Vance flatters Trump and blames Biden for affordability crisis in Fox News interview which avoids any mention of Epstein
Vice President JD Vance in a Fox News interview on Thursday blamed the Biden administration and undocumented immigrants for ongoing issues with the economy, which has struggled with continued inflation and record-low rates of first-time home buyers.
During the sit-down with Sean Hannity, Vance was not asked any questions about the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein scandal plaguing the White House.
Instead, Vance focused on how the U.S. had “inherited this terrible inflation crisis from the Biden administration” and said it would take more time for the full impact of the Trump economic agenda to kick in, comparing the GOP’s moves so far to trees that will slowly begin bearing fruit.
“A lot of young people are saying, ‘Housing is way too expensive,’” Vance said. “Why is that? Because we flooded the country with 30 million illegal immigrants who are taking houses that ought, by right, go to American citizens…We’re also getting all of those illegal aliens out of our country and you’re already seeing it start to pay some dividends.”
Many experts suggest immigration rates are not a prime driver of housing issues in the U.S., instead pointing to factors like low housing supply and the financial impact of the Great Recession. Mass deportations could in fact exacerbate housing issues, given that undocumented immigrants are estimated to constitute up to half of the construction workforce.
While inflation has continued, prices on some key goods are down. Egg prices have fallen sharply this year, though energy prices through September were higher than when Trump took office.
Vance’s accusatory comments come as the administration is fighting to defend its economic agenda amid continued inflation and elections earlier this month where economic concerns helped Democrats pick up wins in two governor’s races and the mayorship of New York City.
President Trump has insisted affordability questions are a Democratic “con job” and prices on “everything” are “way down,” though this is not true.
Average prices were 1.7 percent higher in September than they were when Trump took office in January, and are up three percent year-over-year, according to the latest federal data from the Consumer Price Index.
Foreclosure-related actions have also climbed nearly 20 percent since last fall.
The Trump administration has largely framed any adverse trends in the economy as a hangover from the Biden years, while steadfastly denying its tariffs have impacted shoppers or are functionally taxes paid by consumers in the form of higher prices.
The White House could face further economic turmoil going forward, as its signature tariff package is in front of the Supreme Court after lower courts ruled the emergency levies were illegal.
Elsewhere in the interview, Vance hammered the Democrats over the recent 42-day government shutdown, which President Trump ended Wednesday night by signing onto a mostly Republican-backed spending bill.
He accused the party of causing an unnecessary strain on the country only to get the same deal Republicans offered over a month ago: a short-term spending bill that keeps the government open until early next year.
