Walz-Vance debate: six claims fact-checked

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STORY: Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance faced off in New York City on Tuesday (October 1) night for their one and only vice-presidential debate.

:: CBS News Presidential Debate

Here's a fact check on some of the statements they made.

:: 1

Vance said the U.S. is “the cleanest economy in the entire world.”

This is false.

According to an EU report, the U.S. was second only to China as the highest emitter of greenhouse gases globally last year.

It accounted for 11.25% of global emissions.

:: 2

Walz said the U.S. is producing more natural gas and more oil than ever before.

This is mostly true.

In March the Energy Information Administration said the U.S. had produced "more crude oil than any nation at any time" for a sixth straight year.

Monthly production of dry natural gas hit a record high in December 2023 - but is forecast to decline this year.

:: 3

Vance said Donald Trump's economic policies delivered the highest take-home pay in a generation.

This is true.

U.S. median household income reached a record high of $68,703 in 2019, a 6.8% increase from the year before.

That was highest the country had seen since the U.S. Census Bureau started tracking the data in 1967.

:: 4

Walz said Donald Trump hasn't paid any federal taxes in ten of the past 15 years, and the last year as president.

This is mostly true based on the information available.

In 2020, the New York Times reported - based on an analysis of tax return data from 2017, that Trump paid no income taxes in ten of the previous 15 years.

In 2022 the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee released Trump's tax returns for 2015-2020, which showed that he paid no income tax during the final full year of his presidency.

:: 5

Vance said the gross majority of gun violence in the U.S. is committed with illegally obtained firearms.

This is misleading.

Most public mass shootings – a shooting that kills four or more people – between 1966 and 2019 were carried out by legally obtained handguns, according to research funded by the National Institute of Justice.

:: 6

Walz said Trump created the largest trade deficit with China in American history.

This is true.

The trade gap rose by 11.6% to $419.2 billion in 2018, from the previous record of $375.5 billion in 2017, a Commerce Department report showed.

That's after the U.S., under Trump, imposed tariffs on Chinese goods, and Beijing retaliated.