#VPDEBATE2024live – Vance and Walz face off in high-stakes VP debate
Fact Check: Vance falsely claims Biden administration unfroze $100 billion in Iranian assets
Sen. JD Vance claimed the Biden-Harris administration had unfrozen more than $100 billion in Iranian assets, which he said were then used to buy weapons.
Facts first: Vance’s statement is false. There is no evidence that the Biden-Harris administration unfroze more than $100 billion in Iranian assets. As part of a prisoner exchange last year, $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets were moved from restricted accounts in South Korea to restricted accounts in Qatar to be used for humanitarian purchases. The process for Iran to be able to spend those funds was expected to take months, if not years.
In the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told House lawmakers that the US and Qatar had reached a “quiet understanding” not to allow Iran to access any of the $6 billion in Iranian funds for the time being, according to a source familiar.
Under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, sanctions waivers would allow Iran to access frozen assets abroad. Estimates varied but some said those assets could be worth more than $100 billion. Vice President Kamala Harris, who was California attorney general at the time, had no involvement with the nuclear deal, from which the US withdrew under former President Donald Trump.
Vance calls for “a family care model that makes choice possible”
Ohio Sen. JD Vance called for a more comprehensive approach when it comes to paid family leave and child care policies.
“Take-home pay did rise under Trump. But it’s rising again now”
Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance said that “Donald Trump’s economic policies delivered the highest take-home pay in a generation in this country,” which was true at the time, according to government data.
But before inflation erupted, real disposable income rose to its highest point on record in March 2021 under President Joe Biden. Then, of course, price hikes took off that year, which took a bite out of take-home pay. Still, even when take-home pay fell to its lowest point under Biden in the summer of 2022, that was still higher than anything seen during the Trump’s presidency.
Real disposable income has been on a firm upswing over the past two years, and in August, it reached its highest level since March 2021, when it reached a record high.
“Vance says he wants to see more security in schools to curb gun violence”
Republican Sen. JD Vance called for more school security when answering a question about gun violence in schools.
The CBS moderators asked him if he thinks holding parents criminally responsible for mass shootings their children commit in schools could help curb the problem.
He went on to say that he thinks he and Democrat Gov. Tim Walz “probably agree that we need to do better on this,” and Walz, looking at Vance and listening to his answer, nodded his head. Vance said the question is what is the right approach to curbing gun violence.
Vance then talked about “illegally obtained firearms” and attacked Vice President Kamala Harris’ border policies. He also said there needs to be more security in schools, including stronger windows and more school resource officers.
Walz defends his record on abortion as governor
Gov. Tim Walz argued that abortion is the issue “on everyone’s mind” and defended a bill he signed into law in Minnesota that made abortion more accessible in the state.
He cited “horrific” anecdotes involving rape and medical complications where an abortion could have put doctors into legal trouble.
“This is basic human right,” he said during Tuesday night’s debate.
“This is about health care,” he added.
Fact Check: Vance mischaracterizes Harris’ role on border policy
Sen. JD Vance claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris was appointed the “border czar” during the Biden administration. “The only thing that she did when she became the vice president, when she became the appointed border czar, was to undo 94 Donald Trump executive actions that opened the border,” Vance said.
Some Republicans have scoffed at assertions that Harris was never the “border czar,” noting on social media that news articles sometimes described Harris as such. But those articles were wrong. Various news outlets, including CNN, reported as early as the first half of 2021 that the White House emphasized that Harris had not been put in charge of border security as a whole, as “border czar” strongly suggests, and had instead been handed a diplomatic task related to Central American countries.
A White House “fact sheet” in July 2021 said: “On February 2, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order that called for the development of a Root Causes Strategy. Since March, Vice President Kamala Harris has been leading the Administration’s diplomatic efforts to address the root causes of migration from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.”
Biden’s own comments at a March 2021 event announcing the assignment were slightly more muddled, but he said he had asked Harris to lead “our diplomatic effort” to address factors causing migration in the three “Northern Triangle” countries. (Biden also mentioned Mexico that day.) Biden listed factors in these countries he thought had led to migration and said that “if you deal with the problems in-country, it benefits everyone.” And Harris’ comments that day were focused squarely on “root causes.”
