Vice President JD Vance defended the administration’s economic record and overseas military strategy Saturday while taking questions from voters during a televised town hall in the crucial battleground state of Michigan.
The hour-long broadcast, hosted by “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil, placed Vance before an audience expressing frustration over high gasoline prices, persistent inflation and immigration enforcement tactics just weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, CBS News reported. Michigan features closely watched races for the U.S. Senate, the House and the governor’s office.
Economic strain and the cost of living
Voters pressed Vance repeatedly on affordability. Sandy Johnson, a local family entertainment center owner, told Vance her business was barely scraping by and asked when ordinary families would have money to spend, according to CBS News. Vance responded that reversing decades of industrial decline requires patience.
“Just as this country wasn’t broken in one presidential term, it’s gonna take more than 18 months to fix things and turn them around,” Vance said, pointing to planned manufacturing investments from Detroit automakers General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. He argued the administration is “turning the ship around.”
Although unemployment has remained low since President Donald Trump returned to office last year, inflation has continued above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent annual benchmark, while manufacturing employment has remained essentially flat, CBS News reported.
Iran conflict and military accountability
The economic debate intersected with foreign policy when Detroit barber Keshon Wheatley told Vance that elevated fuel costs were driving him to vote for Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed rather than Republican Mike Rogers. Vance argued that naval operations in the Strait of Hormuz are necessary to prevent Iran from shutting down global oil supplies, maintaining that prices will drop once hostilities conclude.
The human toll of the conflict also surfaced when Joey Amor asked why facilities were insufficiently protected in Kuwait, where his wife, Master Sgt. Nicole Amor, was among six Army Reserve soldiers killed by an Iranian drone in late February. Across the conflict, 21 U.S. service members have died and hundreds have suffered injuries, CBS News reported.
Vance acknowledged missteps in military positioning. “I know that there are some issues with, for example … where troops were located that we realized was a huge mistake and that we could do better on,” Vance said, pledging that leaders take every failure seriously and have adjusted tactics against drone attacks.
Immigration, ethics and 2028 speculation
Questioned by Catholic nun Sister Nancy Sylvester about compassionate treatment of immigrants, Vance said officials strive to balance humane conduct with strict enforcement. He maintained that most Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel are patriots, though disciplinary steps and retraining occur when agents make errors. Vance also defended earlier remarks likening H-1B visa programs to indentured servitude, clarifying his complaint targeted corporate exploitation of foreign labor rather than visa holders themselves.
Addressing public concerns about ethics following reports regarding Trump’s cryptocurrency ventures and the dismissal of former Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle over alleged influence-peddling, Vance defended the president. While calling Washington a corrupt town, Vance told Dokoupil he has seen no proof that Trump participates in corruption. “If somebody’s selling access to the White House, that’s disgusting and despicable and they should suffer consequences,” Vance said, adding he would respect lawful congressional subpoenas. Guilfoyle and Trump have previously denied any wrongdoing.
Asked if he plans to run for the presidency in 2028, Vance declined to commit. He acknowledged that Trump has viewed him as a probable successor, but noted that he procrastinates on major choices and that his wife, Usha Vance, with whom he shares four young children, has never loved politics.
With midterm voting approaching, it remains uncertain whether Vance’s appeals will reassure undecided Midwestern voters grappling with high living costs and military tensions abroad.
