Workers and Residents Press Vance on Who Pays

Sandy Johnson told Vice President JD Vance her family entertainment center was “barely making ends meet” as inflation continued to cut into wages and manufacturing employment remained roughly flat. At a CBS News town hall in Michigan, Vance said turning around the economy would take more than one presidential term. He pointed to promised investment and automaker expansion plans that haven’t yet produced a rise in manufacturing employment.

Workers, wages and investment

Johnson asked when “the normal American has money to spend on small businesses.” Vance said the country had under-invested in workers and manufacturing and shipped good jobs overseas. “If all the good jobs are overseas, then people here in Michigan can't spend money at your family business,” he said.

Vance cited promised new foreign investment in the United States and growth plans by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler parent Stellantis. He said, “We are turning the tide on this,” but factories still had to be built before workers could be employed in them. Manufacturing employment remained roughly flat, unemployment remained low, and inflation stayed above the Federal Reserve's 2%-per-year target.

Vance said President Trump’s description of an “A+” economy referred to new investments. “I think what we're doing is, we're turning the ship around,” he said. Johnson asked about current household and small-business finances; Vance pointed to future investment and factory construction.

Keshon Wheatley, a Detroit barber who said he voted for Trump in 2020 and 2024 largely because he credited Trump with low gas prices during his first term, said prices are now much higher. Wheatley plans to vote for Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed rather than Republican Mike Rogers.

War costs and state accountability

Vance said gas prices were too high and argued that Iran’s attacks on oil tankers had affected energy costs. He said U.S. military efforts were allowing ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and prices would fall “when this conflict is over.” He also argued that leaving the strait under Iranian control would mean higher gasoline prices.

The war had killed 21 U.S. service members and injured hundreds. Joey Amor, whose wife, Master Sgt. Nicole Amor, was among six U.S. Army Reserve soldiers killed in an Iranian strike on a site in Kuwait, asked about reports that the facility lacked adequate security. “There were a lot of mistakes and a lot of fundamental failures that led up to that,” he said.

Vance said he didn't doubt there had been failures, but “sometimes information doesn't filter up to me.” After recognizing a mistake, the administration changed troop locations and tactics to protect troops from drone attacks. He said he would take every failure seriously.

Vance defended the administration’s Iran strategy, saying it sought a “final firm commitment” that Iran wouldn’t rebuild its nuclear program. Asked why the United States hadn’t decisively won the war, he said, “in some ways we have won decisively,” while adding that “the enemy gets a vote here.”

Enforcement, access and community costs

Sister Nancy Sylvester asked how Vance would justify Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics to people of faith and what policies he would support for more compassionate treatment of immigrants. Vance said the administration was trying to balance law enforcement and humane treatment. He called most ICE agents “amazing people who are patriots,” while acknowledging that some “make mistakes” or “really screw up.” He said investigations, training and discipline followed some cases.

Asked about his comparison of some H-1B visa holders to “foreign indentured servants,” Vance said he was criticizing companies that can lay off an American worker and bring in a visa holder whose job loss could mean returning to their country of origin. That arrangement, he said, gave employers “way too much power.”

Vance rejected claims that President Trump participated in corruption, saying he had seen no evidence. Asked about reports concerning Trump’s cryptocurrency earnings and allegations involving U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, Vance said anyone selling access to the White House should face consequences. Guilfoyle denied wrongdoing, and Trump denied conflicts of interest. Vance said he would follow the law if a Democratic Congress investigated and subpoenaed the administration.

A Michigan resident who lives across from a data center said its constant buzzing made opening windows “a luxury that we could no longer enjoy.” Vance said data centers should provide more tax revenue to local governments and shouldn't raise residential utility bills. “Some of the economic benefits they're generating, they can't just go to a few tech billionaires,” he said. “It has to go to the community writ large.”