JD Vance traveled to North Carolina today in an attempt to sell voters on his and Donald Trump’s tanking economy in one of his first public appearances since they started their deeply unpopular war of choice with Iran. Trump and Vance’s war has already killed at least 13 U.S. service members and injured at least 140, while the price of oil skyrockets and Americans face sky-high gas prices at the pump. In North Carolina alone, the average gas price is $3.44 per gallon, up from $2.72 per gallon a month ago — a whopping 26% increase.

Vance has been unusually quiet since the war began and has refused to answer questions from the American people, most recently postponing a scheduled town hall. Instead, Vance is set to headline an invite-only fundraising tour for the Republican Party ahead of the midterm elections this November in which attendees have been asked to pay $100,000.  

In response, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement: 

“JD Vance is trying to sell the American people on the Trump-Vance agenda, but voters aren’t falling for his bullshit. Donald Trump and Vance promised Americans they would lower costs and be the ‘pro-peace’ ticket, and then sold out working families to wage reckless wars that put American lives at risk and wreck the economy. As prices soar and jobs disappear, Vance knows that he and Trump have betrayed the American people, including their own supporters, and no amount of spin will change that.”

The economy continues to take a nosedive, as new data released today showed core inflation rose in January, while fourth-quarter GDP in 2025 was revised down significantly. Another new report released today found that working families will pay over $2,500 in additional costs this year due to Trump’s tariffs — a 44% increase from the $1,700 American households paid last year. 

Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of Americans say Trump has the wrong priorities, and are outraged and frustrated with Trump and Vance’s war with Iran. Every major poll since the initial air strikes show that Americans disapprove of the war. Despite repeatedly promising on the campaign trail that he and Trump were the “pro-peace” candidates, Vance flip-flopped, even after assuring voters, “Our interest very much is in not going to war with Iran. It would be a huge distraction of resources. It would be massively expensive to our country.”