Republicans can fairly say that even “root causes” work is a border-related task. But calling her “border czar” goes too far.
CBS cuts mics for the first time during back-and-forth over Haitian immigrants
CBS moderators cut the vice presidential candidates’ mics for the first time during a back-and-forth about an immigration parole program that allows Haitian immigrants to be in the country legally.
Ohio Sen. JD Vance pushed back on the legality of the program, as the moderators attempted to move on to the next question. After Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz chimed in, they cut the mics.
More context: Republicans, including Vance, have fueled a firestorm of misinformation when they spread false claims about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, injecting the town with chaos.
The city of Springfield notes on its website that approximately 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants live in Clark County and that Haitian immigrants are there legally as part of a parole program that allows citizens and lawful residents to apply to have their family members from Haiti come to the United States.
“Vance doesn’t answer if he would support child separation at the border”
Republican Sen. JD Vance did not directly answer a question about if he would support separating children from their parents at the US southern border.
“My point is that we already have massive child separations, thanks to Kamala Harris’ open border,” Vance said.
The senator also accused Harris of enabling cartels “to operate freely in this country,” claiming that they use children to smuggle drugs into the country.
Immigration has emerged as a key issue during the 2024 presidential campaign, and it was among the first topics discussed during tonight’s vice presidential debate.
Walz takes a swipe at Trump’s record on immigration
Immigration has emerged as a key issue during the 2024 presidential campaign, and it was among the first topics discussed during tonight’s vice presidential debate.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz noted that a bipartisan group in Congress worked to draft new legislation that would have provided funding and additional security at the southern border, but former President Donald Trump urged Republicans to vote against it.
Walz said the former president had four years to deliver on his border promises while he was in office.
“He promised you, America, how easy it would be: ‘I’ll build you a big beautiful wall and Mexico will pay for it.’ Less than 2 percent of that wall got built, and Mexico didn’t pay a dime. But here we are again, nine years after he came down that escalator dehumanizing people and telling them what he was going to do.”
Walz highlights Harris improvements on climate change while slamming Trump
Gov. Tim Walz acknowledged that Ohio Sen. JD Vance has previously noted the existence of a climate problem, but mentioned former President Donald Trump’s reference to the issue as “a hoax.”
He said he has spoken to farmers who “know climate change is real” and who have experienced the Harris’ improvements.
“Vance starts with personal touch, introduces himself ahead of first question”
Before Ohio Sen. JD Vance answered a question about whether he would support or oppose a preemptive strike by Israel on Iran, he took a moment to introduce himself to the viewers, acknowledging that many of them would be unfamiliar with him and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
“I was raised in a working-class family. My mother required food assistance for periods of her life. My grandmother required Social Security help to raise me, and she raised me in part because my own mother and mother struggled with addiction for a big chunk of my own life,” Vance said. “I went to college on the GI bill after I enlisted in the Marine Corps and served in Iraq, and so I stand here asking to be your vice president with extraordinary gratitude for this country, for the American Dream that made it possible for me to live my dreams.”
Vance said his goal is to convince voters that a second Donald Trump presidency would make the American Dream more attainable.
“I want to try to convince you tonight, over the next 90 minutes, that if we get better leadership in the White House and we get Donald Trump back in the White House, the American Dream is going to be attainable once again,” Vance said before moving to answer the question.
“Our hearts go out” to victims of Hurricane Helene, Sen. JD Vance says
Sen. JD Vance was asked about what responsibility a potential Trump administration would have to try and reduce the impact of climate change.
He started his answer by saying the devastation from Hurricane Helene is “an unbelievable, unspeakable human tragedy.”
“I’m sure Governor Walz joins me in saying our hearts go out to those innocent people, our prayers go out to them. And we want as robust and aggressive as a federal response as we can get to save as many lives as possible,” he added.