Vice President JD Vance celebrated America’s 250th birthday in New York Harbor, delivering a patriotic address reminding Americans of what makes our nation special while also cautioning against critics.
He arrived early to kick off the celebration aboard the USS Kearsarge, a famous amphibious warship.
What You Need To Know
Vice President JD Vance celebrated America’s 250th birthday in New York Harbor, delivering a patriotic address reminding Americans of what makes our nation special while also cautioning against critics
He arrived early to kick off the celebration aboard the USS Kearsarge, a famous amphibious warship
Vance had what could be seen as a political message in his speech, saying, “Reject the view of your nation that sees only its sins, but not its grace and its greatness. Everything that we have done, everything that we have done as a country, we have done together. All of us have a part”
Vance started his speech by taking Americans back to 1776, highlighting George Washington’s wartime plight: defending an outnumbered Continental Army against the British and the ideals set out in the brand-new Declaration of Independence.
“The great general Washington, he knew the battles to come would be bruising and demand much of his men. They needed to know in hot summers and cold winters – exactly what they would be asked to fight for,” he said.
“What has become standard American parlance… They had never heard those words before and I think it’s something to reflect on that in 2026, the Declaration was written with the assumption that its audience would immediately grasp its words… If they heard it they would know exactly what it meant,” Vance added.
He argued that new Americans were inspired by the simple and self-evident truths laid out in that document, and why it has withstood the test of time.
“It was Jefferson who put it later in his own life, an expression of the American mind. A document whose purpose wasn’t to find new principles or new arguments, but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject. Common sense of the American people,” Vance said.
He spoke of other Americans who found their way out of hardship, whose inventions changed the course of history.
“The potential of normal Americans when unshackled from destitution,” Vance said.
But he also had what could be seen as a political message to those who critique the country — or perhaps his administration’s — decisions.
“Reject the view of your nation that sees only its sins, but not its grace and its greatness. Everything that we have done, everything that we have done as a country, we have done together. All of us have a part,” Vance said.
“And all of us will need to do our part to create the next 250 years of American greatness. So I say to all my fellow Americans, I’m proud of you,” he added, closing out his speech and departing from the ship on a military helicopter.