US Vice President JD Vance speaks to the media before boarding Air Force Two as he departs for Texas on October 29, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
Vance's Exchange With Voter on Affordability Exemplifies Why He Should Be 'Eminently Beatable' in 2028
"This is a real issue and a great question," said one observer. "JD turns it into a joke. Great closing message, dude."
The question posed by Kate White, vice president of the Turning Point USA chapter at Texas Christian University, at Vice President JD Vance's town hall on Thursday night was one that most politicians in his position would knock "out of the park," said one policy expert.
Armed with note cards and addressing the issue at the top of voters' and campaigns' priority lists—affordability—as well as the White House's push for Americans to have more children, White asked the vice president to explain how he and others on the right "expect us to start families young."
"A constant message that my generation hears from the right is to get married young, have kids young, have as many kids as possible, and I think what the right doesn't acknowledge most of the time is how disincentivized we are currently because of the cost of owning a home, and the general expenses of raising a family," said the student.
"The average price of a home in America now costs more than $415,000, which just feels out of reach for us,” she added.
Unfortunately for White and anyone watching the Fox News town hall who might be interested to know about ideas Vance had to bring down the cost of housing or ensure young Americans can more easily afford to start families by addressing high childcare and healthcare prices, the vice president appeared to stall for time with a joke about one of President Donald Trump's recent favorite topics: the physique of US Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio).
Vance pointed out that while he had been asked four or five questions up to that point in the event, he had "only been asked one question about John Husted's ass, and it was by Jesse Watters," the Fox anchor who was hosting the town hall.
Q: How does the right and yourself expect us to start families young when the average price of a home in America costs more than $415,000 which feels out of reach for us.Vance: The reason why housing exploded is in part because we allowed 20 million illegal aliens into our country to buy homes that ought by right go to American citizens.
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 30, 2026
Patrick T. Brown, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, observed that "the president’s seeming fascination with the body of the Ohio Senate candidate is starting to cause weird message discipline problems" in the remaining days before the pivotal midterm elections.
Trump has taken to commenting frequently on the bodies of other Republican male lawmakers, including Husted, sharing, apropos of nothing, at a recent rally: “I examined his ass, and then I looked at his shoulders. I looked at his feet. I looked at his hand. I looked at his jawline. Studied him."
He has made similar comments about US Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.), Georgia's Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, while insulting the appearance of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for the Senate.
Trump's fixation contributed to Vance's failure to clearly answer what one observer called "a great question" about "a real issue" that's facing many young people.
Vance ultimately replied that White was "right" and that "most Republicans don't" pay enough attention to Americans' struggles to afford essentials and the cost of raising a family, before asserting that he is "an exception."
"Our entire movement and certainly, I think, the president of the United States, is very focused on 'how do we make it possible for young people to afford the basic components of an American dream?'" continued Vance. "That means good healthcare, that means if you work hard and play by the rules, you get a good job, you're able to buy and a house and all those things."
The vice president didn't elaborate on how the Trump administration has made those "components of an American dream" possible for young people like White. A report by the Commonwealth Fund this month found that the Republican Party's cuts to Medicaid and its refusal to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies led to the uninsured rate among working-age adults rising from 8.9% in 2024 to 11.2% this year.
The loss of the subsidies led premiums to rise by an average of 26% for insurance plans purchased through the ACA.
The president also refused to sign a bipartisan bill aimed at lowering the cost of housing this year, while his tariff policy and his illegal war on Iran have been blamed for sending the prices of gas, groceries, and other goods soaring. Mass deportation operations like the ones Trump has overseen have also been linked to reduced construction labor, resulting in fewer completed homes and higher home prices.
Instead of outlining what he believes the Republican Party has done to put home ownership and parenthood within reach for more Americans, Vance pivoted to a well-worn, debunked theory that's been pushed by Trump: "The reason why housing exploded in America is in part because we allowed 20 million illegal aliens into our country to buy homes that ought by right go to American citizens."
At MS NOW, Steve Benen wrote that "Vance’s statistic is wildly inflated and totally at odds with actual data—the idea that 20 million undocumented immigrants have the resources to buy up American real estate is nonsensical."
Benen noted that another factor Vance pointed to, a ban on Wall Street investors buying up homes, "actually made some sense, though it touched on a problem Vance neglected to mention"—that the ban was part of the bipartisan housing bill that Trump refused to support.
Vance concluded by suggesting that young people should simply start families even if they are struggling to afford groceries, housing, childcare, student loan payments, and other necessities.
"Go ahead and do it, because you’re never going to regret getting married and having kids," he said.
Aside from the lapses in logic within the vice president's answer to the question, journalist Ahmed Baba said his approach to the exchange displayed "the political instincts of a gnat. The charisma of a concrete slab. The saucelessness of an unseasoned chicken. Unprecedented levels of lame."
Should Vance, widely seen as the successor to Trump's MAGA movement, become the Republican presidential nominee in 2028, said journalist Mehdi Hasan, "he will be eminently beatable. He is an awful politician."
