Vice President JD Vance has offered to buy a protester who interrupted his speech at the Republican midterm convention a plane ticket to Mexico.
Vance’s fiery comeback came after a protester standing on the steps leading to the Dallas stadium seats waved a Mexican flag, drawing boos and “USA” chants from attendees, according to photos and video shared on social media.
“What the people at home missed is that we just had a protester interrupting us and waving the Mexican flag. Well, my friend, if you love Mexico so much, get your a** over there. I'll buy you the plane ticket,” Vance said from behind the podium Thursday night.
Security guards quickly appeared to escort the protester out of the stadium. The protester also appeared to wave a Palestinian flag, according to photos of the commotion.
After the crowd roared with cheers and applause at Vance’s quip, the vice president continued, “I had a whole speech written, but I think I got to change it because we just discovered the symbol of the far-left — an idiot waving a Mexican flag at a protest when he should be waving the flag of the United States of America.”
“We all know, of course, that as much as that person may wave around a foreign flag, he’d much rather live in Dallas or in Cincinnati or in any one of our great cities than Mexico,” Vance said.
“But while we wave the American flag and fight for the American dream, we have to remind ourselves tonight that the good life that is the foundation of this country’s promise is not guaranteed.”
Trump has led a massive crackdown on immigration during his second term, often accusing migrants of violent crimes such as rape and murder.
Under his leadership, crossings at the southern border have plummeted and immigration enforcement has been ramped up. Last year, federal immigration agents deported between 10,000 and 20,000 people per month, according to an NBC News analysis.
But half of Americans, including nearly a quarter of 2024 Trump voters, believe the president’s deportation campaign is too aggressive, according to a Politico poll released last month.
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Garrett Haake, NBC News’ chief White House correspondent, appeared to question whether Vance knew about the protester in advance.
“Vance’s quippy response to a protestor who interrupted and threw a Mexican flag on stage was SO quick it kind of makes you wonder if that wasn’t entirely a surprise,” Haake wrote on X.
Earlier Thursday, protesters marched down the streets of Dallas in a demonstration against the president. Dallas police said two people were arrested after they allegedly assaulted a counter-protester and blocked a road, CBS News Texas reported. Police said the counter-protester did not need medical treatment.
"It was totally unjustified," Rick Megumbar, with the Dallas Against Trump Coalition, told the local news outlet. "The cops were told somebody had pepper spray. It was right-wing people who had the pepper spray."
