Fact-Checking the Vice-Presidential Debate Between Vance and Walz
Fact-Checking the Vice-Presidential Debate Between Vance and Walz
Tim Walz's Claims
- China Claims:
- Claim: Walz claimed he was in Hong Kong and China during the Tiananmen Square massacre.
- Fact-Check: Contemporaneous news reports place Walz in Nebraska at the time. Walz later admitted to misspeaking about his location during the massacre.
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Inflation Reduction Act Jobs: - Claim: Walz stated that the Inflation Reduction Act created 200,000 jobs across the country.
- Fact-Check: The number of jobs created by the Inflation Reduction Act is difficult to quantify precisely. Some analyses suggest around 171,000 clean energy jobs were created within the first year, but the figure of 200,000 includes jobs that companies have promised but not yet finalized.
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Energy Policies and Heating Costs: - Claim: Vance claimed that Kamala Harris' energy policies have driven up heating costs.
- Fact-Check: Home heating and cooling costs have risen due to extreme seasonal temperatures and increased air-conditioning usage, not because of Biden-Harris administration policies. Domestic crude oil production is at record levels, and renewable power generation has become cheaper.
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Housing Costs: - Claim: Vance claimed that housing costs have increased by 60% during the Biden administration.
- Fact-Check: Home prices have surged by 54% since 2019, while rent prices have risen by 19%. The claim of a 60% increase appears to be an exaggeration.
JD Vance's Claims
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Kamala Harris as "Border Czar": - Claim: Vance claimed that Kamala Harris was appointed the "border czar" during the Biden administration.
- Fact-Check: Harris was never officially designated as the "border czar." She was given a more limited diplomatic assignment related to addressing the root causes of migration from Central America.
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Migrants in Springfield, Ohio: - Claim: Vance stated that schools and hospitals in Springfield, Ohio, are overwhelmed due to illegal immigrants.
- Fact-Check: The claim is misleading. While there are concerns about immigration, many Haitian immigrants in Springfield have legal permission to live and work in the U.S..
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Trump's Economic Policies and Take-Home Pay: - Claim: Vance claimed that Trump's economic policies delivered the highest take-home pay in a generation.
- Fact-Check: While net compensation has risen every year for the last 33 years, attributing this solely to Trump's policies is misleading. Social Security Administration data shows a consistent rise in average net compensation since 1991.
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Cleanest Economy Claim: - Claim: Vance claimed that the U.S. has the world's cleanest economy.
- Fact-Check: This claim is false. The U.S. ranks 34th globally in terms of carbon emissions per unit of economic output and 19th in the transition to clean energy.
Debate Dynamics
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Microphone Muting: CBS News briefly muted the debate microphones after Vance objected to a fact-check, highlighting the contentious nature of the debate.
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Fact-Checking Responsibility: CBS News placed the onus on the candidates to fact-check each other, with moderators facilitating these opportunities rather than correcting misstatements themselves.
