Vice President JD Vance walked into a swing-state town hall and made clear the America First movement plans to stick around — whether Washington's permanent class likes it or not.
The CBS News town hall in Flat Rock, Michigan, put Vance face-to-face with voters feeling the squeeze of decades of bipartisan economic failure, and it gave him a platform to frame the 2028 conversation on his own terms. Michigan hosts a tight Senate race this November between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers, with control of the upper chamber hanging in the balance.
On 2028, Vance played it close to the vest. Asked if there's any chance he won't run, he said: "Of course there's a chance." He called himself a "procrastinator" on big life decisions and noted that his wife, Usha Vance, "has never loved politics," though "she loves public service." President Trump has called Vance his "most likely" GOP successor. CBS framed Vance as the "early frontrunner" and "possible heir" to the movement. Fox barely mentioned it.
The real story was the economy. A family entertainment center owner named Sandy Johnson told Vance she's "barely making ends meet" and asked when normal Americans will have money to spend at small businesses. Vance didn't punt to Biden alone. "What broke the United States, as much as I might like to criticize Joe Biden, but it was a bipartisan, multi-generational failure to under-invest in American workers, to under-invest in American manufacturing, to ship all of our good jobs overseas," he said. That's the kind of admission both parties prefer to bury — and CBS buried the word "bipartisan" deep in its coverage while Fox ignored it entirely.
On gas prices, a 43-year-old Detroit barber asked why they remain far higher than during Trump's first term. Vance blamed Iran's attacks on commercial shipping and the Biden administration, noting that "about 20% of American refining capacity" went offline under Biden. CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil pushed back, pointing out Trump and Vance have been in office for nearly two years. Fox highlighted the Biden blame; CBS highlighted Dokoupil's pushback.
Dokoupil also pressed Vance on government corruption, citing a Fox News poll showing 60% of voters are extremely concerned. The questions came days after Kimberly Guilfoyle resigned as U.S. ambassador to Greece amid allegations she sought $100,000 from a donor seeking access to Trump administration officials — something Guilfoyle has denied. Vance said selling access to the White House would be "disgusting and despicable" and that anyone responsible should face consequences. He denied seeing corruption from the administration itself and said he would comply with subpoenas if Democrats take Congress: "Of course, of course I will. Look, we follow the law."
On immigration, a naturalized U.S. citizen who voted for Vance challenged his rhetoric, including his characterization of certain H-1B visa workers as "foreign indentured servants." Vance conceded: "To the extent that my rhetoric has been imperfect here, that's on me." But he defended the substance of his position.
Vance told Michigan voters the country "wasn't broken in one presidential term" and won't be fixed in 18 months. The open question is whether Americans still feeling the pinch will give the movement enough time to turn the ship — or whether the bipartisan swamp that created the mess will reclaim power first.
