Vance spoke before a fired up and packed Republican National Convention crowd in Milwaukee Wednesday night (see image above) to officially accept his party's nomination to become vice president. The Ohio senator, who turns 40 next month, shared the story of his tough upbringing and cast himself as a fighter for a forgotten working class. He made a direct appeal to the Rust Belt voters not only in his home state of Ohio, but specifically mentioned the battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
Janet Porter is founder and president of Faith2Action, a group formed to win the cultural war for life, liberty, and the family. Vance, she says, "brings a lot to the ticket, especially for the working man and the American dream."
She continues: "Growing up in Middletown, Ohio, having just very limited money – [and now] he is the candidate for vice president. He is pro-life. I do believe that he will support the president and the pro-family-issues."
The junior senator from Ohio is an "up-and-coming leader" in a new Republican Party, which Porter contends is "reaching out to the average Americans who have been forgotten."
"The people who see their bank accounts dry up to nothing … have to decide between their food and their medicine. This is not where we want to be as America," she tells AFN. "And you don't have to agree with every issue to support the candidate who's going to make America strong, make America safe, and make America great."
Biden's 'act of desperation'
A conservative black activist makes the case that's clearly not the intention of the Democratic Party. Donna Jackson, director of membership development for the Project 21 Black Leadership Network, argues the public sees Democrats as a party pushing rhetoric that makes people feel un-American.
"People want to be a part of this experience. It's the reason why so many people want to come here. [They] see a place where they can have greater opportunity," says Jackson. "[But] that's not what's happening with the policies that have been put forth in the last 3-1/2 years.
"… Right now we're seeing the reverse of that – and we're seeing the party that's providing us with opportunities is actually coming from the conservatives."
Jackson also addresses President Joe Biden's recent Las Vegas speech before the NAACP, classifying it as "an act of desperation" in response to his sagging favorability among both black and Latino voters.
"I know that right now his presidency is on life support – and that's because the individuals and the demographics that largely put him into the position he has now are actually turning their backs because of his policies."
Biden's speech before the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was his first campaign appearance since Saturday's attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.