Vance compares Los Angeles neighborhood conditions to surroundings of U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince
WASHINGTON, July 17. Vice President JD Vance told podcaster Joe Rogan on Wednesday that driving through a Los Angeles neighborhood en route to a Christmas party recalled his time visiting the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The parallel he drew was a dividing line between concentrated wealth and security on one side and squalor on the other.
Key takeaways
- Vice President JD Vance told Joe Rogan on Wednesday that driving through a Los Angeles neighborhood reminded him of visiting the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
- Vance described the comparison as a dividing line between concentrated wealth and security on the inside and squalor and misery on the outside.
- Vance said it was the first time he had thought that part of America resembled a third-world country, and expressed 'heartbreak' over Los Angeles's condition.
- Rogan claimed Skid Row had expanded by five blocks and said Gov. Gavin Newsom was 'gaslighting everybody' about California's economy.
- Vance proposed judging a state's health by comparing the cost of renting a U-Haul truck heading in versus heading out.
WASHINGTON, July 17. Vice President JD Vance told podcaster Joe Rogan on Wednesday that driving through a Los Angeles neighborhood en route to a Christmas party recalled his time visiting the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The parallel he drew was a dividing line between concentrated wealth and security on one side and squalor on the other.
Vance on the Los Angeles-Haiti comparison
Vance said the recollection struck him during the drive. "I realized when I was there, you know what this reminds me of? This reminds me of going to the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti," he told Rogan. "Like super security, crazy wealth and privilege and status on the inside, and squalor and misery on the outside." It was, he said, the first time he had thought that part of America resembled a third-world country.
Vance said his wife, Usha, is from southern California, and the two have spent a great deal of time in the state. He described feeling "heartbreak" over Los Angeles's condition. The city's architecture and character, he told Rogan, still reflect what made it a quintessentially American city. A drive through Skid Row, he said, raises the question of how any state or city could allow that to happen.
Rogan on leaving California and the U-Haul benchmark
Rogan, who left California, said he knows people who still want to leave but are having trouble selling their houses. He described years of enjoying the state's weather and activities before concluding that politics changed the equation. He also said the Skid Row area has continued to grow, claiming it expanded by five blocks.
On Gov. Gavin Newsom's frequent reference to California's standing as the fifth-largest economy in the world, Rogan said Newsom was "gaslighting everybody" about the state's performance. Vance replied that the economy held that position before Newsom became governor.
Vance offered a benchmark for judging a state's health: compare the cost of renting a U-Haul truck heading in versus heading out. Fox News Digital contacted Newsom's office for comment and did not receive an immediate response.