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Vice President JD Vance Delivers Remarks Aboard the USS Kearsarge in New York Harbor, Jul. 4, 2026

July 4, 2026 · The White House · 0:26:04

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Vice President JD Vance delivered remarks aboard the USS Kearsarge in New York Harbor on July 4, 2026, as the centerpiece of the naval review marking 250 years of American independence. “Happy birthday to all the sailors and the Marines and all the service members of this incredible ship,” he opened, bringing “special greetings from the President of the United States for reviving this incredibly proud naval tradition as we celebrate 250 years of American daring and 250 years of American naval excellence.”

Vance welcomed the ship’s sailors and Marines, wounded warriors and Gold Star families, New York police officers and firefighters, and the international guests: “We have over 50 countries from all over the world who chose to send fighters or naval vessels here to honor our country.” He then told the harbor’s 1776 story — Washington watching from Manhattan as the British landed 32,000 troops on Staten Island — and Washington’s reading of the Declaration of Independence to his soldiers days after its signing: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights.”

Why it matters

The Kearsarge address is the Vice President’s set piece of the 250th weekend: the naval tradition revived as the administration staged it, the Declaration read back to the harbor where Washington first read it to his army. This chronicle files it on the Foreign Policy & Defense hub as the military-ceremonial record of July 4, 2026.

Sources: The White House, “Vice President JD Vance Delivers Remarks Aboard the USS Kearsarge in New York Harbor, NY,” July 4, 2026 (official upload, embedded above). All characterizations as stated by the Vice President in the address.