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Vance and Walz’s Debate Remarks on Economic Policy, Fact-Checked

By Lindsey Rupp
Senator JD Vance, a Republican from Ohio and Republican vice-presidential nominee, left, and Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota and Democratic vice-presidential nominee, shake hands while arriving for the first vice presidential debate at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. Historically, debates between the running mates of the major party nominees for president have a negligible effect on the contest for the White House, but with the race between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris being so close, any boost for either ticket could make all the difference. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Vice presidential nominees JD Vance and Tim Walz met for their first and potentially only debate before the November election, as the two Midwesterners with economic populist streaks try to win over undecided voters. They clashed over abortion, immigration and the crisis in the Middle East. When it came to economic policy, they traded barbs over taxes, prices and the deficit. 

Here are the candidates’ economic statements fact-checked. 

“Trump gave tax cuts to the top class that led to an $8 trillion increase in the deficit,” said Walz. 

This needs context. Former President Donald Trump’s executive actions and tax cuts added $8.4 trillion to the US deficit over 10 years, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated. Of that, $2.5 trillion came from tax cuts, according to the CRFB. 

“What [Harris] has actually done is drive the cost of food higher by 25%,” said Vance. 

This needs context. The consumer price index category for food-at-home soared by 25% from the final quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2023. This increase was caused by the underlying price of commodities rising substantially at the same time wages at supermarkets soared, according to an analysis by Thomas Klitgaard, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

“How is it fair that you’re paying your taxes every year, and Donald Trump hasn’t paid any federal tax in the last 15 years?” said Walz.

This needs context. Trump didn’t pay federal taxes in 10 of the 15 years before he won the presidency in 2016, according to an analysis by the New York Times. He paid $750 in 2016 and in 2017, according to six years of records released by a US House panel.

“The Inflation Reduction Act has created... 200,000 thousand jobs across the country,” said Walz. 

This needs context.  Employment in clean energy rose 142,000 in 2023 from the previous year, more than double the rate of US jobs overall, according to the Energy Department. Billions of dollars in subsidies are fueling investment in new factories that promise to add even more jobs, but many haven’t yet been finalized. 

--With assistance from Mark Niquette.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.