EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) – Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance said he had “a little fun” Wednesday trying to catch Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris on the airport tarmac they shared as part of dueling campaign trips.
“I just wanted to check my future plane,” he joked to reporters after walking away former President Donald Trump‘s campaign plane and walking directly to Air Force Two, which had landed with the vice president and his partner, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
“I also wanted to go and say hi to the vice president and ask him why he refused to take questions from the media,” Vance said, chiding Harris for not holding an extended interview or a full press conference since he launched his campaign on July 21. after President Joe Biden ended his re-election bid. “At least I have enough respect for all of you and the American people to come and talk to you and answer questions.”
Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio, said he could not speak with Harris.
It is not unheard of during a general election campaign for opposing candidates to cross paths as they travel, especially given the compressed map that limits much of the campaign activity to the relatively few states that decide the winner of the Electoral College.
“I had a little fun,” Vance said. “I don’t think the vice president waved at me when he drove off.”
The senator campaigned in Wisconsin on Wednesday against Harris and Walz, who continue a multi-day tour of battleground states that began Tuesday in Philadelphia with the first joint rally since the vice president announced Walz as his running mate.
Vance continued the ridiculous nod and said he would be more than willing to discuss Harris on August 13 “if he would like to talk to me.” It was a matchup scheduled before Biden resigned, meaning it would have put Vance and Harris on the same stage as the vice presidential contenders.
