JD Vance Drops 8-Post Bomb on Kamala Harris, Completely Dismantles Her Right Before Trump Debate

The decision by Democratic elites to nudge President Joe Biden out of the 2024 presidential race deprived us of a unique opportunity.
For example, imagine a debate between Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio—known for his deep understanding of policy—and Vice President Kamala Harris, who often struggles to articulate coherent thoughts, let alone policy details.
On Monday, less than 36 hours before the scheduled debate between Harris and former President Donald Trump in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Vance took to the social media platform X. In a series of eight posts, he crafted a detailed and incisive response to Harris’s campaign policy page, offering the vice president a glimpse of the debate takedown she avoided when Democrats chose to elevate her as their nominee.
Of course, it’s now up to Trump to deliver that takedown, and many expect him to do so—albeit in his own style, which may differ from Vance's approach.
At 12:09 p.m. EST on Monday, Trump’s running mate introduced the policy-packed thread. Within three hours, the posts had amassed more than 2.1 million views.
“It has been 50 days since Kamala Harris became the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party. In the dead of night yesterday, she finally released her campaign policy page. Here’s what I think of it,” Vance began.
It has been 50 days since Kamala Harris became the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 9, 2024
In the dead of night yesterday, she finally released her campaign policy page. Here's what I think of it 🧵
From there, Vance delivered a scathing critique.
In eight posts, Vance presented a total of 52 paragraphs that analyzed Harris’s campaign policies. His clarity and depth made his arguments both accessible and difficult to counter.
A summary of Vance’s detailed critique could be boiled down to this: unless you’re among the wealthiest Americans, have authoritarian tendencies, possess a gender studies degree, worship secularism, or entered the country illegally, Harris’s policies aren’t for you. Her plans offer nothing for ordinary Americans.
For example, while Harris promised tax cuts for the middle class, Vance reminded readers in his first post of the Biden-Harris administration’s aggressive stance on IRS crackdowns.
Vance also pointed out that the administration has engineered a “massive wealth transfer from working people to the Green New Deal’s constituencies.”
1) Kamala Harris claims she wants to cut taxes for middle class families, but here's what's in her plan:
— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 9, 2024
IRS Audits for working families: Getting audited is a horrendous experience, even if you’ve done nothing wrong. Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to hire 87,000 IRS… pic.twitter.com/NJaM9ARIYI
He then dismantled Harris’s vague promise to lower housing costs. According to Vance, this could only happen by securing the border.
“When a city’s immigrant population increases, home prices and rental costs rise proportionally. But the effects vary: home values tend to drop in areas with high immigrant concentrations, meaning only homeowners in wealthy, non-immigrant neighborhoods benefit. Working-class residents, on the other hand, see their rental costs surge, and their home values fall,” Vance wrote.
2) Kamala claims she wants to make rent more affordable and home ownership more attainable, but that's not what her plan would do at all.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 9, 2024
Kamala wants to give every first time homebuyer a $25,000 check toward downpayment assistance. What she fails to leave out is that this would… pic.twitter.com/iy2j70Pfyv
Vance then attacked the Biden-Harris administration’s "overbearing regulations," arguing that they crush both small and large businesses.
3) Vice President Harris claims she'll "take on the everyday obstacles and red tape that can make it harder to grow a small business."
— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 9, 2024
However, under her administration, the SEC has promulgated at least 47 rulemakings, the majority of which have not been mandated by Congress,… pic.twitter.com/y0gzo7BHLD
In his fourth post, Vance criticized the unfairness of the administration’s student loan forgiveness plan.
“What will Harris say to Pennsylvania ironworkers upset that they have to foot the bill for someone else’s college degree?” Vance wrote, while dissecting Harris’s shallow education plan.
4) Kamala Harris claims she wants to make our education system a pathway to the middle class.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 9, 2024
Take it from me, a working-class kid who went to Ohio State on the GI Bill and then to Yale: education can absolutely be pathway to the American Dream. But I’m not naive enough to think… pic.twitter.com/4KewJqLwfb
Vance then turned his attention to Harris’s empty promises about affordable child care, reminding people of faith that Harris and her party have little regard for them.
“Most parents who use paid childcare prefer faith-based providers. What does Harris’s plan offer them? Nothing. Childcare providers based in places of worship would have been excluded from funding opportunities, and faith-based providers would be saddled with extra regulations just to access funding,” Vance noted.
5) Kamala says she wants to invest in affordable child care, but again that's not what her plan would do:
— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 9, 2024
As I’ve said before, I want our public policy to increase access to affordable childcare options and empower parents with the flexibility and resources to make the best… pic.twitter.com/fbOspMRXoz
Next, he highlighted how Biden and Harris have ceded control of national energy policy to climate extremists.
6) Kamala Harris made it clear that she views American energy policy as a part of her wider fight against global warming. For example, she takes credit for passing the Inflation Reduction Act, which she claims lowered household energy costs while building a green energy economy.… pic.twitter.com/ZCtfEbGQiA
— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 9, 2024
In his second-to-last post, Vance addressed illegal immigration and criticized the Biden-Harris administration’s record on the border.
Perhaps the most egregious point, Vance argued, is Harris’s claim that she would secure the border if elected. His retort? Why not do it now?
“If there’s one takeaway, it’s that Kamala opened our borders to over 8.5 million illegal aliens, lied about it for almost four years, blamed others when she got caught, and now wants to reward those illegals with citizenship,” Vance wrote.
7) Kamala Harris says she wants to secure our borders. Her record tells a different story:
— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 9, 2024
Harris touts her record prosecuting international criminals as California’s Attorney General. One of the reasons why California has so much migrant crime is because it is a sanctuary state… pic.twitter.com/QnODI5a4Iz
Finally, Vance set the stage for what could be Trump’s most powerful line of attack in the upcoming debate.
“Kamala Harris says she wants to support veterans and their families. Yet, she has completely failed to do so as Vice President,” Vance wrote.
He went on to detail how the Biden-Harris administration has mishandled U.S. service members, including the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and the subsequent fallout.
8) Kamala Harris has said she wants to support veterans and their families. She has completely failed to do so as Vice President:
— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 9, 2024
Right from the beginning, Biden and Harris charted a bad course, putting U.S. soldiers in harm's way. In Afghanistan, as the situation turned chaotic… pic.twitter.com/oxP0qdIDwh
In total, Vance’s critique was the kind of extensive takedown that few politicians could deliver.
If Trump manages to deliver anything resembling this kind of forceful critique in Tuesday’s debate, Harris will struggle to offer any substantial rebuttal.