‘I’ll buy you the plane ticket:’ JD Vance spots protester waving Mexican flag during his speech and tells him to go to Mexico

Vice President JD Vance confronted a heckler during a speech at the GOP midterm convention in Dallas, offering to purchase a plane ticket for the individual after they appeared in the arena waving a Mexican flag. The incident occurred while Vance was addressing the crowd at the American Airlines Center, leading to a loud reaction from the audience as the protester was escorted out of the venue. 

As reported by the NY Post, Vance took the opportunity to address the disruption directly, labeling the moment as a symbol of the far left and suggesting that the individual should have been waving the flag of the United States of America. This moment served as a brief detour from a speech that covered several key pillars of the current administration. 

Vance spent time discussing his own family life, specifically the birth of his new son, while highlighting the work done by the Trump administration over its first 19 months. He emphasized that the current administration is focused on making the future more affordable, increasing safety from violent crime, and maintaining a commitment to common sense governance. 

He also criticized El-Sayed during the speech 

He also issued a firm warning to those he described as radicals, stating, “To the radicals who wish to abolish my family and the thousands and millions of other families all across our country, we have a simple message for them: Stay the hell away from our kids.”

Beyond the interaction with the protester, Vance used the event to renew his criticism of Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. The tension between the two has been building for some time, particularly after Vance took offense to comments El-Sayed made last month regarding his wife, Usha Vance. 

Vance recounted that El-Sayed had mockingly asked if he would bring Usha back in time to meet his grandfather. Vance defended his grandfather as a man who loved his family unconditionally and criticized El-Sayed for focusing on the color of his grandfather’s skin to suggest he could not have loved Usha.

Vance pointed out that El-Sayed was raised by his own white step-grandparents and argued that the candidate should understand the nature of such family bonds. He expressed frustration that El-Sayed would choose to claim that a man like his grandfather was incapable of loving someone who looks like his wife. 

This led to a broader critique of the Democratic Party, which Vance reportedly characterized as having shifted away from its historical roots. He stated, “This is who the Democrats are now. They aren’t the party of higher taxes and a little more regulation. They aren’t the party of FDR, or JFK, or even Bill Clinton. No—the Democrats are the party of hatred.”

He further claimed that the modern Democratic Party despises America and those who built it, accusing them of finding sympathy for the terrorists who perpetrated 9/11 while suggesting that people with names like James Vance are incapable of loving people with names like Usha. This follows a previous confrontation in Detroit in August, where Vance told El-Sayed to “keep my wife’s name the hell out of your mouth.”

Vance also took a moment to address internal party disagreements, specifically regarding the issue of war. He referenced the late conservative figure Charlie Kirk, noting that while Kirk hated war and did not always agree with the administration, he remained committed to the work of saving the country.