Vance Tells Americans To Reject Mamdani-Style Critiques On Independence Day
Vice President JD Vance traveled to New York City on Saturday and gave an Independence Day speech that was worthy of praise.
His speech followed one on Friday from self-avowed socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and the contrast couldn’t be more stark.
While Mamdani used the occasion – sitting behind George Washington’s desk – to trash the country that took him in and has given him so much, Vance’s speech focused on all the good that America has done for its citizens and for the world.
“We celebrate 250 years of America facing the future without fear. We celebrate 250 years of proving what a free people can achieve by the providence of our almighty Creator,” he said.
Vance went on to urge the country to unite on America’s 250th birthday and remember exactly why and how it was founded.
“We are a people formed by generations of self-governance and personal industry. We are formed by Frontier Assembly Hall and Congregation, by River Valley and Prairie and Factory Floor,” Vance shared.
“We are formed by the conviction that we are bound to one another, not only by bloodline or creed alone, but by a common character, a shared faith, a shared future,” he said.
The VP, speaking on the USS Kearsarge in New York Harbor with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop, told military members and other attendees to “reject the two-dimensional view” that ignores the historical figures of all walks and ethnicities who contributed to the greatness of the country.
“Everything that we have done, everything that we have done as a country, we have done together. Not as citizens divided against each other, but as a common people working towards a common future.”
“When we won our independence, we were led by General Washington to liberty and greatness, but marching ahead of them were thousands of boys from all over the new nation who gave Washington’s military genius its foundation and its firepower,” he said.
“When we saved the world in World War II from tyranny in the 20th century, of course we needed great military leadership and tactical genius from our generals, but we also needed Rosie the Riveter, Iowa farm girls who built the machinery of war and the sweethearts they sent to a world away to storm the beaches at Normandy,” Vance continued.
“When we went to the moon, of course our great astronauts flew the rockets and our great men of science and engineering built them, but there were clerks and janitors and welders like my grandfather who each played their distinctive American part,” the Veep went on.
“All of us have a part. All of us had our part,” he said.
“Reject that America is a place for zero-sum thinking, because it’s not. Our history is one of people carving a great civilization out of the wilderness,” he said.
“Reject the view of your nation that sees only its sins, but not its grace and greatness.”
He added: “Everything that we have done, everything that we have done as a country, we have done together, not as citizens divided against each other, but as a common people working toward a common future.”
CBS Host LOSES IT After Sen. Kennedy FACT CHECKS Her Trump LIES… THIS GOT BAD!...
CBS Host PRESSES John Kennedy on Trump’s Spending — His Answer Takes an Unexpected Turn
The interview began with some of the biggest questions facing Washington: the conflict with Iran, rising fuel costs, and the approaching midterm elections. But when Republican Senator John Kennedy appeared on Face the Nation with CBS host Margaret Brennan, the conversation quickly moved toward an issue that could shape the political debate for months to come: how the government spends taxpayers’ money.
Kennedy did not pretend that the economic pressure facing American families was insignificant. He argued that voters were far more concerned about the cost of living than the daily battles playing out on television. With oil prices affected by disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, he said, the consequences of foreign policy were reaching directly into household budgets.
Kennedy Brings the Conversation Back to Affordability
Kennedy’s message to the White House was unusually direct. He predicted that the midterm elections would be close and argued that Republicans needed to keep their attention on the financial concerns of ordinary Americans.
“When moms and dads lie down to sleep at night and can't,” Kennedy told Brennan, they are worried about the cost of living.
He also called for a nationwide address explaining why the United States entered the conflict with Iran, what the administration hoped to achieve, and how it intended to bring the situation to a conclusion.
His position was not a blanket rejection of the administration’s strategy. Kennedy defended continued pressure on Iran while acknowledging the economic consequences of the partially closed strait. He opposed sending American troops into the situation, warning that deploying them could create a new set of problems.
That combination—support for pressure abroad alongside concern about prices at home—set the tone for the rest of the interview.
Nearly $1 Billion in Cuts Sparks a Constitutional Dispute
The conversation became more pointed when Brennan asked about the White House’s decision to cancel nearly $1 billion in previously approved federal funding without congressional consent.
Brennan raised concerns expressed by Senator Susan Collins, the Republican chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, who argued that the move threatened Congress’s constitutional authority over federal spending.
Kennedy disagreed.
“I love Susan like a taco, but she's wrong,” he said before explaining his view that Congress often appropriates money in broad categories, leaving agencies with considerable discretion over how funds are ultimately used.
He then deployed the phrase that would become the interview’s most memorable sound bite: “Spending porn.”
Kennedy used the expression to criticize what he considers wasteful government expenditures, pointing to funding for circumcision programs in Zambia and electric buses in Rwanda. He also argued that Congress should take greater responsibility for identifying and eliminating spending it believes is unnecessary.
But the disagreement was about more than whether particular programs were worthwhile. It raised a larger question: when Congress approves funding, how much authority should the executive branch have to cancel or redirect it?
Kennedy defended the cuts, while Brennan’s question highlighted the legal and constitutional objections. The interview did not resolve that dispute, but it brought the competing arguments into sharp focus.
Then Kennedy Turned the Standard on Trump
The most revealing moment came when Brennan shifted from the proposed cuts to taxpayer-funded advertising.
She asked Kennedy about a government-funded commercial prominently featuring President Donald Trump and praising his leadership. The question echoed earlier controversy surrounding former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department had spent $220 million on a border-security advertising campaign in which she appeared prominently.
Kennedy had previously criticized Noem’s campaign. Now, with Trump featured in another advertisement paid for by the federal government, Brennan asked whether that spending was appropriate.
Kennedy’s response was notable because he explicitly included his own political allies—and himself—in the principle he was defending.
“I don't think any public official, including President Trump or Kristi Noem or John Kennedy, should spend public money on private ads for themselves,” he said.
He acknowledged that the White House viewed the issue differently but argued that public funds should not be used to promote individual politicians. He also suggested that politicians should not have buildings named after them while they are still alive.
That answer complicated any attempt to portray his position as simply a defense of the administration. Kennedy supported the proposed spending cuts, but he also applied his criticism of taxpayer-funded self-promotion to Trump.
The Real Takeaway From the Interview
The exchange was not a shouting match, nor does the published transcript establish that Brennan lost her composure or that Kennedy fact-checked a series of false statements from her. What it does show is a pointed discussion about economic priorities, congressional spending authority, and whether public money should be used to enhance a politician’s image.
Kennedy’s argument was straightforward: families are worried about affordability, government spending deserves scrutiny, and the rules should apply regardless of party.
Whether viewers agree with his assessment of the proposed cuts is a separate question. The legal dispute over executive spending authority and the debate over taxpayer-funded political advertising deserve examination beyond a few memorable television lines.
The moment worth watching is when Brennan moves from criticizing government spending in general to asking Kennedy about an advertisement featuring Trump himself. That is where the discussion becomes more complicated—and where Kennedy’s stated principle is tested against his own party’s leadership.
Watch the full interview through the link below to hear the exchange in context and decide how convincing each side’s argument really was.
