Lupien Interrupts Vance’s Speech
Rochester mayoral candidate clashes with Vice President JD Vance regarding the country’s housing crisis.
At the Congressional Cities Conference of the National League of Cities, held on March 10, 2025, Vance was in the midst of blaming the housing crisis on undocumented immigrants when Mary Lupien, a Rochester, New York city council member and mayoral candidate, interrupted him, cutting through the lies he was attempting to spread.
According to Vance, the rising cost of housing wasn’t due to corporate greed or predatory real estate practices, but to migrants.
“We’re competing against corporations, not immigrants,” Lupien then shouted from the crowd. “Give us back our funding!”
Responding to her outburst, Lupien said, “As Rochesterians struggle with skyrocketing rents and the threat of displacement, politicians like JD Vance want to distract us by blaming the most vulnerable. The truth is, working people—no matter where they were born—are all facing the same fight: a rigged housing system that puts corporate profits over our basic needs. We need leaders who will invest in real solutions, not scapegoat our neighbors.”
The agenda of those currently in power isn’t just about silencing opposition—it’s about annihilating it. The Trump administration has worked tirelessly to discredit institutions, suppress dissent, and consolidate power. Any act of civil disobedience that disrupts this effort—no matter how small—is a defense of democracy.
