JD Vance insists ‘violent criminals’ are the real reason you’re struggling to make rent

The Trump administration takes every opportunity to insist that the economy is booming. Trump’s most stalwart supporters have been happy to swallow that hook, line, and sinker.

But, unfortunately, a teeny little thing called reality is spoiling their fun. Grocery prices remain astonishingly high, housing is unaffordable, and jobs are vanishing. The first year of Trump’s second administration was “an exceptionally weak year by almost any standard” for workers, as per research by Hiring Lab.

Regular Americans agree, with a recent poll from Politico revealing that a full 46% of the 2,098 Americans polled believe the current cost of living is “the worst they can ever remember it being”.

So, who should we blame for being broke? The people who actually run the economy and spent 2024 insisting that only they had the unique ability to fix it? Uh, nah. It’s… uh… immigrants’ fault! JD Vance took to Fox News to defend the administration’s abysmal economic performance, dismissing voters who say they can’t afford kids:

JD Vance: "What we have consistently said is that we want to deport violent criminals, people who came in under the Biden administration, and get them out of the country so Americans' wages can go up." pic.twitter.com/BngsmLSuZa

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 17, 2026

“What we have consistently said is that we want to deport violent criminals, people who came in under the Biden administration illegally, and get them out of the country so Americans’ wages can go up.”

I can’t believe people still fall for this

Okay, JD, so how exactly are “violent criminals” the reason for Americans’ low wages? Well, he didn’t clarify, but perhaps these violent criminals are the ones running the corporations determined to downsize in favor of AI automation, or those battling workers’ plans to unionize, or the private equity firms strip-mining companies and delivering mass lay-offs?

The reality is that Vance is simply beating a very familiar and reliable drum. Yes, your life sucks, but c’mon, that’s not the fault of the rich and powerful men actually running the country and who are making countless billions every day. No, it’s some Mexican dishwasher’s fault. Just as soon as we get rid of that guy, everything will be just peachy.

Oh, wait, everything is still awful? Huh. Well, let’s just get our legions of boneheaded goons to trample over everyone’s constitutional rights and execute a couple of innocent Americans in the street.

Are things still bad? Jeez… Uh. Oh wait! Look, Iran is doing something! Look over there! Quickly!