Vice President J.D. Vance addressed students at the University of Mississippi on Wednesday and spoke directly about something that’s become a growing conversation on the right — how Republicans should handle federal power when they’re in control.
Speaking at a Turning Point USA event on the Ole Miss campus, Vance responded to a student who asked whether Republicans risk crossing the line by using the federal government more aggressively in the future. Vance didn’t shy away from the question. Instead, he leaned in.
JD Vance goes off script at the Ole Miss TPUSA event, choosing to speak from the heart instead.
“I got this whole speech written and I’m not going to deliver any of what I had written, I’m just going to speak from the heart because that’s what Charlie would so often do.”
Vance… pic.twitter.com/dPyqF9wF79
— Overton (@overton_news) October 30, 2025
“We cannot be afraid to do something because the left might do it in the future,” Vance told the crowd. “The left is already going to do it, regardless of whether we do it. That is the takeaway of the last 40 years.”
He pointed to what many conservatives see as political double standards in recent years. In a sarcastic tone, Vance joked, “What if Joe Biden sent the Federal Bureau of Investigation to start arresting his political opponents?” — a clear reference to the criminal charges that former President Donald Trump has faced since leaving office. Trump has denied all wrongdoing and has said the cases are politically motivated. His supporters have pointed to the timing and the nature of the charges as signs that the justice system has been, in their words, “weaponized.”
VP JD Vance at the Turning Point USA event at Ole Miss:
“We cannot be afraid to do something because the left might do it in the future. The left is already going to do it regardless of whether we do it. That is the takeaway of the last 40 years.” pic.twitter.com/Zilui5bWHe
Should Republicans use federal power more aggressively when in control?— SuperTalk Mississippi (@supertalk) October 30, 2025
Vance argued that Republicans should stop playing defense when it comes to using the tools of federal government. He said if the government has the ability to address serious issues like violent crime and immigration problems, it should be used to do exactly that — especially if local leaders are failing to keep their cities safe.
The Vice President pointed to crime rates in some cities as an example. “If Joe Biden wanted to deploy the National Guard to a red state in a place where the murder rate was twice what it is in third-world countries to actually go after murderers, that would be a great use of the National Guard,” he said. “Unfortunately, I don’t think Joe Biden would use it like that.”
Under the current administration of President Donald Trump and Vice President Vance, the National Guard has already been deployed to several cities, including Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Memphis. Plans are underway to expand those deployments to more than a dozen additional states, mainly to assist with immigration enforcement and rising crime.
Vance made it clear that using the power of the federal government responsibly isn’t the same thing as abusing it — especially when it’s used to protect American citizens. What Republicans are trying to avoid, he explained, is what happened in recent years when, according to many on the right, federal agencies allegedly targeted conservatives or looked the other way when left-wing groups crossed the line.
“What I’m worried about, frankly, is what the far left already did with American law enforcement — and that is the thing we have to prevent against,” Vance said.
He told the audience that the key to preventing future misuse of power is holding people accountable when they abuse their authority. “And the answer to that question is, you make sure the people who did it face penalties for using the federal power against American citizens,” he said. “And by the way, that’s exactly what we’re trying to do.”
Vance’s remarks drew loud applause from the Turning Point USA crowd, many of whom are part of a younger generation of conservatives looking for leadership that’s more willing to push back on what they see as years of left-wing overreach. The event at Ole Miss was one of many planned for college campuses across the country this fall, as the Trump-Vance administration continues to focus on energizing young voters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
