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I caught the recent vice-presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz with a mix of fascination and frustration. Two politicians standing up there nodding in agreement about the past 40 years of economic policy like they were dissecting the same history lesson. Both lamented the hollowing out of America’s manufacturing sector, pointing fingers at job outsourcing overseas. You know, that well-worn tale of woe: factories shuttered, wages slashed, families left wondering how to make ends meet.
Don’t get me wrong—I appreciate bipartisanship as much as the next guy. But when JD Vance starts wringing his hands about the evils of outsourcing, something just doesn’t sit right. It’s like watching a wolf in sheep’s clothing lecture the flock on the dangers of predators.
Let’s rewind the tape a bit and look at the bigger picture. Outsourcing? Sure, it devastated American workers. But it wasn’t just the shipping of jobs overseas that left us with a weakened economy. It was deregulation, defanging unions, and gutting the protections that once shielded working-class Americans. And, let’s not forget, this all kicked off under the patron saint of conservatives, Ronald Reagan—yes, the same guy whose policies JD Vance probably has framed on his wall.
Reagan’s era wasn’t just about sending jobs to cheaper labor markets. It was about dismantling the very mechanisms that gave workers a fighting chance. Deregulation wasn’t a bug. It was a feature. Remember the PATCO strike? Reagan fired 11,000 striking air traffic controllers, crushing the union. It was a signal to corporate America: workers are expendable, unions are obsolete, and profits trump people.
And this wasn’t just a Republican hobby horse. Bill Clinton, for all his economic successes, doubled down on globalization. But here’s where JD Vance’s selective memory comes in: it wasn’t just shipping jobs overseas that hollowed out the economy. It was the stripping away of the very protections that allowed the middle class to thrive—union busting, deregulation, tax cuts for the rich. Outsourcing was just the final kick in the pants.
Vance wants to talk about manufacturing jobs going to China like it’s a moral failing of globalists on the left, but what he’s conveniently ignoring is how the groundwork was laid for decades by deregulation and corporate greed. Republicans and their lobbyists paved that road with gold, and now Vance wants to pretend he wasn’t there to cut the ribbon.
And then we come to the Trump era. JD Vance likes to fashion himself as a Trump acolyte, painting the former president as the working man’s champion. But let’s look at the cold, hard facts. Under Trump, the U.S. racked up the *largest trade deficit* with China we’ve ever seen. That’s right—while Trump was selling his America First snake oil, China was raking in the dollars. We didn’t bring back manufacturing; we just widened the gap.
Vance wants you to believe that Trump stood tall against China. But the numbers tell a different story—one where Wall Street made off like bandits while Main Street was left holding the bag.
Now, I know no one’s perfect—not even my party. But under President Biden, we’ve seen tangible efforts to restore American manufacturing. The CHIPS Act is bringing semiconductor production back to the U.S. The Inflation Reduction Act invests in clean energy jobs—real, good-paying jobs that can’t be outsourced to the lowest bidder.
Biden’s not just slapping tariffs on Chinese goods and calling it a win. He’s laying the foundation for an economy that works for everyone—blue-collar, white-collar, and everything in between. And it’s working. Manufacturing jobs are growing again, and the economy is rebounding in ways that JD Vance’s so-called populist heroes could only dream of.
JD Vance talks a good game. He throws around words like “betrayal” and “disloyalty” when talking about American jobs shipped overseas. But let’s be honest about who really benefits from his policies. It’s not the folks on the assembly line. It’s not the farmers out in the fields. It’s not the small businesses in North Dakota.
No, the beneficiaries of JD Vance’s economic vision are the same people who have always benefitted: the ultra-wealthy, the corporate titans, and—most notably—JD Vance himself. It’s a classic bait-and-switch. He tells you he’s fighting for the little guy, but when you look at the policies, it’s all about enriching the same crowd that gutted the middle class in the first place.
Here’s the truth: we can’t afford to let JD Vance and his cronies, like my opponent, Julie Fedorchak, run the show. They talk about jobs while picking workers’ pockets. They bemoan outsourcing while cozying up to the same corporate interests that sent jobs overseas. And they claim to stand for the little guy while doing everything they can to make sure he stays little.
In 2024, we have a chance to flip the script. My campaign isn’t about empty rhetoric. It’s about policies that help real people—restoring labor rights, bringing jobs back to America, and building an economy that works for everyone.
While my opponent and JD Vance count on billionaire backers like Peter Thiel, I'm counting on the power of people like you.
So, if you want to see a Congress that actually fights for the working class, chip in today, every dollar brings us one step closer to flipping the House, standing up to people like JD Vance, and building a future where the American Dream is alive and well for *everyone*—not just the top 1%.
Let’s get to work.
With the U.S. House seat open, the race for North Dakota’s sole congressional district has never been more competitive.
Trygve Hammer is a Navy and Marine Corps veteran, a former public school teacher, and a freight rail conductor. He was appointed to the Naval Academy from the fleet and served as a Marine helicopter pilot, forward air controller, and infantry officer.
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From bunking down in oilfield camps to engaging uninterested teenagers in the classroom, Trygve’s career has been a tour of duty in the trenches of American life. Trygve’s commitment to public service is unwavering. He lives by the ethos “Officers Eat Last” and is ready to serve as North Dakota’s next Congressman, putting the people's needs first.
Watch Trygve’s campaign launch video here.
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