J.D. Vance's latest 'doom and gloom' claim leaves even some conservatives stunned

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) left many observers -- including several conservatives -- stunned on Thursday when he seemed to suggest the United States of America was not a prosperous nation.

During an appearance on CNBC, Vance made the case that America was ill-served by having immigrants come into the country to work as low-cost laborers.

"If the path to prosperity was flooding your nation with low-wage immigrants ... America would be the most prosperous country in the world," he said.

Vance then went on to blame immigration for inflation, despite the fact that the vast majority of economists believe the spike in prices was primarily caused by supply-chain problems experienced in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the extraordinary amount of money that economies around the world spent to keep themselves financially afloat.

And as many observers on Twitter noted, the United States is already extremely rich.

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"We (basically) are [the most prosperous country in the world]," observed Washington Examiner journalist Brad Polumbo.

"I wouldn't attribute America's wealth solely to immigration, but which country does Vance believe is more prosperous than America?" asked Dominic Pino, a Thomas L. Rhodes Journalism Fellow at the National Review Online.

Michael Strain, an economist at the center-right American Enterprise Institute, found himself amazed that Vance seemed unaware of America's current economic condition.

"The gloom and doom from populists is so extreme that it runs head on into basic facts," he argued. "Yes, of course, we have serious problems. But America is a great nation."

And Mark Salter, a longtime friend and adviser to the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), simply responded to Vance's claims by writing, "What a dumba--."