Vice President JD Vance on Saturday urged Americans to dismiss criticism of the US, arguing that some people "speak obsessively, not of our national greatness, but of our national imperfections."
Speaking at the International Naval Review in New York City as part of Independence Day celebrations, the Republican vice president delivered a message emphasizing national pride.
"I have to address what you will hear from some loud voices today, because as much as all of us, whether we're Democrat or Republican, whatever our political persuasion, all of us are celebrating, but you will hear a couple small but loud voices today speak obsessively, not of our national greatness, but of our national imperfections," he said.
"They will speak of the powerless and the dispossessed. They will tell you that America is just another country where the weak struggle against the strong, and if they acknowledge that there is anything to be proud of in our history, they'll say it's the fact that sometimes the powerless have won a zero sum battle," he said.
Vance criticized those voices, saying they "talk about America's sins with the anger and zeal of a brimstone preacher, but without any of the grace or forgiveness that must be present in the Christian faith."
He called on the American people to "reject the two-dimensional view of your fellow citizens, and reject the two-dimensional view of your country. Reject that America is a place for zero-sum thinking, because it is not."
"Our history is one of people carving a great civilization out of the wilderness. Reject the view of your nation that sees only its sins, but not its grace and its greatness," he said.
His remarks contrasted with those of New York City's Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who said in a message that Americans should "remember that patriotism is not pretending our nation is without flaws. Patriotism is every act of righteous dissent — because loving our country means fighting for the best version of it."