Campaign strategist Charles Monaco said the exchange illustrated how the people in Trump's orbit "have so long ago given up on their most basic job of answering to voters."
"All they do," he said, "is answer to the increasingly deranged attention vortex of Trump."
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The question posed by Kate White, vice president of the Turning Point USA chapter at Texas Christian University, at Vice President JD Vance's town hall on Thursday night was one that most politicians in his position would knock "out of the park," said one policy expert.
Armed with note cards and addressing the issue at the top of voters' and campaigns' priority lists—affordability—as well as the White House's push for Americans to have more children, White asked the vice president to explain how he and others on the right "expect us to start families young."
"A constant message that my generation hears from the right is to get married young, have kids young, have as many kids as possible, and I think what the right doesn't acknowledge most of the time is how disincentivized we are currently because of the cost of owning a home, and the general expenses of raising a family," said the student.
"The average price of a home in America now costs more than $415,000, which just feels out of reach for us,” she added.
Unfortunately for White and anyone watching the Fox News town hall who might be interested to know about ideas Vance had to bring down the cost of housing or ensure young Americans can more easily afford to start families by addressing high childcare and healthcare prices, the vice president appeared to stall for time with a joke about one of President Donald Trump's recent favorite topics: the physique of US Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio).
Vance pointed out that while he had been asked four or five questions up to that point in the event, he had "only been asked one question about John Husted's ass, and it was by Jesse Watters," the Fox anchor who was hosting the town hall.
Q: How does the right and yourself expect us to start families young when the average price of a home in America costs more than $415,000 which feels out of reach for us.Vance: The reason why housing exploded is in part because we allowed 20 million illegal aliens into our country to buy homes that ought by right go to American citizens.
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 30, 2026
Patrick T. Brown, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, observed that "the president’s seeming fascination with the body of the Ohio Senate candidate is starting to cause weird message discipline problems" in the remaining days before the pivotal midterm elections.
Trump has taken to commenting frequently on the bodies of other Republican male lawmakers, including Husted, sharing, apropos of nothing, at a recent rally: “I examined his ass, and then I looked at his shoulders. I looked at his feet. I looked at his hand. I looked at his jawline. Studied him."
He has made similar comments about US Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.), Georgia's Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, while insulting the appearance of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for the Senate.
Trump's fixation contributed to Vance's failure to clearly answer what one observer called "a great question" about "a real issue" that's facing many young people.
Vance ultimately replied that White was "right" and that "most Republicans don't" pay enough attention to Americans' struggles to afford essentials and the cost of raising a family, before asserting that he is "an exception."
"Our entire movement and certainly, I think, the president of the United States, is very focused on 'how do we make it possible for young people to afford the basic components of an American dream?'" continued Vance. "That means good healthcare, that means if you work hard and play by the rules, you get a good job, you're able to buy and a house and all those things."
The vice president didn't elaborate on how the Trump administration has made those "components of an American dream" possible for young people like White. A report by the Commonwealth Fund this month found that the Republican Party's cuts to Medicaid and its refusal to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies led to the uninsured rate among working-age adults rising from 8.9% in 2024 to 11.2% this year.
The loss of the subsidies led premiums to rise by an average of 26% for insurance plans purchased through the ACA.
The president also refused to sign a bipartisan bill aimed at lowering the cost of housing this year, while his tariff policy and his illegal war on Iran have been blamed for sending the prices of gas, groceries, and other goods soaring. Mass deportation operations like the ones Trump has overseen have also been linked to reduced construction labor, resulting in fewer completed homes and higher home prices.
Instead of outlining what he believes the Republican Party has done to put home ownership and parenthood within reach for more Americans, Vance pivoted to a well-worn, debunked theory that's been pushed by Trump: "The reason why housing exploded in America is in part because we allowed 20 million illegal aliens into our country to buy homes that ought by right go to American citizens."
At MS NOW, Steve Benen wrote that "Vance’s statistic is wildly inflated and totally at odds with actual data—the idea that 20 million undocumented immigrants have the resources to buy up American real estate is nonsensical."
Benen noted that another factor Vance pointed to, a ban on Wall Street investors buying up homes, "actually made some sense, though it touched on a problem Vance neglected to mention"—that the ban was part of the bipartisan housing bill that Trump refused to support.
Vance concluded by suggesting that young people should simply start families even if they are struggling to afford groceries, housing, childcare, student loan payments, and other necessities.
"Go ahead and do it, because you’re never going to regret getting married and having kids," he said.
Aside from the lapses in logic within the vice president's answer to the question, journalist Ahmed Baba said his approach to the exchange displayed "the political instincts of a gnat. The charisma of a concrete slab. The saucelessness of an unseasoned chicken. Unprecedented levels of lame."
Should Vance, widely seen as the successor to Trump's MAGA movement, become the Republican presidential nominee in 2028, said journalist Mehdi Hasan, "he will be eminently beatable. He is an awful politician."
