Fact-Checking Vance and Walz on the Campaign Trail

Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota has acted as attack dog for the Harris campaign, and Senator JD Vance of Ohio has stepped in to explain away former President Donald J. Trump’s incendiary remarks.

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Jenn Ackerman and Bridget Bennett for The New York Times

By Linda Qiu

Reporting from Washington

Oct. 1, 2024, 5:04 a.m. ET

In their efforts to supplement the candidates at the top of their tickets, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota has played offense for the Harris campaign while Senator JD Vance of Ohio has sought to explain former President Donald J. Trump’s incendiary comments and criticized proposals.

To defend the Trump campaign’s baseless claims about Haitian migrants, Mr. Trump’s contradictory promises about health care and his proposals to impose sweeping tariffs, Mr. Vance has made specious assertions.

And in a bid to undercut his Republican opponents, Mr. Walz has taken Mr. Vance’s and Mr. Trump’s remarks out of context, and hyperbolically described elements of a conservative policy agenda known as Project 2025.

Before they meet on the debate stage on Tuesday night, here’s a fact check of some of the claims the vice-presidential candidates have made on the campaign trail:

Mr. Vance has falsely described Haitian migrants’ immigration status and their impact on crime.

What Was Said

“The 20,000 Haitian migrants who come to Springfield are part of hundreds of thousands of Haitian migrants, part of 25 million illegal aliens in this country. Now, when the media says that people are here legally, here’s what they mean. That Kamala Harris has granted mass amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. Now, I happen to think that what Kamala Harris has done is not just wrong, it is illegal.”
— Mr. Vance in a rally in Pennsylvania in September

“Murders are up by 81 percent because of what Kamala Harris has allowed to happen to this small community.”
— Mr. Vance in an CNN interview in September

False. Questioned over baseless claims that he and Mr. Trump have made about Haitian migrants in an Ohio city, Mr. Vance has instead questioned their legal status and supposed impact on crime in the city.

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