{"id":12535,"date":"2025-10-19T09:23:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T09:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/12535\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T09:23:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T09:23:07","slug":"at-250th-marine-anniversary-event-here-vp-vance-vies-with-comedian-for-best-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/12535\/","title":{"rendered":"At 250th Marine anniversary event here, VP Vance vies with comedian for best line"},"content":{"rendered":"

Comedian Bryan Callen<\/a> was a warmup act Saturday at Camp Pendleton\u2019s celebration of the U.S. Marine Corps\u2019 250th anniversary<\/a>. He praised President Trump for \u201cbringing peace\u201d to the Mideast for the first time \u201csince Moses had a parting of the ways with Pharaoh.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Callen couldn\u2019t hold a candle to the featured speaker.<\/p>\n

Vice President J.D. Vance, citing what he called the \u201cSchumer shutdown,\u201d vowed to make sure Marines get paid. \u201cAs I told the president just a couple days ago, I said: \u2018Sir, we have got to figure out how to pay these Marines,’\u201d And not just for their sake.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we don\u2019t pay our enlisted Marines, every bar in Southern California is going to go out of business, and we don\u2019t want that,\u201d he told perhaps 5,000 Marines and a few sailors sitting on plastic chairs near the base\u2019s Del Mar Beach.<\/p>\n

The former four-year Marine returned to the theme later in his half-hour remarks. He recalled the Philadelphia tavern where in 1775 the Marines were conceived before being authorized by the Continental Congress.<\/p>\n

Vance called the Tun Tavern \u201cthe very first bar in America that would come to regret serving United States Marines.\u201d<\/p>\n

Self-described Secretary of War Pete Hegseth preceded Vance with an 8-minute talk, echoing critiques of the Defense Department by previous speakers and his own address to military leaders he summoned recently to Quantico.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen other parts of the [defense] department wanted to go woke, the Marine Corps stood strong,\u201d Hegseth said. \u201cWhen other parts of the department wanted to lower standards, the Marine Corps stood strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

(One former Marine said the 250th Marine anniversary, officially Nov. 10, coincided with the \u201cgreat unshackling.\u201d She lauded \u201cleadership this committed to the war-fighter. .. this moment to tear down bureaucracy in favor of speed, innovation and lethality.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Hegseth strongly denounced an element of wokeness.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I look out at this crowd, I see a lot of different types of faces,\u201d Hegseth said. \u201cThe truth is: Your diversity is not your strength. Never has been. Your strength is in your unity of purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cIt\u2019s in your shared mission. It\u2019s in your oath to the Constitution. \u2026 You are set apart (from civilians). You are devil dogs, leathernecks, United States Marines.\u201d<\/p>\n

With every Marine standing throughout his talk (an organic move and not ordered), the vice president took his own shot at DEI.<\/p>\n

He began by recalling his Marine recruit training, where on Sundays two lines would form for church services \u2014 one Catholic and one Protestant.<\/p>\n

When a drill instructor spotted a recruit standing alone, he said: \u201cHey, what the hell are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

The recruit said he was an atheist, Vance recalled. The DI commanded him to get into the Catholic line.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat didn\u2019t work in the Biden administration,\u201d Vance said. \u201cBut now we recognize it is not our diversity that makes us stronger. It is our common purpose. It is our common mission. It is the fact every person here bleeds Marine Corps green.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vance displayed his knowledge of Marine culture when he noted how those who train on the East Coast \u201chave the sand fleas\u201d while Pendleton Marines suffer hikes up hills with heavy backpacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know which is worse,\u201d he said at an event filmed by the White House for a primetime special set for airing Nov. 9.<\/p>\n

On a serious note, Vance mourned the loss Friday of a Marine pilot (who he couldn\u2019t yet name) when an AH-1Z Viper helicopter with 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing crashed a few dozen miles northwest of the Yuma Proving Ground.<\/p>\n

In a four-hour event under cool but sunny skies, Marines (some with kids in tow) heard themselves praised by a series of speakers and retired military, plus Marine Commandant Eric Smith and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan.<\/p>\n

They were treated to live closed-circuit TV images of a mock amphibious attack on Red Beach, some 17 miles up the coast. And later, they saw a \u201cworld premiere\u201d of an official video marking the 250th anniversary narrated by Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ships, the aircraft and the Marines you see are part of a living legacy stretching back 250 years,\u201d said the program narrator, Lt. Col Joshua Benson, citing ships including the USS Boxer and USS Comstock. Marine landing ships and hovercraft flanked the audience.<\/p>\n

The aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt staged warplanes, which made ear-splitting fly-bys in repeated passes during and after the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cA force that remains, as ever, the first to fight,\u201d Benson added in sonorous tones. \u201cMarines go where others can\u2019t. The reconnaissance Marines move out, disciplined, deliberate, light on their feet, heavy with purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he previewed a phrase used by several others, calling the Marines \u201cour national 9-1-1 force.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guitar-toting singer\/songwriter John Rich played a Johnny Cash tune and sang Tom Petty\u2019s \u201cI Won\u2019t Back Down,\u201d before crooning extra stanzas of the the Marines\u2019 Hymn (with everyone getting up on their feet). He ended with what he called \u201cthe modern-day national anthem\u201d \u2014 Lee Greenwood\u2019s \u201cGod Bless the U.S.A.\u201d (aka \u201cProud to Be an American\u201d).<\/p>\n

