In a recent interview now making the rounds on social media, Vice President J.D. Vance discussed his Christian faith and the importance of family and explained what the Trump administration’s policies have to do with both. Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday, Vance addressed what he considered to be the Trump administration’s pro-life and pro-family goals.

“We believe, in the Trump administration, that babies are good, that families are good, and we want to make it easier for young moms and young dads to choose life, to start families, and to bring new life into the world. That’s the whole point of our policy,” the vice president stated. He explained that one aspect of advancing that policy is supporting pro-life pregnancy resource centers, to encourage “young women to choose life at that important moment of choice.” He continued to say that “bringing costs down” is also important “so that young moms and dads don’t look to the future and a new baby and say, ‘How can I afford this?’ And if they’re able to actually afford to raise a family, maybe they’ll start thinking of babies as the blessings that we all know that they are.”

Vance explained that fostering a culture of life, in which children are valued, will require “a lot of leadership, from the president on down.” He noted that President Donald Trump and his allies have a powerful platform for “persuasion” and stated that it must be used to promote the family. “We’ve got to persuade our fellow citizens to stop thinking about babies as inconveniences to be discarded. We’ve got to start thinking of them as blessings to cherish, and that’s exactly what I promised to do,” Vance said. “I’m blessed to have a 7-year-old, a 5-year-old, and a 3-year-old, and I can’t help but see the country through their eyes,” he added, acknowledging that his love for his children motivates many of his decisions.

Another source of motivation and inspiration, Vance shared, is his Christian faith. “I believe the fundamental tenet of the Christian faith. It’s not just a set of good moral principles, though it is that. I think the fundamental tenet of our faith is that the Son of God became man, He died, and He raised Himself from the dead,” the vice president declared. He continued, “That is the fundamental tenet of the Christian faith, and I think so much flows from that. I think one lesson that flows from that is that we shouldn’t fear death, of course. Death is a very bad thing, but there are much more terrible things than just losing one’s life.” For example, Vance said, one “could lose one’s soul.”

“If you look at the long history of the Christian faith, we’ve been around for about 2,000 years now, give or take a few years, and there have been really dark times in the history of the Christian faith, there have been really good times in the history of the Christian faith,” Vance recalled. He continued, “I just try to remind myself that we put our faith in God above, we put our faith in the grace of God, and we try the best to do His will, and we don’t worry so much about whether we’re going to have earthly rewards.” Instead, he said, “We worry about whether we’re doing right by God Almighty above. That’s what I try to do, and that’s how I try to run my life in public.”

The principles of the Christian faith must also, the vice president insisted, be preserved and passed down to future generations. “I want us to be the kind of society where my kids can grow up to be virtuous young people, can be good young Christians, of course, because that’s what I’m trying to raise them to be, and that’s what our public policy is trying to do,” he said. Referring to the crucial role played by mothers and fathers, he continued:

“Creating the space where moms and dads can raise their children in their faith to become good young people who believe the things that I do, that is what I’m trying to create: is the space for you — of course, to raise your children as you see fit — but the space for me to raise my kids to be the kind of young people that I think they ought to be.”

Vance encouraged young Americans, and young men in particular, to embrace their God-given identities and purposes. “I think that our culture sends a message to young men that you should suppress every masculine urge, you should try to cast aside your family, you should try to suppress what makes you a young man in the first place,” he lamented. He continued, “My message to young men is don’t allow this broken culture to send you a message that you’re a bad person because you’re a man, because you like to tell a joke, because you like to have a beer with your friends, or because you’re competitive.” The vice president said that the dominant message of the secular culture “wants to turn everybody, whether male or female, into androgynous idiots who think the same, talk the same, and act the same.” He added, “We actually think God made male and female for a purpose, and we want you guys to thrive as young men and as young women, and we’re going to help with our public policy to make it possible to do that.”

“My message to young people generally is we’re trying to make your life better,” the vice president shared, describing the “simple thrust of President Trump’s policy” as wanting young Americans “to be able to buy a home” or “be able to work a good job” or “be able to raise your kids, like I said, according to the values that you believe in,” and, ultimately, giving young men and women in America the opportunity “to build a nice life in this country that all of us love.”

The Trump administration’s policies — whether addressing illegal immigration, inflation, jobs, housing, or government spending — are designed, Vance said, to help Americans, especially young Americans, achieve these goals in security and prosperity. “The fundamental goal of our immigration policy, of our border policy, of DOGE saving taxpayer money, the fundamental goal is we want your children and grandchildren to be able to raise a family in security and comfort in the country that we all love,” the vice president proclaimed. He added, “That is the whole goal of President Trump’s agenda.”

A key aspect, Vance continued, is addressing illegal immigration, which impacts everything from the cost of living to the housing and job markets to public safety, making it more and more difficult for Americans to thrive. “Our message to the families is: President Trump cares about you. He thinks that it’s disgraceful what your own government let happen to your children, to your grandchildren. And it’s got to stop,” Vance said.

Referring to the deaths caused by the Biden administration’s open border policy, whether from drug overdoses or fentanyl poisoning or acts of violence committed by illegal immigrants, he continued, “Of course, we mourn with people, we pray for people, but we’re also asking, as their government, why did this happen to your child in the first place? And the answer is that under Joe Biden, your government didn’t do its job. Under Donald Trump, it is. Thank God for that.”