Before Vice President JD Vance spoke to a crowd in Kansas City on Monday, state leaders delivered speeches calling for unity and the return of faith in Jesus Christ to the United States.  

At the event to promote goods “Made in America,” an eager crowd gathered to hear Vance, Gov. Mike Kehoe, Sen. Eric Schmitt, Rep. Mark Alford and others. 

State leaders pumped up the crowd and bolstered regional pride, declaring the Heartland as more than fly-over country. 

Gov. Mike Kehoe

“We’re grateful that the vice president would come here today to recognize how good Missouri workers are, how good Kansas City-area workers are, because they know here in the Midwest we do it the best,” Kehoe said. “This is the Heartland; we’re the Heartland because we have the show-me state, and because we are the people with the most heart, right here in Kansas City.” 

Vance praised Missouri for being home to some of his favorite elected leaders and said Schmitt and Kansas Rep. Roger Marshall are tied for the best United States senator. 

Rep. Mark Alford

Alford boasted Kansas City’s rich history in manufacturing, noting Ford’s first assembly plant outside Detroit was in this city, which has become a building place for America’s best-selling truck the Ford F-150.  

But then, he transitioned to a more serious topic.  

“Sadly, I think America is more divided than we have been since the Civil War, and Jesus said in Matthew 12:25 a house divided against itself will not stand.” 

Alford encouraged the people in the audience to renew their faith and turn back to God, as it’s the only cure for today’s political division. 

“You know, some 40 years ago Ronald Reagan had the remedy when he spoke words to this effect: the time has come for us to reassert our trust in God.  

“The time has come for us to realize that we need Him more than He needs us. The time has come to turn to God for the healing of America.” 

Kehoe’s speech reflected a similar theme as he asked for more people to pray for America’s leaders, specifically the president and vice president. 

“It is the most humbling thing for me when Claudia and I travel the state – to go up to people we’ve never met before who say, ‘We’re praying for you,’” Kehoe explained. “That’s the thing that brings this country back to the values we were founded on. 

“That’s what our founding fathers wanted to be: a land of faith people, a land of family people and a land of people who know how to work hard and produce for their family.”  

Vice President JD Vance

Vance said that even people within the same political party have policy disagreements, but there are core values that should unite them. 

“You’re going to disagree with the president of the United States from time to time – that is the nature of living in a society with as big and diverse a population as we have,” he said. 

One of the polarizing differences between Republicans and Democrats in Washington D.C., Vance clarified, is who they’re fighting for. 

“The Democratic Party in Washington, D.C. – I hate to say it, ladies and gentlemen – it is not the Democratic Party that my Mamaw and Papaw belonged to,” he said. “It’s not the Democratic Party that was patriotic and believed in supporting working people.” 

He pointed to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address earlier this year as an example, where Trump recognized Dalilah Coleman, a young girl who survived a severe car accident involving an illegal immigrant, which left her with lifelong injuries.  

“I think a very simple principle is that anybody who cannot stand for an innocent 6-year-old girl who survived a violent attack, anybody who cannot stand for you, for your rights and for your prosperity, we ought to send them the hell out of Washington, D.C.,” Vance declared.  

“I believe that we have dedicated and patriotic people – whether they’ve got a D next to their name, an R next to their name, or whether they’re independent – but as much as the historical Democrat Party, and I’m sure a lot of Missouri Democrats love this country, congressional Democrats have lost their minds in Washington, D.C.” 

As reported by Heartlander News, the event was hosted at Milbank Manufacturing as it nears its 100-year anniversary.