Comedian Bryan Callen served as the warmup act on Saturday at Camp Pendleton’s celebration of the U.S. Marine Corps’ 250th anniversary. During his remarks, Callen praised President Trump for “bringing peace” to the Middle East for the first time “since Moses had a parting of the ways with Pharaoh.”
However, Callen’s performance was overshadowed by the event’s featured speaker, Vice President J.D. Vance. Citing what he referred to as the “Schumer shutdown,” Vance vowed to ensure that Marines receive their pay. “As I told the president just a couple days ago, I said: ‘Sir, we have got to figure out how to pay these Marines,’” he stated. He emphasized that this was not only for the Marines’ sake but also for the community, adding, “If we don’t pay our enlisted Marines, every bar in Southern California is going to go out of business, and we don’t want that.” Vance addressed an audience of approximately 5,000 Marines and a handful of sailors seated on plastic chairs near the base’s Del Mar Beach.
A former four-year Marine, Vance returned to the theme later in his half-hour speech by recalling the Philadelphia tavern where the Marines were conceived in 1775 before being authorized by the Continental Congress. He called the Tun Tavern “the very first bar in America that would come to regret serving United States Marines.”
Before Vance spoke, self-described Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivered an eight-minute address, echoing criticisms of the Defense Department made by previous speakers and in his own speech to military leaders recently summoned to Quantico. “When other parts of the [Defense] Department wanted to go woke, the Marine Corps stood strong,” Hegseth said. “When other parts of the department wanted to lower standards, the Marine Corps stood strong.”
One former Marine described the 250th Marine anniversary, officially held on November 10, as coinciding with a “great unshackling.” She praised “leadership this committed to the warfighter, this moment to tear down bureaucracy in favor of speed, innovation, and lethality.”
Hegseth strongly condemned elements of what he called “wokeness.” “As I look out at this crowd, I see a lot of different types of faces,” he stated. “The truth is: Your diversity is not your strength. Never has been. Your strength is in your unity of purpose.” He elaborated, “It’s in your shared mission. It’s in your oath to the Constitution. You are set apart [from civilians]. You are devil dogs, leathernecks, United States Marines.”
Throughout Hegseth’s speech, every Marine stood on their own accord, not by order. During his own remarks, Vice President Vance also addressed diversity, recalling his Marine recruit training. He described how on Sundays, recruits formed two lines for church services—one Catholic and one Protestant. When a drill instructor noticed a recruit standing alone, he asked why. The recruit said he was an atheist. Vance recalled the drill instructor’s response: the recruit was commanded to get into the Catholic line.
“That didn’t work in the Biden administration,” Vance said. “But now we recognize it is not our diversity that makes us stronger. It is our common purpose. It is our common mission. It is the fact every person here bleeds Marine Corps green.”
Vance demonstrated his knowledge of Marine culture by noting the differences in training between East Coast and Pendleton Marines. East Coast Marines “have the sand fleas,” while those at Pendleton endure hikes up hills with heavy backpacks. “I don’t know which is worse,” he remarked during the event, which was filmed by the White House for a primetime special scheduled to air on November 9.
On a more somber note, Vance mourned the recent loss of a Marine pilot who died on Friday when an AH-1Z Viper helicopter from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing crashed a few dozen miles northwest of the Yuma Proving Ground. He could not yet name the pilot.
The four-hour event, held under cool but sunny skies, featured a series of speakers, including retired military personnel, Marine Commandant Eric Smith, and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan. Attendees, some with children in tow, were treated to live closed-circuit TV images of a mock amphibious attack on Red Beach, about 17 miles up the coast. Later, they viewed the “world premiere” of an official 250th anniversary video narrated by Lt. Col. Joshua Benson, who cited historic ships such as the USS Boxer and USS Comstock.
Marine landing ships and hovercraft flanked the audience as aircraft from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt conducted ear-splitting fly-bys during and after the event.
“A force that remains, as ever, the first to fight,” Benson declared in sonorous tones. “Marines go where others can’t. The reconnaissance Marines move out, disciplined, deliberate, light on their feet, heavy with purpose.”
Benson also previewed a phrase used by several others, calling the Marines “our national 9-1-1 force.”
