to buy a home in this country is to get people who shouldn’t be here out of the country in the first place, and that’ll create a lot of space.
Watch the incident below:
