‘The rules were you guys weren’t going to fact check’: JD Vance clearly thought he could just say anything at the debate

Senator JD Vance and Governor Tim Walz participated in a debate for the upcoming election. Because of CBS’ rules against fact-checking, Vance decided to remind audiences in real time that they weren’t allowed to correct him. Further proving he was…lying.

Vance has been spreading lies repeatedly about Haitian migrants who are living in Springfield, Ohio. He was one of the loudest voices pushing the nonsense about the migrants killing pets and so when he started to push his narrative again, he was confronted with the reality that even if they weren’t supposed to be live fact-checking or correcting him, some really just couldn’t handle his lies. CBS announced the rules earlier this week that they were not going to be fact checking during the night.

It was a move on CBS’ part to stop the pushback that the presidential debate got when Donald Trump was fact-checked in real time. In reality, it was a weird choice.

Moderators Margaret Brennan and Norah O’Donnell fact-checked anyway. “Just to clarify for our viewers, Springfield, Ohio does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status, temporary protected status,” Brennan said.

Not recognizing by pushing back that he was proving their point anyway, Vance clarified the rules. “The rules were that you guys weren’t going to fact-check,” Vance told them. “And since you are fact-checking me, I think it’s important to say what’s actually going on.” The back and forth resulted in Vance’s mic being cut so that they could move on to the next segment.

As actor and director Stephen Ford pointed out, this is the only way people like Donald Trump and Vance can secure votes. “Literally the only way these jokers win is by trying to gaslight people hoping they don’t get caught,” he wrote on X.

You still admitted you lied

Vance didn’t contest what Brennan said. All he did was point out that the rules stated she couldn’t fact-check him, meaning he knew he was lying. Or at least thought no one would put two and two together by pushing back at Brennan fact-checking him anyway. Many online pointed out that Vance didn’t say the fact-check was false or that she was lying. Just that she wasn’t allowed to do it.

“He’s admitting he lied. He didn’t contest the correction,” one user wrote. Another claimed that Trump and Vance wouldn’t do events where they would be fact-checked, writing “Trump and Vance won’t do anything where they might be fact checked. That alone should tell people everything they need to know about them.”

It was, ultimately, a weird move on CBS’ part. The reason for a debate is to stop candidates from saying whatever they want in a bid to gain votes. That includes both Democratic and Republican candidates. It just so happens that Republicans, currently, are spreading lies for votes and refusing to allow moderators to call them out for that. So Vance loudly pointing out that it wasn’t allowed for his lies to get called out is extremely telling about this entire election.