Guitar-toting singer and songwriter John Rich performed a Johnny Cash tune and sang Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.” He also crooned additional stanzas of the Marines’ Hymn, prompting everyone to stand. He concluded with what he called “the modern-day national anthem,” Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” (also known as “Proud to Be an American”).
Despite laws, including the Hatch Act, that prohibit political remarks at military events, Vance commented, “Now I know we’re here to talk about the Marine Corps, [but] I have to get a little political because congressional Democrats seem to want to keep the government shut down even though it would mean a lot of you would not get your paycheck.”
Nonetheless, Vance struck a bipartisan tone by giving shout-outs to former Marine colleagues, including one he said would be considered “far left.” “Despite the craziness of our politics today,” he said, the former Marine he served alongside “remains one of my best friends and is a man I would trust with my life.”
Vance did not comment on the shutdown of Interstate 5 between Harbor Drive and Basilone Road, which occurred from about 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday. This closure caused a major inconvenience for Southland motorists, blocking the main artery connecting South Orange County to San Diego County. Both Vance and Hegseth were unavailable for media interviews regarding the closure.
The brief closure was attributed to live ammunition discharges over the freeway. Caltrans warned drivers to expect delays on I-5 and other routes throughout Southern California before, during, and after the event. Passenger rail service on the adjacent rail line was also disrupted for a time during the afternoon.
The exercise faced criticism from Representative Mike Levin (D-Carlsbad), who said public safety and the reputation of the Marine Corps “are far more important than the political agendas of J.D. Vance or Pete Hegseth.” Levin expressed concern about artillery fired over Interstate 5 requiring full freeway and rail closures, which “have caused understandable frustration throughout the surrounding community,” posing “unnecessary safety risks and significant disruptions for residents, businesses, and first responders.”
Republican Representative Darrell Issa condemned Governor Gavin Newsom, saying, “Gavin Newsom, who never served a day in the military, is overruling the best-trained and most experienced leaders of our Marine Corps and shutting down the main interstate highway in the San Diego region for no other reason than a spiteful publicity stunt.” Issa called it “a disgusting abuse of power. But not at all surprising,” and advised, “Governor, stick to podcasting. Let our military, service members, and the men and women who have volunteered to defend our nation do their jobs.”
San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, also a Republican, blamed the freeway closure on Newsom as well. “The Marines at Camp Pendleton have been firing live rounds and training beneath I-5 for over 50 years without closing the freeway. There is zero reason for this sudden shutdown,” Desmond posted on X. He added, “This isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s going to cause medical emergencies to be delayed, workers to miss shifts, and families to have their plans and events ruined.”
Desmond continued, “It sure looks like Gavin Newsom is trying to use the U.S. Marine Corps’ 250th anniversary to create chaos and score political points. If that’s the case, it’s a petty stunt that will only hurt Southern California drivers and families.”
The Orange County Republican Party echoed similar sentiments on X: “Newsom shut down the 5 today to cause chaos around a Marine Corps celebration. What a jerk.”
According to Los Angeles Magazine, the White House initially “intended to shut down part of the 5 Freeway between Los Angeles and San Diego” but later dropped those plans following complaints from local officials and residents. U.S. Marines officials later clarified: “No public highways or transportation routes” would be closed.
Officials in Newsom’s office said they were notified on Thursday that “the U.S. Marine Corps confirmed their exercise would be conducted on its training ranges, as it routinely does, but not over the freeway.” That afternoon, the federal government also directed the cancellation of train services running parallel to I-5 on Saturday between Orange County and San Diego County.
“Late on Friday, the state then received notice from event organizers asking for Caltrans signage to be posted along the I-5 freeway that would read: ‘Overhead fire in progress,’” officials said. On Friday, state officials near Camp Pendleton observed live munitions being fired near the freeway during what appeared to be a practice run.
Newsom’s office cited “extreme life safety risk and distraction to drivers, including sudden unexpected and loud explosions” and stated that the closure decision came at the recommendation of traffic safety experts at the California Highway Patrol.
https://timesofsandiego.com/military/2025/10/19/at-250th-marine-anniversary-event-here-vp-vance-vies-with-comedian-for-best-line/