US Vice President JD Vance has said that attending an event in Los Angeles reminded him of visiting an American embassy in a developing country, drawing a comparison between parts of the city and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He made the remarks during a conversation with podcast host Joe Rogan in which he discussed what he described as California's decline, using the anecdote to illustrate his broader criticism of conditions in the state.

According to the report, Vance specifically likened an area near Los Angeles' skid row to his experience visiting the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince, framing it as a striking realisation about the state of American cities. The comments formed part of a wider discussion in which Vance also warned that the Republican Party risked seeing a "socialist president" elected if it failed to address economic concerns affecting young Americans.