Vice President JD Vance thanked President Trump for “reviving this proud Naval tradition” during Sail4th 250 Saturday, as he addressed patriotic sailors aboard USS Kearsarge and zeroed in on the “loud voices” who continually drag America down.
“It is a very American thing to ring in 250 years of American history by parading our naval and air force might for the world to see,” he said with the New York Harbor as a backdrop, after thanking the sailors aboard the Navy ship.
“Today we celebrate 250 years of America facing the future without fear,” he said as he joined the International Naval Review on Saturday.
“We celebrate 250 years of proving what a free people can achieve by the providence of our Almighty Creator,” Vance added.
At the start of his address, the VP joked that his speechwriters had written a “9-hour address” as he noted the scorching hot weather.
“I know it’s 100 degrees out here,” he said, “but my speechwriters wrote me a nice, 9-hour address, so it’s gonna be a long day.”
The vice president also called for unity during his remarks, singling out what he called the “loud voices” who spend their time trying to drag America down, in what could be seen as a swipe at New York’s socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, who was critical of the US in a televised speech on July 3.
“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,” Vance said.
“You will hear a couple of small but loud voices today speak obsessively, not of our national greatness, but of our national imperfections,” the veep added. “Reject the view of your nation that sees only its sins, but not its grace and its greatness.”
The comments came after Mamdani mainly touched on America’s “flaws” during his 15-minute address from George Washington’s desk inside City Hall.
“Patriotism has never been about pretending our nation is without flaws. Patriotism is every act of righteous dissent, it is every march led under the heavy sun, it is every protest held a decade before its time,” the mayor said, going on a lengthy tirade about evil landlords, poor labor conditions and American “nativism.”
Vance ended his speech with a call for another 250 years of “American greatness,” as he walked off stage to greet service members.
“We’ll need to do our part to create the next 250 years of American greatness,” he urged.
“So I say to all my fellow Americans — I’m proud of you. Happy birthday and happy birthday to our great nation!”
