At a campaign stop in Michigan, Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance said on Wednesday, “We’re going to fire the agriculture secretary, right? She’s not doing a very good job.” Vance seemed to confuse the energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2010, with Tom Vilsack, who is serving his third term as agriculture secretary.
The mistake occurred after a reporter asked Vance how to lower grocery prices. “Fire Granholm,” shouted a man in the audience in Byron Center, a few miles south of Grand Rapids.
“That’s right,” laughed Vance amid applause. “Well, the first is, we’re going to fire the agriculture secretary, right? She’s not doing a very good job.” Vance called for increased energy production, “because if you think about the farmers, then the tractors need to run on diesel fuel, [and] to ship the food … that requires fuel. The fertilizer, a lot of times, comes from natural gas.”
Americans face a “grocery affordability crisis” because of high prices, said Vance during a 20-minute speech, which was followed by questions from reporters. Asked about the decline of the U.S. inflation rate to 2.9 percent, the lowest since March 2021, he said, “That’s a record to be ashamed of. Why did it take us so long to get inflation to where it is, and why are prices so high?”
To watch a video of Vance’s campaign stop, click here.