Vice President J.D. Vance’s visit to “The Happiest Place on Earth” over the weekend attracted a swarm of unhappy Californians.
Vance was spotted Saturday in the Golden State at Disneyland with the Second Family in tow followed closely by Secret Service detail, the New York Post reported. According to the Post, over 100 protesters turned up the day before to rebuke the Trump administration’s mass deportation operations, standing outside the Grand Californian Hotel, where the Vances were believed to have been staying.
“I would tell him to go home,” one protester told FOX 11. “We don’t want him here.”
A smaller crowd of protestors showed Saturday, with the park reportedly shutting down certain rides for the Vances to enjoy privately, causing delays for other park guests.
Hope you enjoy your family time, @JDVance. The families you’re tearing apart certainly won’t. https://t.co/GjvIUg8I2B
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) July 12, 2025
Catching wind of Vance’s visit to his state, Gov. Gavin Newsom blasted Vance in a Saturday X post, writing, “Hope you enjoy your family time, @JDVance. The families you’re tearing apart certainly won’t.”
The X account for Newsom’s press office piled on with their on barbs against Vance throughout the day and late into the evening, roasting him for his theme park excursion amid increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles.
“35% of Anaheim’s residents are immigrants. Disneyland doesn’t run without them. Enjoy their labor, @JDVance,” the account posted.
Vance’s Disneyland day comes weeks after Trump deployed the California National Guard to anti-ICE protests in L.A. and two days after ICE detained around 200 people in an immigration sweep, leaving one critically injured, at a cannabis farm around 100 miles away from Disneyland.
35% of Anaheim’s residents are immigrants.Disneyland doesn’t run without them.Enjoy their labor, @JDVance. https://t.co/6g1wYMNTvn
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) July 13, 2025
“Tired: trashing California for political purposes,” Newsom’s press office wrote in another X post. “Wired: visiting & vacationing in California more than your home state this year.”
Tired: trashing California for political purposes Wired: visiting & vacationing in California more than your home state this year https://t.co/PbgvqDWfCT
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) July 12, 2025
At Disneyland, Vance was also spotted riding Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which controversially replaced the park’s Splash Mountain ride last year following nationwide protests after the killing of George Floyd in 2020.
Splash Moutain referenced the 1946 Disney movie Song of the South, which some protestors felt romanticizes the post-Civil War South with racist stereotypes.
Vice President JD Vance riding Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland this morning pic.twitter.com/In7ZWQBedB
— Matt (@DisneyScoopGuy) July 12, 2025
In another post, Newsom’s office also took a jab at the Trump administration’s “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center in Florida.
“JD Vance on Tom Sawyer Island looking for the next Alligator Alcatraz. Too many happy families for him in one place,” the office tweeted.
JD Vance on Tom Sawyer Island looking for the next Alligator Alcatraz.Too many happy families for him in one place. https://t.co/DY2FCKdFUu
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) July 12, 2025
On Saturday, Orange County District Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento posted a video on Instagram of him telling KTLA that the vice president’s Disneyland visit is “offensive.”
“There’s such a need for groceries for support, that I wish he would be bringing better news, but it sounds like he’s here on a leisure trip so it’s offensive to people in my community,” he said as ICE protests continue to spark fear in his district.
A post shared by Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento (@ocsupsarmiento)
The Democrat also said that as long as Vance doesn’t change his policies, “he’s not welcome” in the area.
“If he had a change of heart, we’d embrace him,” Sarmiento said. “If he said ‘Look, let me work for the people who really do need our support’ we would love to have that message.”
He added, “But unfortunately I think he’s coming here to enjoy our beautiful beaches, our beautiful environment, our climate, but that’s not really what people need.”
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