During the vice presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance, several questionable or false assertions were made. Vance claimed that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio are overwhelming schools and hospitals because they are competing with Americans for scarce homes. However, many of these immigrants have legal status under Temporary Protected Status, allowing them to live and work in the U.S. Debate moderator Margaret Brennan corrected Vance on this issue during the debate.
Walz claimed that Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for the next Republican presidential administration, included a registry of pregnancies. However, there is no mention of such a registry in the document, and neither Trump nor Vance have advocated for it. Vance also denied supporting a national ban on abortions, but he previously expressed openness to the idea during his 2022 Senate run in Ohio.
Walz admitted to misspeaking about his recollection of visiting China during the Tiananmen Square uprising in 1989. While he claimed to have been in Hong Kong at the time, reports suggest that he was actually in Nebraska. Vance questioned the link between carbon emissions and climate change, despite scientific consensus that greenhouse gas emissions are a major contributor to climate change.
Walz claimed that Donald Trump had not paid federal taxes for 15 years, but investigations by the New York Times found that Trump did pay federal income taxes during the first three years of his presidency. Vance praised Trump for working in a bipartisan way to ensure Americans had access to affordable health care, but Trump had repeatedly promised to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and his administration supported efforts to have the law struck down.
Overall, the vice presidential debate highlighted several instances of misinformation and falsehoods from both candidates. From inaccurate claims about Haitian immigrants in Ohio to misconceptions about abortion bans and climate change, both Walz and Vance presented questionable statements that needed clarification. It is important for voters to fact-check claims made by political candidates to make informed decisions at the polls.
