Vice President JD Vance defended the Trump administration’s Iran war strategy at a Michigan town hall where voters raised gasoline prices and military deaths while he left open whether to seek the presidency in 2028.
CBS News aired the one-hour event Oct. 17 as part of its election-year town hall series, ahead of November’s midterm elections. On the war’s progress, Vance said the United States had “won decisively” in some respects, then added that “the enemy gets a vote here.” He described the administration’s aim as securing Iran’s pledge not to rebuild its nuclear program, calling it a “final firm commitment.”
Gas prices surfaced when Detroit barber Keshon Wheatley told Vance that although he had voted for Vance and President Donald Trump in 2024, he planned to support Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Wheatley cited higher gasoline prices. Vance replied, “Fundamentally, we are where we are,” and asked what solution El-Sayed had proposed.
Joey Amor raised what he viewed as failures preceding his wife’s death. Master Sgt. Nicole Amor was among six U.S. Army Reserve soldiers killed in an Iranian strike in Kuwait. Vance told Amor he had not heard the concerns before and said information did not always reach him.
Vance also addressed his immigration rhetoric, saying his criticism was aimed at companies hiring H-1B visa holders rather than the workers. He acknowledged his words could have been “imperfect.”
Jonathan V. Last’s Oct. 19 opinion essay for The Bulwark interpreted the event as a political balancing act: Vance made a public case for the administration while seeking distance from its liabilities.
Vance told moderator Tony Dokoupil that he had not decided whether to run in 2028. Asked if he might stay out of the race, he replied, “Of course there’s a chance.” The midterm elections are scheduled for November.
