Billionaire Elon Musk’s “chainsaw” moment went viral on Thursday, but it was Vice President JD Vance appearance at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that was the highlight of the opening session.
Vance pointed out the Trump administration’s early policy victories on Thursday, while highlighting dramatic reductions in border crossings and major government spending reform.
Vance described the president as decisive, and joked that he had signed “more executive orders than CNN has viewers” in his first 30 days.
“Look, the fundamental goal of our immigration policy, of our border policy, of DOGE saving taxpayer money, the fundamental goal is we want your children and grandchildren to be able to raise a family in security and comfort in the country that we all love,” Vance earlier told a packed audience at National Harbor, Maryland.
The vice president reported border crossings have decreased “well over 90%” following recent administration actions, including designating criminal groups Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as foreign terrorist organizations.
“Get the hell out of our country because your free ride is over… you’re not welcome,” Vance said, addressing illegal immigrant criminals.
Discussing government waste, Vance pointed out some insane spending projects under former President Joe Biden’s administration.
“Why are we spending money on progressive, modern art projects centered around toilets in Afghanistan? That’s actually something that your tax dollars were funding until very recently,” Vance said. “What the hell are we doing with the American people’s money for the last four years?”
JD Vance torches CNN:
"I do think that we have had maybe more executive orders than CNN has viewers." pic.twitter.com/gNafGSQgNL
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 20, 2025
The vice president received a standing ovation following references to his recent Munich Security Conference speech on European policy.
“We cannot rebuild Western civilization; we cannot rebuild the United States of America or Europe by letting millions and millions of unvetted illegal migrants come into our country,” he said.
Europe should “follow the lead of Donald J. Trump and that’s free speech, borders and sovereignty. That is the future for our shared civilization.”
Speaking on economic policy, Vance emphasized American energy independence.
“We’ve got to get back to having a growing economy that creates good jobs and high wages for the American people and a lot of that goes back to ‘drill, baby, drill.'”
The conversation-style address, which ran nearly an hour, covered additional topics including abortion rights, family policy, and Trump’s leadership style.
“It is easy, unfortunately, to burn the house down. It takes a little bit of time to build it back up and that’s what we have to do,” Vance concluded.