Washington, Feb 27 : US Vice President J.D. Vance has used a visit to the politically crucial state of Wisconsin to mount a sharp attack on Congressional Democrats, arguing that Novemberâ??s election would determine whether America prioritises â??American citizensâ?? over what he described as open borders, fraud, and rising costs of living.

Speaking at Pointe Precision Inc. on Thursday, a manufacturing facility in Plover, Wisconsin, Vance repeatedly invoked President Donald Trumpâ??s State of the Union address and criticised Democrats for their reaction to stories highlighted during the speech.

â??If anything, the State of the Union should have shown us that we cannot give power back to Congressional Democrats,â?? Vance told a few hundred workers and supporters gathered on the shop floor.

He pointed to a moment involving a six-year-old girl who survived an assault by an undocumented immigrant and questioned why Democrats did not applaud.

â??What kind of a person canâ??t stand up and cheer for an innocent young girl whoâ??s doing well, whoâ??s showing the entire country strength and resilience?â?? he asked.

Framing the upcoming election in stark terms, Vance said: â??The question in November is not, do we want low taxes? And of course we do. Itâ??s not, do we want to secure the border? And of course we do. Itâ??s a more fundamental question in that, do we want to give power back to the people who opened our border, who raised your taxes, who wonâ??t even cheer for a six-year-old girl who was wounded because of their bad policies?â??

The vice president sought to project economic momentum under the Trump administration. He said inflation had fallen to â??2.4%, the lowest in five years,â?? and added that â??the average American has seen a $1,700 increase in take-home payâ?? in the past year.

On housing costs, he said: â??Housing prices are down. Apartment rents are down. Four months in a row, we came in saying we wanted to make housing more affordable, and weâ??re starting to make good progress on that.â?? He added that â??the annual cost of a new mortgage in just a year is down by $5,000 a year.â??

Responding to a question about affordability -- a top concern for voters -- Vance said: â??We want people to be able to afford a good life. Nothing breaks my heart more. The idea that youâ??ve got somebody who goes out, they bust their rear end, they come home, they want to give their kids a nice meal maybe once or twice a year. They want to take their kids on a nice vacation. We want people to be able to afford that, so long as they work hard to play by the rules.â??

He acknowledged that â??some of the policies that weâ??ve already put in place take a little bit of time to work their way through the system.â??

Vance also defended the administrationâ??s crackdown on fraud and illegal immigration. â??The job of your government is to shut the border and shut off the fraud, and thatâ??s exactly what weâ??re doing,â?? he said.

On technology and energy, he described data centres as vital to the countryâ??s future. â??Those data centres are like the gasoline of the technology revolution weâ??re gonna see over the next 75 years. And I donâ??t know about you all, but I want America to win that technology revolution. I donâ??t want China or some other country to win it.â??

At the same time, he said facilities must ensure that â??electricity costs come down for American citizens, instead of going up for American citizens,â?? stressing they should be â??good neighboursâ??.

Wisconsin remains one of the most closely contested states in US politics and is seen as pivotal to the outcome of national elections. The state has swung between Republicans and Democrats in recent presidential cycles.

/IANS