J.D. Vance says elitism has eroded the media: CNN 'fundamentally looks down' on average Americans

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J.D. Vance: CNN fundamentally looks down on and mocks the average American

The Ohio GOP Senate candidate explains why taking on the elite is an important issue.

Republican Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance spoke with Fox News about elitism and how it has become such a cultural issue that eroded the media. 

"I think our republic only actually works if the people have some say in how they live their lives and how their country is governed. And we basically live in a world where a very few select people in corporations and our bureaucracy, in our business world and our government actually call the shots and so I really worry about that," Vance said in an interview. "I want us to be a country actually of, by and for the people. You can't do that… when an elite determines everything that you're allowed to do."

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Vance, who spoke at the National Conservatism conference in Orlando last week, said elitism "hugely" has a role in the media being out of touch with Middle America, saying many journalists "don't know people outside" their "very elite bubble."

"And so what that means is that there's a lot of distrust, I think, between the media and the people that they report on. And of course, this has been hastened by the fact that social media has decimated local businesses and local papers," Vance told Fox News. "And so when a lot of people think of the media, they think CNN, which is an outfit that fundamentally looks down on them, judges them, makes fun of them instead of some local journalist they actually seeing their day-to-day lives and actually trust."

The "Hillbilly Elegy" author slammed the media's "incredibly condescending and judgmental" coverage of average Americans and that if the industry wants to regain its trust with them, journalists "should treat people with a bit of respect."

While he acknowledged he's in a "competitive" GOP primary, Vance expressed he was "pretty optimistic" about winning the nomination and facing off next November against the presumptive Democratic opponent, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan. 

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"I think the argument against Tim Ryan is pretty straightforward, that he's the guy who's been in office for 20 years, even as the part of Ohio that he represents has had its manufacturing base decimated, working people struggling harder and harder to get by and the Chinese have basically built their middle class off the backs of Tim Ryan's constituents. And what did he do about it? Nothing," Vance said. "Maybe talked a big game, maybe said he was going to do something about it but you can't serve 20 years in office, fail your core function and expect the people of Ohio to give you a promotion."

FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2019, file photo, Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, speaks during the New Hampshire state Democratic Party convention in Manchester, N.H. Ryan, a 10-term representative from Ohio's blue-collar Mahoning Valley, officially launched his bid Monday, April 26, 2021, for a coveted open Senate seat in Ohio. He becomes the Democratic frontrunner as the party goes after Republican Rob Portman's seat in what stands to be one of 2022's most closely watched Senate contests.(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

The Senate hopeful urged fellow Republicans to "run on kitchen table issues" in order to retake both chambers of Congress in the 2022 midterms, pointing to "the immigration crisis" that's impacting American wages and the safety of communities, "critical race theory" and the "indoctrination" that has taken place in schools as well as manufacturing. 

"We don't have enough stuff in our country. We don't make enough stuff in our country. We're not economically independent," Vance said. "The reason you have ships sitting at anchor off of some of our biggest ports is because we relied on the Chinese to make stuff that we need. We have to make stuff in our country. It's good for consumers. It'll bring prices down. It'll make us actually a self-sufficient and powerful economy again."

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Regarding any policy proposals he believes would revitalize manufacturing in America, Vance credited President Trump's push for tariffs against China and its business partners. 

"The only way to ultimately bring a lot of manufacturing jobs back into our country is through tariffs and through ensuring that companies that want to do business with the Communist Chinese, they've got to pay a penalty for it," Vance. "You can do business with him if you want to, but when you try to bring your goods back into American markets, you're gonna pay a price for it. That's the right approach."