US Vice President J.D. Vance's speech in Kansas turned into a confrontation with a demonstrator, after the protester interrupted his speech with a chant targeting Republican Senator Roger Marshall and his record of suing patients for medical debts. While security personnel were taking the demonstrator out of the hall, Vance accused him of lying and defended Marshall, in an incident reminiscent of a similar incident that occurred a few days ago in Dallas, during the Republican convention for the midterm elections.
In detail, a demonstrator interrupted J.D. Vance’s speech during an election event in Kansas in support of Republican Senator Roger Marshall, before security intervened to remove him from the hall amid chants in support of Vance and the United States.
The boycott came after the demonstrator chanted, referring to Marshall: “He is suing his patients!”, in protest against the record of the senator, who worked as a doctor specializing in obstetrics and gynecology before entering the Senate.
The New York Times reported that Marshall filed lawsuits against more than 700 patients over unpaid medical bills, and 81 of them ended up being arrested after they failed to attend court hearings related to the debts.
When Marshall was asked about the issue during Saturday's debate, he said, according to the Kansas City Star, that he used "common business practices."
But Vance accused the protester of lying about the senator, before indicating his presence to the audience, saying: “I see we have a man protesting.”
The crowd met the demonstrator with boos and chants of “United States,” while security personnel took him out of the place.
Vance said the protester decided to come to the event to "lie" about Marshall, calling the senator his "very good friend." He added that Marshall "stood alongside ordinary Americans every day" since he entered the Senate. But Vance's comments came despite Marshall and his office confirming that he had already sued patients for medical debt, an issue the protester raised during the vice president's speech.
The Kansas incident was not the first time Vance had confronted a protester during a political event in recent days. In Dallas, during the Republican convention for the midterm elections in September, a demonstrator interrupted Vance's speech while waving the Mexican flag, and he was also carrying the Palestinian flag. The demonstrator attracted the attention of the Vice President, before security intervened to remove him from the hall. Vance responded to the protester, saying, in reference to his attachment to Mexico, that if he loved it that much he could go there, and offered to pay for his plane ticket. He also described him as an “idiot,” according to Wall Street Journal coverage.
Russian businessman Omar Kremlev, who is linked to President Vladimir Putin, financed private celebrations held in the Bahamas following the wedding of Donald Trump Jr. to Bettina Anderson earlier this year, according to American reports. The Wall Street Journal said that Omar Kremlev, the Russian businessman and president of the International Boxing Federation, financed two nights of celebrations that followed the wedding of Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson last May. Anderson described the funding as a generous gift from a friend, stressing that the marriage ceremony itself was family and private, and explained that Kremlev hosted post-wedding celebrations on two private islands.
According to ProPublica, Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars renting a private island that cost about $100,000 a night, in addition to displaying fireworks and helping to organize events. About 50 people participated in the celebrations, including members of the Trump family, while Kremlev and a group of Russian figures attended, most of whom did not appear in the photos published by the family later.
The coverage indicated that Kremlev has close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and heads the International Boxing Federation, whose funding is linked to the Russian state company Gazprom. Putin also awarded Kremlev the Order of Friendship in April, and he was part of a delegation that accompanied the Russian President during his visit to China before the wedding. Ukraine imposed sanctions on Kremlev because of his links to the Kremlin, while in 2023 the International Olympic Committee withdrew its recognition of the sports federation he heads, citing problems related to governance and sources of funding.
The couple confirmed that Kremlev provided the costs for two nights of celebrations as a generous “wedding gift” from a friend, while US President Donald Trump denied knowing the Russian businessman, and First Lady Melania Trump distanced herself from organizing the wedding or its financial arrangements. The couple confirmed, in a statement posted on Instagram, that Omar Kremlev paid for two nights of celebrations that followed the wedding, which were held on isolated Bahamian islands. “It was an exceptionally generous wedding gift from a friend, for which we are extremely grateful, and continue to be,” the couple wrote in the statement.
When the president was asked on Monday whether he knew that Kremlev helped pay for the party that followed the wedding, the White House provided the New York Times with a statement from the president in which he said: “I have no idea who Omar is, and I have never heard of him before, and he did not pay for Don and Bettina’s wedding, which was held in a completely different place and on a different day.” The president added: “This was a later ceremony held in their honor. It's not a big deal!
A spokesman for Eric Trump, brother of Donald Trump Jr., who attended the wedding, said: “Eric has absolutely no idea who this person is.” A spokesman for Trump, who runs an extensive business with international ties, said that the two men do not have a business partnership. He explained that the two men met through a mutual friend, adding that they grew closer because of their common interest in boxing and hunting. According to the Wall Street Journal, Kremlev is working to expand the influence of the International Boxing Association (IBA), which he has headed since 2020, and has held a number of meetings with Donald Trump Jr. since President Trump came to power.