Despite laws, including the Hatch Act, prohibiting political remarks<\/a> at military events, Vance said: \u201cNow I know we\u2019re here to\u00a0talk about the Marine Corps, [but] I have to get a little political because congressional Democrats seem to want to keep the government shut down even though it would mean a lot of you would not get your paycheck.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Vance struck a bipartian tone while giving shout-outs to former Marine colleagues, including one that he said would be considered \u201cfar left.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite the craziness of our politics today,\u201d Vance said the former Marine he served with \u201cremains one of my best friends and is a man I would trust with my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vance didn\u2019t weigh into the back-and-forth over the shutdown of Interstate 5 between Harbor Drive to Basilone Road from about 11 a.m. Saturday until about 1:30 p.m., causing a major inconvenience to Southland motorists, who lost the main artery connecting south Orange County to San Diego County.<\/p>\n

(He and Hegseth also weren\u2019t available for media interviews.)<\/p>\n

The brief closure was attributed to the live ammunition discharges over the freeway. Caltrans warned drivers to expect delays on I-5 and other routes throughout Southern California before, during and after the event.<\/p>\n

Passenger rail service on the adjacent rail line was also disrupted for a time during the afternoon.<\/p>\n

The exercise was criticized by Rep. Mike Levin, D-Carlsbad, who said public safety and the reputation of the Marine Corps \u201care far more important than the political agendas of J.D. Vance or Pete Hegseth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, reports confirming that artillery will be fired over Interstate 5 \u2014 requiring full freeway and rail closures \u2014 have caused understandable frustration throughout the surrounding community,\u201d Levin said. \u201cThese actions pose unnecessary safety risks and significant disruptions for residents, businesses, and first responders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republican Rep. Darrell Issa targeted the governor.<\/p>\n

\u201cGavin Newsom \u2013 who never served a day in the military \u2013 is overruling the best-trained and most experienced leaders of our Marine Corps and shutting down the main interstate highway in the San Diego region for no other reason that a spiteful publicity stunt,\u201d the East County congressman said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a disgusting abuse of power. But not at all surprising,\u201d he said. \u201cGovernor, stick to podcasting. Let our military, service members and the men and women who have volunteered to defend our nation do their jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, another Republican, also blamed the freeway closure on Newsom.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Marines at Camp Pendleton have been firing live rounds and training beneath I-5 for over 50 years \u2014 without closing the freeway. There is zero reason for this sudden shutdown,\u201d Desmond posted on X.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t just an inconvenience \u2014 it\u2019s going to cause medical emergencies to be delayed, workers to miss shifts and families to have their plans and events ruined.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sure looks like Gavin Newsom is trying to use the U.S. Marine Corps\u2019 250th anniversary to create chaos and score political points. If that\u2019s the case, it\u2019s a petty stunt that will only hurt Southern California drivers and families,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Said the Orange County Republican Party on X: \u201cNewsom shut down the 5 today to cause chaos around a Marine Corps celebration. What a jerk.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Los Angeles Magazine, the White House initially \u201cintended to shut down part of the 5 Freeway between Los Angeles and San Diego\u201d but later dropped those plans after receiving complaints from local officials and residents.<\/p>\n

U.S Marines officials later said: \u201cNo public highways or transportation routes\u201d would be closed.<\/p>\n

Officials in Newsom\u2019s office said they were notified Thursday that \u201cthe U.S. Marine Corps confirmed their exercise would be conducted on its training ranges, as it routinely does, but not over the freeway. That afternoon, the federal government also directed cancellation of train services, which run parallel to the I-5, on Saturday between Orange County-San Diego County.<\/p>\n

\u201cLate on Friday, the state then received notice from event organizers asking for CalTrans signage to be posted along the I-5 freeway that would read: \u2018Overhead fire in progress.\u2019 Also on Friday, state officials near Camp Pendleton observed live munitions being fired near the freeway, an apparent practice run.<\/p>\n

Newsom\u2019s office feared \u201cextreme life safety risk and distraction to drivers, including sudden unexpected and loud explosions\u201d and said the closure decision comes at the recommendation of traffic safety experts at the California Highway Patrol.<\/p>\n

READ NEXT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Comedian Bryan Callen was a warmup act Saturday at Camp Pendleton\u2019s celebration of the U.S. Marine Corps\u2019 250th…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12536,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[7343,7338,11003,8048,7716,74,76,75],"class_list":{"0":"post-12535","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-250th-anniversary","9":"tag-camp-pendleton","10":"tag-j-d-vance","11":"tag-marine-corps","12":"tag-pete-hegseth","13":"tag-san-diego","14":"tag-san-diego-headlines","15":"tag-san-diego-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}