Vance Grilled on Gas Prices, Iran War and Corruption in CBS Town Hall
Vice President JD Vance faced tough questions from Michigan voters on gas prices, the war with Iran, immigration and corruption in a CBS News town hall that aired Saturday night. Hosted by anchor Tony Dokoupil in Flat Rock, the event put the administration on the defensive weeks before the midterms.
The first question came from a Detroit barber who asked why gas prices remain far higher than during Trump’s first term. Vance pointed first to Iran’s attacks on commercial shipping. Then he blamed the Biden administration, saying the biggest reason prices are high is that about 20 percent of American refining capacity went offline during Biden’s presidency.
“It becomes your economy”
Dokoupil pushed back hard, noting that Trump and Vance have been in office for nearly two years while Americans continued to face high prices. “It’s almost been two years. At a certain point it becomes your economy, not Joe Biden’s economy,” he said, in one of the evening’s most replayed exchanges.
On the Iran war, Vance acknowledged mistakes in troop placement before six American soldiers were killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait. On corruption, Dokoupil cited a Fox News poll in which 60 percent of voters said they were extremely concerned, and raised the resignation of former ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle amid donor allegations. Vance said he had not seen evidence of wrongdoing by the president or the administration, while a federal filing showed Trump took in nearly $1.2 billion from his crypto businesses last year.
2028 and the road ahead
Vance said anyone selling access to the White House should face consequences, and said he would comply with subpoenas if Democrats win control of Congress in January. Asked about a 2028 run, he said there is “of course” a chance he will not, adding that he has not decided.
CBS News reported that unemployment has stayed low since Trump returned to office, but inflation has remained above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target and manufacturing jobs are roughly flat, while its polling indicates the cost of living is a liability for Republicans. Michigan itself is a key battleground, with the open Senate race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers among those that could decide control of the chamber. As energy markets stay on edge and Iran keeps its Hormuz reopening offer on the table, Vance’s answers may do little to quiet the questions.
