JD Vance’s Michigan Town Hall: 5 Key Moments

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) addressed questions from a cross-section of voters during a NewsNation town hall moderated by Chris Cuomo in the key swing state of Michigan on Thursday.

Vance spoke on a range of topics, including abortion, the economy, and illegal immigration. The session also included a call-in from former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee.

Here are five takeaways from the town hall:

Trump’s Tariffs

Vance responded to a question from a Michigan farmer about the challenges facing American agriculture, particularly inflation and foreign competition. Vance stressed the need to reduce energy costs, support domestic production, and protect American farmers through tariffs.

He defended criticism of tariffs, disputing claims by experts that they would be passed onto consumers.

“I know that’s a criticism that’s been out there. Here’s why I don’t buy it,” Vance said, going on to say that the experts offering those criticisms are the same ones who said outsourcing manufacturing to China and Mexico would lead to greater prosperity.

“They were wrong. It was a mistake to do that … a lot of Americans can’t afford a good life—can’t earn a middle-class wage—because we listen to some of those very same people,” he said.

“But the more immediate reason why I don’t buy that argument is because, look, Donald Trump was already president. These aren’t just plans or proposals. He was already president … and he did use tariffs,” Vance said.

The vice presidential nominee said that inflation was low and take-home pay was rising fast under Trump because of tariffs.

Using Military to Combat Cartels at Southern Border

Vance reiterated his stance on border security and the impact of the opioid epidemic wrought by what he described as an open border.

He suggested the U.S. military could be directed towards organized crime cartels operating at the southern border, placing them on par with the U.S. response to terrorism.

“If we’re going to use the U.S. military against criminal organizations in the Middle East, why wouldn’t we use it against a criminal organization that’s one our southern border that’s killing almost 100,000 of our citizens every single year,” Vance said.

Vance also clarified his position on illegal immigration, saying that not all illegal immigrants are criminals but that they all need to go through the proper channels to enter the United States.

“But we have let in far too many illegal immigrant criminals, too many criminal gangs, because of what we’ve been doing with our border policy for the last three-and-a-half years,” he added.

On the criticism he received for discussing claims that made headlines in September about Venezuelan nationals allegedly eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, Vance said that it is important for him to listen to voters who come to him with their problems.

“Now, do I think that the media certainly got distracted on the housing crisis and the health crisis and the crisis in the public schools by focusing on the eating the dogs and the cats things? Yeah, I do. Do I wish that I had been better in that moment? Maybe,” he said.

“But it’s also people in my community, people that I represent, are coming to me and saying this thing is happening. What am I supposed to do? Hang up the phone and tell them they’re a liar because the media doesn’t want me to talk about it?”

Praise for Trump’s Campaign Stamina

Vance praised Trump’s stamina and active campaign schedule as evidence of the former president’s readiness for office, contrasting it with the pace of opponents from the Democratic Party.

“Just look at the campaign schedule Trump has kept compared to his Democratic opponents. He’s doing like three public events for every event Kamala Harris has done,” he said.

In response to a viewer question about whom he would consult for advice if he were president, Vance said he would first turn to his wife, Usha, but added that Trump would “be a good president for all four years.”

He also noted, “That’s one of the reasons why you have a vice president, is for those unforeseen circumstances.”

Vance’s remarks follow criticism from Harris and other Democrats, who have questioned Trump’s fitness for office at 78.

Politics Shouldn’t Divide Friends, Families

Addressing an audience member’s question, Vance attributed division in U.S. society to failed leadership.

He suggested that there is a division between those who feel the American dream is attainable and those who feel it’s becoming unattainable.

“Maybe the way to heal that divide is, you know, lower prices and make the American dream more affordable again. Give people good job opportunities because if people are doing well, and we’re all doing well together, then we’ll have much less division in our country,” he said.

Vance described the criticism of Trump as someone promoting division as a media concoction, adding that while he initially believed it in 2015, he later came to see things differently. Pointing to Trump’s rallies, Vance said they were attended by people “from all walks of life” who want American prosperity.

“I really do think that Donald Trump wakes up every day, and whether you’re living in inner-city Detroit or rural Michigan, he thinks ‘how can I make your life better and more prosperous?’ And I really do think that’s the way to heal the divisions,” Vance said.

The vice presidential candidate urged Americans not to lose friends and family over political disagreements, saying that it’s not worth it. He pledged to set an example by holding events while in office in which he’ll take questions from people who do and don’t disagree with him politically.

“If you’re discarding a lifelong friendship because somebody else votes for the other team, then you’ve made a terrible, terrible mistake and you should do something different,” he said.

Vance said that some people he knows may not want to vote for him and that “doesn’t make them bad people.”

“This is my most important advice, whether you vote for me, whether you vote for Donald Trump, whether you vote for Kamala Harris,“ he said. ”Don’t cast aside family members and lifelong friendships. Politics is not worth it, and I think [if] we follow that principle [it] will heal the divide in this country.”

‘Reasonable Compromise’ on Abortion

Speaking on abortion, Vance dismissed suggestions that he and Trump have different stances on abortion and said their ticket wants to make it easier for people “to choose life.”

This involves making it less expensive to have and raise children and lower the costs of childcare.

He said he’s pro-family and that the outcome of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade meant that states make their own laws on the matter, which he said is a “reasonable compromise.”

Elaborating on his personal views on abortion, he reflected on the lower socioeconomic neighborhoods where he grew up. He said he saw young women experience unexpected pregnancies and they chose to terminate them because they felt they had no other option.

“I think that very often what we miss on my side, what we miss as Republicans, is that this is not people who are enthusiastic about having [an] abortion,” Vance said. ““Sometimes they feel like that’s the only option available to them.”

“And so what we ought to do, is to make it easier to choose life to begin with. If we stop the crazy medical bills that young women come home with when they have a baby, if we make it easier to access childcare, I actually think one will earn the trust of the American people and we will be pro-family in the fullest sense of the word.”