Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. participate in a discussion during a MAHA Summit at Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Nov. 12, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Vance went on to say the country could not advance unless Americans become comfortable with people who are "willing to challenge orthodoxy."
He also vowed to keep Appalachia in the forefront of the conversation, noting residents have higher premature mortality rates due to a long history of being failed by the public health system.
"You know what really p----- people off — when they realize that their loved ones are dying much sooner than everybody else," said Vance, whose autobiography, "Hillbilly Elegy," details his own upbringing in Appalachia. "That is a big part of the story of what's going on in Appalachia, and why I think so many people in Appalachia feel left behind."
Secretary Kennedy and Vice President Vance on stage at the Make America Healthy Again summit on Nov. 12, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images)
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"If you go back to America's biggest wars — World War I, World War II, Vietnam — which were the counties that filled their draft quotas with volunteers instead of with draftees?" Vance posed. "It's very often the parts in deep Appalachia where you've got grinding poverty, but you've also got this incredible love of country."
"So if any place in this country deserves not to be left behind, it's Appalachia… These are people who deserve to live better, healthier lives, but they really have been left behind by this country's leadership," Vance added.
Alexandra Koch is a Fox News Digital journalist who covers breaking news, with a focus on high-impact events that shape national conversation.
She has covered major national crises, including the L.A. wildfires, Potomac and Hudson River aviation disasters, Boulder terror attack, and Texas Hill Country floods.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jd-vance-hails-trump-admins-bulldozer-approach-public-health-discusses-appalachia-left-behind