JD Vance snaps at VP debate moderators for ‘fact-checking’
JD Vance snapped at a moderator during the vice presidential debate (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance snapped at the moderators during his VP debate with Tim Walz because they fact-checked his claims.
During the 90-minute-long, relatively polite vice presidential debate on Monday (1 October) – which was hosted by CBS News – Vance and Walz faced off against each other on various issues including abortion, immigration gun violence as well as the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
On the topic of immigration and boarder security, the debunked claim – which Trump continues to push – that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio stole and ate people’s pet cats and dogs was reprised once more.
Rumours about Haitian immigrants in the city abducting and eating pets appear to have originated from a viral video of a Springfield resident in the town’s council meeting, who claimed immigrants in the community had killed ducks from a local park for food.
The video went viral in Republican and right-wing circles and both Vance and Trump jumped on it as an opportunity to fear-monger, with Trump saying during his debate with Kamala Harris: “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
Springfield officials, however, have consistently said there has “been no credible reports” of Haitian migrants harming pets but that has not stopped the Trump-Vance ticket jumping on the anti-immigration conspiracy theory.
Speaking during the debate, Walz criticised Vance for spreading the rumours and even admitting that he knew they were not truthful.
“Talking about and saying, ‘I will create stories to bring attention to this’ – that vilified a large number of people who are here legally in the community of Springfield,” Walz said to his opponent.
“There are consequences for this, the consequences in Springfield were the governor had to send state law enforcement to escort kindergarteners to school.”
In response, Vance doubled down on the Trump camp’s anti-immigration policies saying the “millions of illegal immigrants” in the country are competing with American citizens for resources.
“The people I am most worried about in Springfield, Ohio, are the American citizens who have had their lives destroyed by Kamala Harris’ open border,” he said.
Jumping in CBS News moderator Margaret Brennan offered an immediate fact-check, telling both Vance, Walz and the audience: “Just to clarify for our viewers, Springfield, Ohio, does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status, temporary protected status.”
This lead to a tense moment between Vance and Brennan, with Vance snapping that the rules of the debate were that “you guys weren’t going to fact-check. Since you’re fact-checking me, I think it’s important to say what’s actually going on”.
Vance continued to speak over the moderators, with Walz also trying to get a word in on the topic, leading to both of their mics being muted.
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