Vice President JD Vance faced questions from Michigan voters during a town hall in Flat Rock as the state emerges as a key battleground in the fight for Senate control in November’s midterms.
The town hall hosted by CBS News came just weeks before the midterm elections as Republicans are fighting to keep their majorities in the House and Senate. Vying for the open Senate seat in Michigan is Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Republican candidate Mike Rogers, a former member of the House of Representatives.
Here are the top moments from the town hall:
The first question Vance fielded Saturday came from a 43-year-old Detroit barber, who asked him why gas prices remain significantly higher than during Trump’s first term.
Vance first pointed to Iran’s attacks on commercial shipping and the resulting disruption to global energy markets, but he also placed blame on the Biden administration.
“That’s actually the biggest reason why gas prices are so high, because when Joe Biden was president, we had about 20% of American refining capacity that went offline,” Vance said.
Vance said the Trump administration was using the Defense Production Act to help restore domestic refining capacity, but cautioned that rebuilding that infrastructure would take time.
CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil pushed back on Vance’s attempts to blame Biden, noting that Trump and Vance have been in office for nearly two years while Americans continued to face high gas prices.
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Dokoupil shifted the conversation to government corruption, citing a Fox News poll showing that 60% of voters were extremely concerned about the issue. He asked Vance whether anything he had witnessed inside the Trump White House made him feel “squeamish.”
“You certainly see evidence of corruption in Washington, D.C. Do I see evidence of corruption from the president of the United States, from the administration? No, Tony, I just don’t,” Vance said.
The exchange came days after Kimberly Guilfoyle resigned as U.S. ambassador to Greece amid allegations that she sought $100,000 from a donor seeking access to Trump administration officials. Guilfoyle has denied wrongdoing.
Dokoupil pressed Vance on the allegations involving Guilfoyle, along with concerns about restrictions on IRS scrutiny of Trump’s tax returns and the president’s cryptocurrency earnings.
Vance said selling access to the White House would be “disgusting and despicable” and that anyone responsible should face consequences.
Dokoupil then asked whether Vance would comply with subpoenas investigating alleged corruption if Democrats took control of Congress in January.
“Of course, of course I will,” Vance said. “Look, we follow the law. I follow the law.”
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Vance was confronted over his immigration rhetoric by a naturalized U.S. citizen who said she voted for the vice president but questioned why the administration was “scapegoating immigrants.”
The voter, who immigrated to the United States 20 years ago, challenged Vance over his characterization of certain H-1B visa workers as “foreign indentured servants.”
“To the extent that my rhetoric has been imperfect here, that’s on me,” Vance said.
But Vance defended his remarks, arguing that his criticism was aimed at companies exploiting foreign workers rather than immigrants themselves. He said the H-1B visa system gives employers too much power over foreign workers whose ability to remain in the country depends on their employment, while also allowing companies to replace American workers with visa holders.
“That’s not a criticism of the H-1B visa holder. That’s a criticism of a company who brings a person in, who sometimes will literally lay off an American worker,” Vance said.
Dokoupil pressed Vance on whether his rhetoric and that of the Trump administration dehumanized immigrants.
“My goal here is not to dehumanize any immigrant. And in fact, I love a number of immigrants,” Vance said.
But Vance argued that allowing too many immigrants into the country too quickly could undermine social cohesion and fundamentally change American communities.
“I have neighbors, I have friends of mine who literally don’t know a single person in their neighborhood who speaks the language they do,” Vance said. “I don’t think it’s unreasonable for an American citizen to want to share their community with people they have something in common with.”
Though the town hall was pre-recorded, Vance took to X shortly after it aired to share footage from showing a burning building in France amid mass riots. He said what’s unfolding in France is a cautionary tale for the United States.
“Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion. They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility,” Vance posted on X.
“They were told it would lead to this and they didn’t listen. I pray that France, a beautiful country of amazing people, will stop this madness before more of its landmarks burn,” Vance continued.
Dokoupil pressed Vance on why the war with Iran had dragged on longer than the Trump administration anticipated, asking the vice president, “Why haven’t we won decisively?”
Vance argued that the U.S. had “in some ways” already won the war, claiming that American military strikes had successfully destroyed Iran’s nuclear program, which he described as the central reason Trump launched the operation.
“Have we destroyed the Iranian nuclear program? The answer is yes,” Vance said.
But Vance said the administration was still working to secure a “long-term” and “verifiable” commitment from Iran that it would not rebuild its nuclear capabilities, while also preventing Tehran from disrupting global energy supplies.
Vance said the Iranians responded by terrorizing commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global oil supplies and driving up gas prices.
He claimed gas prices would be “three times as high” if it weren’t for the U.S. Navy protecting commercial shipping through the waterway.
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Vance was also urged by a Michigan voter to condemn antisemitism within his own political base, including rhetoric from prominent conservative figures such as Tucker Carlson.
The question came from Eddie Rubin, a lifelong Democrat whose 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son survived the attack at Temple Israel, which occurred in March in Michigan.
The attacker, a Lebanese-born U.S. citizen, rammed his pickup truck through the synagogue’s entrance before exchanging gunfire with security. The attacker was killed, but no children or synagogue staff members were injured.
“I condemn anti-Semitism. I condemn Jew hatred,” Vance said.
But Vance also turned the conversation to Michigan’s Senate race, criticizing Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed for his response to the synagogue attack. Vance pointed to El-Sayed’s remark that “hurt people hurt people.”
“He went around and said, ‘hurt people, hurt people’, showing empathy, not with you and your family, which is where I think that we got to show empathy. But showing empathy to a guy who nearly killed hundreds of innocent children,” Vance said.
El-Sayed had condemned the attack and later apologized for his wording, saying he never intended to justify the violence.
