(NewsNation) — Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance said the U.S. needs more homes, vowed to deport migrants in the U.S. illegally and urged Americans not to “cast aside” family members over politics during a NewsNation town hall Thursday.
Democratic, Republican, and independent voters in Michigan had the chance to question Vance during a town hall moderated by anchor Chris Cuomo.
Vance addressed voters’ concerns about everything from rising living costs to border security to the war in Ukraine.
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The 40-year-old U.S. senator from Ohio is 38 years younger than his running mate, former President Donald Trump, but he doesn’t expect to take over anytime soon.
“Donald Trump is as healthy as an ox,” Vance said. “There is no chance that he’s not going to be able to complete a full four-year term.”
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Vance on Immigration: ‘We need to get back to deporting people who shouldn’t be here’
Vance blasted the Biden administration’s southern border policy, arguing that lax enforcement has driven up the cost of housing, led to an influx of “hardened criminals” and made it easier for drug cartels to smuggle fentanyl into the U.S.
To stem the flow of illegal immigration, Vance said he would “get back to deporting people who shouldn’t be here” and finish the border wall.
JD Vance town Hall: Here’s the transcript
“Just enforcing our immigration laws would make so much of this problem go away,” he said.
In September, Vance amplified false claims that Haitian migrants were eating pets in Springfield, Ohio — an untrue rumor Trump repeated during the presidential debate.
Cuomo asked Vance whether he should have handled that situation differently.
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“Do I wish that I had been better in that moment? Maybe,” Vance said, adding that he wanted to hear out his constituents.
“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?” he said.
As for cracking down on Mexican drug cartels, Vance supports using the U.S. military.
“The poison that’s coming across the border today is more dangerous than anything that has ever been in this country,” he said.
Rising living costs: ‘We’ve got to build more houses’
To combat rising energy costs, Vance promised to “open up America’s energy markets” and “drill, baby, drill.”
On housing, the Republican vice presidential nominee said he would lower prices by cutting regulatory red tape to make it easier to build homes.
“We’ve got to build more houses, and we’ve got to make sure those houses go to American citizens, people who have the legal right to be here,” he said.
Vance pointed to low inflation during Trump’s time in office and credited the former president’s tariffs for keeping prices in check. Trump plans to impose more tariffs if reelected, but it’s a plan many economists say is inflationary and will ultimately hurt consumers.
Trump’s running mate dismissed those concerns during Thursday’s town hall.
“These are the same experts that said shipping our entire manufacturing industry to China, to East Asia, to Mexico would lead to greater American prosperity — they were wrong,” Vance said.
Bridging the divide: ‘Don’t cast family members aside’ over politics
When asked how he would heal the country’s political divide, Vance emphasized the importance of improving economic conditions so more people feel the American dream is within reach.
“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 also blamed censorship for the heightened political tension, calling it “the biggest threat to Democracy.”
“[Censorship] is always going to lead to people being pissed off because they don’t like to be told what to think or what to say,” he said.
The Republican vice presidential nominee vowed to “set the tone at the top” and engage with people who disagree with him to demonstrate how people with political disagreements can coexist.
He also urged Americans to separate personal and political beliefs: “Don’t cast aside family members and lifelong friendships. Politics is not worth it.”
Ending the war in Ukraine
Vance said a Trump administration would push for an end to the war in Ukraine and warned that the longer the conflict goes on, “the worse it risks becoming a nuclear war.”
“What’s in the best interest of America, and what I believe is in the best interest of Ukraine and Russia, is for the killing to stop,” he said.
To achieve that, Vance said Trump’s leadership would help facilitate a peaceful settlement.
“We don’t have to like Russia, we don’t have to agree with them invading, but we’ve got to get them together and engage in some real diplomacy,” he said.
As for whether Ukraine will have to cede some of the land Russia has taken?
“I honestly think that the Ukrainians are going to have to make that decision themselves,” Vance said.
Vance added: “American foreign policy is far too often used to exacerbate and prolong conflicts. I want American foreign policy to be about bringing about peace wherever we can.”