JD Vance Booed During Speech to Firefighters

Several crowd members booed Ohio Senator JD Vance as he took the podium to deliver remarks to the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) on Thursday.

Vance, the running mate of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, arrived in Boston to speak to the large labor union representing full-time professional firefighters and emergency medical workers, a day after Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz addressed the crowd.

As Vance arrived at the podium several audible boos were heard. Vance addressed them, smiling and saying, "Sounds like we got some fans and some haters, that's OK, let's listen to what I have to say here, and I'll make my pitch."

Vance said he wanted to "thank President [Edward] Kelly and every single IAFF member for your warm welcome. It is an honor to be here with America's incredible firefighters, and I'm honored to be here. God bless you guys, and thanks for what you do."

The Republican told the IAFF, "You all are the embodiment of the American spirit: heroic, determined, selfless, hard-working, and tough...I believe you deserve a government that is loyal to you."

Vance acknowledged that Minnesota Governor Walz spoke at the IAFF Convention yesterday, adding, "I respect this union for inviting both sides to take the stage and make the case to all of our membership." The audience applauded Vance's comments.

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance speaks at a campaign event in De Pere, Wisconsin, on August 28. Vance was booed by members of the audience during his speech. Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance speaks at a campaign event in De Pere, Wisconsin, on August 28. Vance was booed by members of the audience during his speech. AP Photo/Morry Gash

On Wednesday, Walz's IAFF speech highlighted the Democratic Party's strong ties to organized labor. Unions have long been a cornerstone of Democratic support, but the GOP is increasingly courting labor groups. Teamsters President Sean O'Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in July, while United Auto Workers Association President Shawn Fain addressed the Democratic National Convention (DNC) last week.

Walz emphasized the role of unions in building the middle class and, along with Vice President Kamala Harris, committed to protecting firefighters' benefits, compensation, and safety.

The beginning of Vance's speech touched on personal stories about his mother's struggle with addiction and how firefighters provide support to all of those impacted by addiction, such as 12-year-old Vance. He concluded the anecdote,"You do make a difference; you make a difference every single day, and I thank you for it."

Shortly after, Vance transitioned to the campaign, saying, "President Trump and I are proud to be the most pro-worker Republican ticket in history, and I want to talk about why we are fighting for working people, why we are going to fight for unions and non unions alike." His comments drew several boos from the crowd.

Harris' official campaign account on X, formerly Twitter, posted clips of crowd members booing Vance and mocked the candidate online.

Vance: Trump and I are proud to be the most pro-worker Republican ticket in history

Workers: BOOOOOO! pic.twitter.com/arCmRtj1op — Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 29, 2024

Vance's communications team declined to comment on the record.

On the other hand, Trump War Room campaign account posted videos of the crowd applauding certain agenda items, including abolishing vaccine mandates.

.@JDVance: "We're going to defend your right to free speech, including your right to speak out against unconstitutional vaccine mandates imposed by the current administration... We are going to abolish every single mandate and rehire every firefighter who was wrongly terminated... pic.twitter.com/83pLdkCN7y — Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 29, 2024

"Now I know this is a diverse union, some of you love President Trump and some of you clearly don't, I've heard from both sides just giving this little speech. Now this might come as a shock to ya, but once upon of time I wasn't a Trump guy either," Vance said.

At the conclusion of his speech, Vance promised, "Whether you support us or not, whether you ultimately endorse us or not, President Trump and I believe in our firefighters, we believe in our first responders, and we will never stop fighting for you."

Sarafina Chitika, a Harris campaign senior spokesperson, told Newsweek in an email in response to Vance's IAFF speech, "JD tried selling firefighters on the Trump-Vance Project 2025 agenda to undermine workers, gut labor protections, and cut overtime pay – and got hosed. This election, workers are fired up to elect Vice President Harris and Governor Walz. They won't be fooled by Donald Trump or JD Vance's lies about their plan to undermine unions and America's middle class."

Updated 8/29/24, 3:25 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include Chitika's comment.

Update 8/29/24, 2:02 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

Update 8/29/24, 3:04 p.m. ET: This article was updated to add an X post from Trump War Room.