Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance faced off on Tuesday in their first and only vice presidential debate.
However, both made claims that were nothing fresh.
Here are some of those claims and an assessment of the facts by States Newsroom:
LAW: Walz said Vance called his running mate, former President Donald Trump, unsuitable for the presidency.
FACTS: TRUE. Vance said this in The New York Times was published in 2016. Washington Post. reported that as recently as 2020, Vance criticized the Trump administration’s achievements, stating that Trump had “completely failed.”
Nevertheless, from the earliest stages of his 2022 U.S. Senate campaign, Vance described and defended his change of heart. At campaign event in January this year” said: “I won’t lie that I didn’t see Trump’s promise at first, but you know, he delivered on it,” Vance said. “He got things done and cared about people. And I think that’s important. It is important (to) change your mind.”
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LAW: Vance argued that schools, hospitals and housing in Springfield, Ohio, were overcrowded or unaffordable “because we brought in millions of illegal immigrants.” He added that for US citizens in Springfield, “Kamala Harris’s open border has destroyed their lives.”
FACTS: Vance and Trump were the driving forces behind this situation several slander against the Haitian community in Springfield. Although the influx of people resources are stretched, he says and local officials – some of them Republicans – rejected Vance’s false characterization of Haitians living there.
These migrants are in the country mostly legally under a program called Temporary protected status. It offers a work permit to people who would be exposed to danger in their home country and has been in force since 1990.
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LAW: In response to moderator Norah O’Donnell asking about Donald Trump’s claim that Walz supports “ninth-month” abortion, Walz said, “In Minnesota, we have restored Roe v. Wade.”
FACTS: Minnesota Democrats, with Walz’s support, adopted the law in 2023 enshrining Minnesota’s existing abortion protections into law after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the nationwide law a year earlier. Abortion was already protected under a 1995 state Supreme Court ruling guaranteeing women the right to an abortion.
Amended Bill 2023 some language governing care requirements for infants “born alive” as a result of an abortion, but the law still states that any such infant “shall be fully recognized as a human person.” Abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy this usually only happens in cases of solemn abnormalities or fetal distress for the mother’s health.
Is no limit on abortion during pregnancy under Minnesota lawbut data from the state Department of Health shows only one or two abortions per year occur at any time during the third trimester. More than 90% of abortions in the state occur in the first trimester.
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LAW: Vance argued that he and Trump would pursue “pro-family” policies and make infertility treatment more accessible. He also stated that he was never in favor of a national ban on abortion, rather he described his position as “setting certain minimum national standards”.
FACTS: Vance has repeatedly insisted he supports access to in vitro fertilization treatment, but voted against a Senate resolution establishing its protections in June and skipped the vote when it came up again September.
Vance’s formulation of his position – minimum standards versus prohibition – is little more than semantics. During his 2022 Senate Campaignexpressed support for a bill cutting off access to abortion anywhere in the country after 15 weeks.
“You can have some minimum national standards, in my opinion,” he said, “while allowing states to make the decision. “California will have a different view than Ohio, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Under this proposal, states will be able to set abortion policies more restrictive than the 15-week limit.
Vance did not want to include typical exceptions such as rape, incest or maternal life in the 2022 campaign.
“The incest exception looks different in the third week of pregnancy compared to the 39th week of pregnancy,” he said.
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LAW: While on paid family leave, Walz said, “We’ve implemented it in Minnesota and we’re seeing growth.”
FACTS: In 2023, Walz signed the Minnesota Family and Medical Leave Act into law. The bill creates a state insurance program guaranteeing up to 20 weeks of paid leave per year for family or health matters. The program is partly funded by a fresh tax on employers and employees.
However, the law will only enter into force in 2026and some details – including the final pay rate – are still being worked out by state regulators. The impact on Minnesota’s economy remains unknown, although many studies have shown that paid leave requirements in other states and countries augment women’s labor force participation and spur economic growth.
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LAW: Vance argued that illegal immigration raises housing costs and referred to a Federal Reserve study that showed a link between the two issues.
FACTS: Vance brought this idea to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell himself in July. Powell expressed skepticism at the time, noting that immigration would likely have a neutral effect on inflation in the long run, but acknowledged that it could have a regional impact on housing. Two Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas studies released this month support Powell’s argument. One suggested that immigrants stimulated the American economy without contributing to inflation; the second noted that immigrants “could put upward pressure on rents and house prices, particularly in the short term, until new supply can be built.”
The Federal Reserve study doesn’t appear to draw a clear line between immigration and housing prices. At least, argued University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers last May that the relationship between these variables is the opposite of what Vance suggested.
Housing experts they have consistently stated this constant shortage housing supply resulted in an augment in costs.
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LAW: Walz was asked to explain discrepancies between his account of his time in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and the recent reporting showing that he was only there a few months later.
FACTS: Walz admitted he was wrong: “I wasn’t perfect and I was a jerk at times…. I just said I came there this summer and I expressed myself badly. That’s what I said. So I was in Hong Kong and China during the democracy protests, and I went there and that taught me a lot about what it takes to govern.”
