J.D. Vance set to campaign at Lower Burrell VFW, but event is by invitation only, Post 92 says

Vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance will make a campaign stop in Lower Burrell on Thursday.

Vance, the Republican senator from Ohio, will speak at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 92 on Wildlife Lodge Road at 10 a.m., his campaign announced Tuesday.

VFW Post 92 posted on Facebook on Tuesday evening that the event is not open to the public. Attendance is by invitation only.

In a prepared statement, the campaign said Vance will speak about veterans programs and the problems all military branches have had with recruitment over the past several years.

“The United States military is facing unprecedented recruiting difficulties because of the dangerously liberal Harris-­Biden administration,” the announcement states. “For the last three and a half years, (Democratic presidential nominee) Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have been more focused on promoting their woke agenda in the military rather than ensuring success on the battlefield. In Kamala Harris’ America, our service members and veterans are routinely left behind.”

Vance will be joined at the event by U.S. Reps. Jim Banks, R-Indiana; Brian Mast, R-Florida; and Michael Waltz, R-Florida.

The doors at the event will open at 7 a.m.

Preparations for Vance’s visit were underway Tuesday at the VFW.

Kenneth King, District 27 commander for the VFW, said he was approached by the Vance campaign Friday night to see if they were able to host the event.

He said the campaign told them they were looking to have an event in Westmoreland County and wanted to know if the VFW would be able to handle it.

Lee Johnson, post commander, said the VFW is looking forward to hosting Vance. He estimated the last time the VFW held as large a political rally was in the 1990s for then-Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.

Johnson said David Dutch is a life member of the Lower Burrell VFW. Dutch is one of three other people shot during an assassination attempt on Donald Trump last month at a rally in Butler County.

Alice Treser, a 36-year employee of the VFW, said she is excited about Vance’s appearance and hopes she is able to attend.

“I work for a veterans organization, and he is a veteran,” said Treser of Upper Burrell. “He’s conservative, and I’m a conservative person. He’s one of the people running for office that represents how I feel about things.”

Alan Milito of Upper Burrell also hopes to attend Vance’s visit.

“I’m a fan of his because of Trump,” Milito said. “It’s time for change and to go back to the way things were. There’s too many lax policies in the past four years.”

He said the Biden-Harris administration has made zero progress on important issues such as inflation and the border.

“I think we took a downward spiral once Trump left,” Milito said. “Donald was better for the people. Our country was safer under Donald Trump.“

He said Harris and her vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, “are not anywhere what we need.”

Milito said he hopes to attend Thursday’s rally to support the Republican Party.

“It’s great to see J.D. Vance is coming, and I hope to see Trump someday,” he said.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct the time period that Gov. Tom Ridge served.