This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Ever since former President Donald Trump selected Sen. JD Vance as his 2024 running mate, Democrats have been calling the Ohio Republican "weird."
Now, the senator is firing back on national television.
On "Sunday Morning Futures" on the Fox News Channel, anchor Maria Bartiromo asked Vance directly about the W-word:
"What do you say about this new strategy to call you 'weird' from the Democrats?" Bartiromo posed.
Vance responded: "I think that it's a lot of projection, frankly, Maria, from people who want to give transgender hormones to 9-year-old kids and want biological males to play in women's sports.
"Look, I'm a husband, I'm a father, I'm happily married, and I love my life, and I'm doing this because I want to be a good public servant who fixes the problems of the Democrats.
"They can call me whatever they want to. The middle-school taunts don't bother me. What bothers me and what offends me is what Kamala Harris has done to this country over three-and-a-half years.
"She's opened up the American southern border, she cast the deciding vote on things that caused skyrocketing inflation and the affordability crisis.
"I was in Georgia yesterday. They have a terrible housing-affordability problem in the state of Georgia because Kamala Harris shot interest rates through the roof and then she welcomed in millions of illegal aliens to compete with Americans for scarce homes.
"I don't care what they call me. I just wish they would stop screwing opportunity country, and because I don't think they're able to do that themselves, President Trump and I are going to beat them in November."
Bartiromo then pointed out the flip-flops of Harris when it comes to fracking in America, having pushed for bans on the energy-production practice.
Vance explained: "Well, she said she wanted to ban fracking and also ban offshore drilling, Maria. Of course, Kamala Harris hasn't answered a media question in 14 days, since becoming the presumptive nominee of the Democrat Party, which, by the way, is a scandal all its own.
"If you want to lead this country, you should have to stand before the press, the free press, and answer questions, sometimes hostile questions, as President Trump and I have.
"We know the source of their environmental policies, the source of their energy policies is this crazy idea that if we ship more and more manufacturing and more and more energy production to China, that's somehow going to be good for the environment and good for the American consumer. It doesn't make an ounce of sense, Maria.
"If you do more in China, China is the dirtiest economy in the entire world. If you do more in America, you help the environment. You also lower the cost of goods for American citizens. It is a win-win to manufacture and drill more in the United States of America.
"Kamala Harris' policies don't make environmental sense, they don't make basic economic sense, but she has been on the record defending them for years, again, because she is a radical. This is who she is. And as much as her aides are running from her record, Kamala Harris at the least should stand before the American people and answer some tough questions."
Vance responded: "I think whoever she chooses the problem is going to be Kamala Harris' record and Kamala Harris' policies. The American people are suffering because Kamala Harris keeps on making bad decisions. I don't care who she chooses as a running mate.
"It's not going to be good for the country, and we're ready, meaning President Trump and I are ready, to take the case to the American people. Donald Trump delivered peace, he delivered prosperity.
"Kamala Harris has delivered an open border and skyrocketing inflation. It's just not a hard argument to make, but we're going to make it as aggressively and persuasively as we can to the American people for about the next 95 or so days."
