JD Vance says DC shooting proves his warnings on Afghan resettlement: 'It was a clarifying moment'

WASHINGTON, DC: Vice President JD Vance reacted strongly to the shooting of two National Guard members, calling the attack a “clarifying moment.”

According to Vance, the horrendous incident highlights his long-standing concerns about the Afghan resettlement that Joe Biden approved in 2021. He said the friends who had labeled him “racist” at the time for voicing those concerns were now proven wrong.

Vance, after learning that Rahmanullah Lakanwal was the suspected gunman, said that he and others believed the Afghan resettlement program is dangerous. He added that they “shouldn’t have been in our country.”

JD Vance ties National Guard attack to Afghan resettlement concerns

As soon as Fox News reported that the suspected shooter was Rahmanullah Lakanwal, Vance weighed in. Lakanwal, 29, came to the US in 2021 on a visa issued after the American withdrawal from Afghanistan, and his permission to stay had expired this September.

“I remember back in 2021 criticizing the Biden policy of opening the floodgate to unvetted Afghan refugees,” Vance wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Friends sent me messages calling me a racist. It was a clarifying moment.”

Vance says the incident will strengthen the Trump administration’s push to deport people living in the US illegally. “Many of our voters will demand not just words, but action, and this is an entirely appropriate response. We will first bring the shooter to justice, and then we must redouble our efforts to deport people with no right to be in our country,” he shared.

“Already some voices in corporate media chirp that our immigration policies are too harsh. Tonight is a reminder of why they’re wrong,” he added.

Old JD Vance video on Afghan refugee vetting resurfaces

So what exactly did JD Vance say back in 2021? In a video posted that year, he argued that it made no sense to bring in large numbers of people from Afghanistan without careful screening, saying many held beliefs that clashed with American values.

“Let’s have an honest question about what exists in Afghanistan. According to Pew, 40% of the people there believe that blowing yourself, committing a suicide bombing, is an acceptable way to solve a problem,” Vance said.

He went on to add, “So yes, let’s help the Afghans who helped us, but let’s ensure that we’re properly vetting them, so that we don’t get a bunch of people who believe they should blow themselves up at a mall because someone looked at their wife the wrong way.”