6 minPolitics
Vance Defends Gas Prices, Immigration Rhetoric at Michigan Town Hall
Vice President JD Vance took questions from Michigan voters on gas prices, Washington corruption, immigration and the war with Iran during a CBS News town hall in Flat Rock, as the state's Senate race heats up ahead of the midterms.
Vice President JD Vance defended the administration's record on energy costs, pushed back on corruption allegations and addressed his own immigration rhetoric during a CBS News town hall in Flat Rock, Michigan, as the state emerges as a central battleground in the fight for Senate control in November's midterms.
The event came weeks before the midterm elections, with Republicans working to hold their majorities in the House and Senate. Michigan's open Senate seat is being contested by Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers, a former House member.
The first question came from a 43-year-old Detroit barber who asked why gas prices remain significantly higher than during Trump's first term. Vance pointed to Iran's attacks on commercial shipping and the resulting disruption to global energy markets, but also blamed the Biden administration, saying about 20 percent of American refining capacity went offline during Biden's presidency.
Vance said the Trump administration is using the Defense Production Act to help restore domestic refining capacity, while cautioning that rebuilding that infrastructure would take time. Anchor Tony Dokoupil pushed back, noting that Trump and Vance have been in office for nearly two years while Americans continued to face high gas prices.
Dokoupil then shifted to government corruption, citing a Fox News poll showing 60 percent of voters were extremely concerned about the issue, and asked whether anything Vance had witnessed inside the 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.
Pressed on those allegations, 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. Asked whether he would comply with subpoenas if Democrats took control of Congress in January, Vance said, «Of course, of course I will. Look, we follow the law. I follow the law.»
Vance was also confronted over his immigration rhetoric by a naturalized U.S. citizen who said she voted for him but questioned why the administration was «scapegoating immigrants.» The voter, who immigrated 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, while defending his remarks as aimed at companies exploiting foreign workers rather than immigrants themselves. He said the H-1B system gives employers too much power over 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 administration dehumanized immigrants. «My goal here is not to dehumanize any immigrant. And in fact, I love a number of immigrants,» Vance said, while arguing that allowing too many immigrants into the country too quickly could undermine social cohesion.
«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 of a burning building in France amid mass riots, calling the unrest 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. «They were told it would lead to this and they didn't listen.»
On the war with Iran, Dokoupil asked why the conflict had dragged on longer than the administration anticipated and why the U.S. had not won decisively. Vance argued that the U.S. had «in some ways» already won, claiming American military strikes had 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, while noting the administration was still working to secure a «long-term» and «verifiable» commitment from Iran.
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