JD Vance touts economy gains, addresses Iran military operation in NC

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — Vice President J.D. Vance traveled to North Carolina on Friday and hosted an event to promote the economy, defend the Republican election win in the Tar Heel State and address the situation in Iran.

Vance was also joined at a local event venue by former RNC chairman and GOP Senate candidate Michael Whatley and Small Business Association Executive Kelly Loeffler.

“In a very short period of time, we’ve seen new home purchases rise to the highest level in five years,” Vance said. “Since Donald Trump last became president, we’ve seen rent costs fall for six months in a row.”

“We saw an average tax refund coming to North Carolinians of about $3,700 per family,” Vance added. “And we’re seeing interest rates at the lowest level since Donald J. Trump was last president.”

WHITE HOUSE DOUBLES IN CONFLICT WHEN VANCE ASKS MINNEAPOLIS TO STOP FIGHTING THE ICE

Vance was introduced by Loeffler, the former Georgia senator who Trump tapped last February to lead small business advocacy as head of the SBA.

“Together, we are cleaning up massive, wasteful spending and abuse of government programs,” Loeffler told the audience. “And you saw fraud taking the lives of innocent victims, like arenas, sending your hard-earned tax dollars overseas and frustrating police agendas where Democrats opened borders and invited violent crime into communities that were supposed to be safe.”

Vance addressed the situation in Iran, both to the crowd and in response to a question from an AP reporter. The vice president pointed to Iran’s nuclear capability as the main reason for U.S. involvement.

An explosion occurred during Israel’s air strike on Beirut on Monday. (Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)

Showdowns in NC SENATE escalate as TRUMP ROUNDS BEHIND WHATLEY TO HOLD GOP SEAT

“You all know that we are currently conducting a military operation to ensure, as the President has repeatedly said, that Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon,” Vance said. “It’s a simple, basic principle and standard. Frankly, every president has taken positive steps to ensure that Iran never has a nuclear weapon.”

Asked what advice he gave the president before the attacks began in Iran, Vance said he did not provide information from classified briefings in the situation room.

“I’m not going to stand here before God and everybody else, I’m not going to tell you exactly what I said in that secret room, partly because I don’t want to go to jail, partly because I think it’s important for the President of the United States to be able to talk to his advisors without their advisors trash-talking the American media,” Vance said.

President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Vance in the Situation Room. (White House via X)

VANCE CALLS WALZ ‘JOKE’, CLAIMS MINNESOTA GOVERNOR WAS INTERVENED IN A MAJOR FRAUD

Vance also strongly defended Whatley’s senate campaign, criticizing his Democratic opponent and touting the GOP nomination in what will be a contentious and competitive election in November.

Whatley won the GOP primary in North Carolina to fill the seat of retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis and now faces former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper in the general election.

“Roy Cooper is one of those people who cares about foreign countries much more than he cares about the United States,” Vance said. “You hear the passion in his voice when he talks about protecting illegal aliens. You’ll never hear that passion when he talks about the people in this room.”

Michael Whatley is the GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

AFTER TOUGH 2025 ELECTIONS, TOP GOP HOPEFUL SAYS THE FUTURE OF CONSERVATIVITY IS VALID WITH A SOLID ECONOMIC MESSAGE

“You hear the passion in his voice when he talks about sending hundreds of billions of dollars to the war in Ukraine,” the vice president added.

A spokesperson for Cooper responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, criticizing Whatley and denying claims that he protects criminals.

“Roy Cooper is the only candidate who spent his career as attorney general prosecuting violent criminals and keeping thousands behind bars, and as governor signing a stricter pretrial bail policy against crime laws,” the spokesperson told Fox. “D.C. insider and Big Oil lobbyist Michael Whatley is desperate to distract from his support for hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to local law enforcement and public safety efforts that keep North Carolinians safe.”

Vice President J.D. Vance was in North Carolina on Friday. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

Vance wrapped up the event after answering a question from Fox News Digital about its progress on the fraud task force launched within the Justice Department in January and the states it plans to target besides Minnesota.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION

“We know there’s a lot of fraud in California, and we’re trying to understand exactly what that looks like and what we’re doing under the Trump administration,” Vance said. “And the president actually empowered us to do that, to get the first national look at how the American people were defrauded over many, many years.”

The vice president announced that “at least” $19 billion in fraud has been uncovered in and around Minneapolis under the Trump administration.

Preston Mizell is a writer for Fox News. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and X @MizellPreston.