Last Updated 4 days by Amnon J. Jobi | Amnon Front Page
Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Republican Sen. JD Vance are going head-to-head in what will likely be the only vice presidential debate before the November presidential election.
A team of Scripps News journalists is monitoring the debate for claims that are false, misleading or require more context.
Check back here for updates.
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CLAIM: Walz says governor of Ohio had to send state law enforcement to Springfield to escort kindergarteners to school due to Vance’s claim about migrants eating pets.
FACTS: Gov. Mike DeWine announced Sept. 16 that he had authorized Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers to “to provide added security at each of the [Springfield school] district’s 18 school buildings.” In a news release, he said troopers “will sweep each building for threats before students and faculty arrive and will stay on-site to provide security throughout the school day and during dismissal.”
His announcement noted this was “in response to “a series of unfounded bomb threats” and did not explicitly connect this authorization to the unfounded rumors that some immigrants were eating pets. However, multiple outlets noted that schools and other institutions in Springfield began receiving threats after those rumors went viral.
CLAIM: Vance says we haven’t built a nuclear facility in the U.S. in 40 years.
FACTS: Two new nuclear power reactors entered commercial operation in the past few years, at the Vogtle plant in Georgia. When the Obama administration approved them, they were the first reactors to receive federal approval in three decades.
CLAIM: Walz says Trump told Congress to veto bipartisan border bill to give himself a campaign issue.
FACTS: After Trump publicly criticized the Senate’s bipartisan attempt to address immigration reform, the bill died in the Senate and never received a vote in the House.
CLAIM: Walz says the last 12 months saw the largest decrease in opioid deaths in the nation’s history.
FACTS: CDC data shows opioid deaths fell to their lowest in three years in the year ending in April 2024, the latest complete year for which data was available. This marked the first annual decline in opioid overdose deaths since the year ending in April 2019.
CLAIM: Vance says 1 million illegal migrants have committed crimes in addition to crossing the border illegally.
FACTS: U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows that from fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2024, immigration officials arrested about 103,700 noncitizens with criminal convictions whether in the U.S. or abroad, so long as the conviction was for conduct deemed criminal by the U.S.
CLAIM: Walz says we are producing more natural gas, more oil and more clean energy than we ever have.
FACTS: Overall U.S. energy production is at a record high, and, by some definitions, the U.S. is energy independent. However, in one key regard, the U.S. is not energy independent: The U.S. is a net importer of crude oil, which keeps the U.S. and its economy beholden to overseas developments.
CLAIM: Walz says Trump said climate disasters would make more beachfront properties.
FACTS: Trump told Elon Musk in a highly publicized conversation on X, “The biggest threat is not global warming, where the ocean is going to rise one-eighth of an inch over the next 400 years and youll have more oceanfront property.”
CLAIM: Vance says the only time a U.S. president didn’t have a major conflict break out was under Trump.
FACTS: Its true that during the Trump administration there were no new major overseas wars or invasions. But during his time in office, there were still conflicts within Israel and between Russia and Ukraine.
Additional reporting from our fact-checking partner PolitiFact.
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