Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, on Thursday speculated that the reason Pennsylvania is trending red could be related to former President Trump’s proposal on tariffs, warning that voters in the battleground shouldn’t trust Vice President Kamala Harris’ promise to revive American manufacturing.
“This is where President Trump gets the most criticism, but it’s also where President Trump is the most right,” Vance said at a campaign stop in Pittsburgh, referencing Trump’s plan to implement tariffs as a way to discourage imports and drive domestic production. Harris has criticized the plan as risking price hikes.
“If you are a business, and you rely on foreign slave labor at $3 a day, the only way to rebuild American manufacturing is to say, if you want to bring that product made by slave labor back into the United States of America, you’re going to pay a big fat tariff before you get it back into our country,” Vance said.
“My message to Pennsylvanians: don’t trust anybody, especially Kamala Harris, when she tells you she’s going to rebuild American manufacturing without forcing the Chinese to pay a tariff,” he continued, speaking to voters in the critical swing state. “There is no way to do it unless you’re fighting hard against the people who are stealing our jobs and stealing our manufacturing industries, you got to do it. And if you’re not doing it, you’re not serious about rebuilding the American middle class.”
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Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks at a campaign event at The Pennsylvanian in Pittsburgh on Thursday.(AP Photo/Rebecca Droke)
Vance was responding to a reporter’s question about what county in Pennsylvania the Trump campaign would turn to first to determine whether they won the election.
“I’m not much of a political prognosticator. The only prognostication I’ll make is that Pennsylvania is going to make Donald Trump the next President of the United States,” Vance said. “I really do believe that.”
Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks at a campaign event in Pittsburgh on Thursday. (AP Photo/Rebecca Droke)
“If you look at the early voting numbers, if you look at how much redder Pennsylvania has gotten in just the last couple of years, we are going to win this race so long as we work for it over the next 19 days,” Trump’s running mate added. “I really do believe that.”
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Vance credited Pennsylvania’s tradition of world-renowned steel manufacturing and craftsmanship, saying the country has unfortunately “gotten way too far away from self-reliance.”
Supporters listen to Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speak at a campaign event at The Pennsylvanian in Pittsburgh on Thursday.(AP Photo/Rebecca Droke)
The senator turned vice presidential pick said he believes Trump’s message is resonating in Pennsylvania more than Republicans from 20 years ago had because of the 45th president’s belief in “making things in America and stamping more products with the incredible label ‘Made in the USA.’”
Citing a statistic he said “scares the hell out of me,” Vance said China has 32% of world manufacturing GDP, meaning 32% of the goods made worldwide are made there, compared to just 18% made in the U.S.
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“That means China makes more stuff — I’m talking about the pharmaceuticals that we put into the bodies of our children, some of the important weapons systems of the future, the computer chips,” he said. “We’ve got to make more of our own stuff in the United States of America. And the way to do that is to lower regulations, lower energy costs for American businesses, and to rebuild the great American middle class.”
Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on X: @danimwallace.
PORTLAND (WGME) — If the polls are any indication, Graham Platner is the toughest challenger Senator Susan Collins has faced in the 30 years she’s held her Senate seat.
“I know now for certain, or pretty much for certain, who my opponent will be,” Collins said.
Collins toured York County’s new regional training center Friday, which she helped secure the funding to build.
As the first chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee from Maine in nearly 100 years, she says she’s been able to bring $1.5 billion to Maine for more than 650 projects across the state.
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It’s federal funding, she says, that paid to replace or renovate 45 Maine fire stations, support childcare centers and help rural hospitals stay open.
“I think every day about how we can make life more comfortable for people in Maine,” Platner said.
Platner blames billionaires, big corporations, President Donald Trump, Collins and Republicans in Congress for the ongoing struggles facing working families and small businesses in Maine.
“We need to beat Susan Collins,” Platner said.
CBS13 asked Collins if she felt Trump’s performance will cost her votes in November. She did not answer that directly but did say she’s not running on Trump’s record, but her own.
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“I’m proud of my record and the accomplishments of what I’ve been able to do for Maine and for our country,” Collins said.
Collins says the Social Security Fairness Act she helped pass allows retired teachers and first responders to now get the Social Security they earned working in the private sector, along with their pensions.
“I can’t tell you how many retired employees have come up to me and said that it’s made the difference between a comfortable retirement and barely getting by,” Collins said.
They are two polar opposites in many ways, vying for a Senate seat where the stakes couldn’t be higher.
“I look forward to what I hope will be a civil discussion of the important issues facing our country and the State of Maine,” Collins said.
It’s that part of the volleyball season in which league opponents are facing each other for the second time, and Acton-Boxborough sure is making it interesting.
This Revolution squad, which was swept by Westford and Newton South, defeated both in a combined nine sets the second time around. A 6-6 record does not warrant a significant a rise in the Globe’s Top 20 boys’ volleyball poll, but it’s certainly a team on the right trajectory.
Needham moves up a spot after sweeping Newton South and pushing Brookline to an intense fifth set, and now the Warriors have defeated Nos. 2, 3, and 4 in five sets without dropping a set in any other in-state match. Needham and Natick await their rematches, though the Redhawks are the top dog in the MIAA’s Division 1 power rankings due to their strength of schedule.
Lexington held on in five against Chelmsford, Braintree swept Milton, and Barnstable continues to only have one set loss on the year (in its first matchup). Record based on results reported to the Globe.
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The Globe’s Top 20 boys’ volleyball poll
The Globe poll as of May 2, 2026. Teams were selected by the Globe sports staff.
AJ Traub can be reached at aj.traub@globe.com. Follow him on X @aj_traub and Instagram @ajt37.