Campaign strategist Charles Monaco said the exchange illustrated how the people in Trump's orbit "have so long ago given up on their most basic job of answering to voters."
"All they do," he said, "is answer to the increasingly deranged attention vortex of Trump."
- Vance Fraud Task Force Condemned as ‘Smokescreen’ for Booting 700,000 More People Off Healthcare ›
- 'Outrageous and Backwards': Trump Officials Plot Raid on Childcare Funds Amid Affordability Crisis ›
- 'Sickening and Unacceptable': Anger Mounts as Trump and Vance Gleefully Rip Healthcare From 750,000 ›
The question posed by Kate White, vice president of the Turning Point USA chapter at Texas Christian University, at Vice President JD Vance's town hall on Thursday night was one that most politicians in his position would knock "out of the park," said one policy expert.
Armed with note cards and addressing the issue at the top of voters' and campaigns' priority lists—affordability—as well as the White House's push for Americans to have more children, White asked the vice president to explain how he and others on the right "expect us to start families young."
"A constant message that my generation hears from the right is to get married young, have kids young, have as many kids as possible, and I think what the right doesn't acknowledge most of the time is how disincentivized we are currently because of the cost of owning a home, and the general expenses of raising a family," said the student.
"The average price of a home in America now costs more than $415,000, which just feels out of reach for us,” she added.
Unfortunately for White and anyone watching the Fox News town hall who might be interested to know about ideas Vance had to bring down the cost of housing or ensure young Americans can more easily afford to start families by addressing high childcare and healthcare prices, the vice president appeared to stall for time with a joke about one of President Donald Trump's recent favorite topics: the physique of US Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio).
Vance pointed out that while he had been asked four or five questions up to that point in the event, he had "only been asked one question about John Husted's ass, and it was by Jesse Watters," the Fox anchor who was hosting the town hall.
Q: How does the right and yourself expect us to start families young when the average price of a home in America costs more than $415,000 which feels out of reach for us.Vance: The reason why housing exploded is in part because we allowed 20 million illegal aliens into our country to buy homes that ought by right go to American citizens.
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 30, 2026
Patrick T. Brown, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, observed that "the president’s seeming fascination with the body of the Ohio Senate candidate is starting to cause weird message discipline problems" in the remaining days before the pivotal midterm elections.
Trump has taken to commenting frequently on the bodies of other Republican male lawmakers, including Husted, sharing, apropos of nothing, at a recent rally: “I examined his ass, and then I looked at his shoulders. I looked at his feet. I looked at his hand. I looked at his jawline. Studied him."
He has made similar comments about US Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.), Georgia's Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, while insulting the appearance of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for the Senate.
Trump's fixation contributed to Vance's failure to clearly answer what one observer called "a great question" about "a real issue" that's facing many young people.
Vance ultimately replied that White was "right" and that "most Republicans don't" pay enough attention to Americans' struggles to afford essentials and the cost of raising a family, before asserting that he is "an exception."
"Our entire movement and certainly, I think, the president of the United States, is very focused on 'how do we make it possible for young people to afford the basic components of an American dream?'" continued Vance. "That means good healthcare, that means if you work hard and play by the rules, you get a good job, you're able to buy and a house and all those things."
The vice president didn't elaborate on how the Trump administration has made those "components of an American dream" possible for young people like White. A report by the Commonwealth Fund this month found that the Republican Party's cuts to Medicaid and its refusal to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies led to the uninsured rate among working-age adults rising from 8.9% in 2024 to 11.2% this year.
The loss of the subsidies led premiums to rise by an average of 26% for insurance plans purchased through the ACA.
The president also refused to sign a bipartisan bill aimed at lowering the cost of housing this year, while his tariff policy and his illegal war on Iran have been blamed for sending the prices of gas, groceries, and other goods soaring. Mass deportation operations like the ones Trump has overseen have also been linked to reduced construction labor, resulting in fewer completed homes and higher home prices.
Instead of outlining what he believes the Republican Party has done to put home ownership and parenthood within reach for more Americans, Vance pivoted to a well-worn, debunked theory that's been pushed by Trump: "The reason why housing exploded in America is in part because we allowed 20 million illegal aliens into our country to buy homes that ought by right go to American citizens."
At MS NOW, Steve Benen wrote that "Vance’s statistic is wildly inflated and totally at odds with actual data—the idea that 20 million undocumented immigrants have the resources to buy up American real estate is nonsensical."
Benen noted that another factor Vance pointed to, a ban on Wall Street investors buying up homes, "actually made some sense, though it touched on a problem Vance neglected to mention"—that the ban was part of the bipartisan housing bill that Trump refused to support.
Vance concluded by suggesting that young people should simply start families even if they are struggling to afford groceries, housing, childcare, student loan payments, and other necessities.
"Go ahead and do it, because you’re never going to regret getting married and having kids," he said.
Aside from the lapses in logic within the vice president's answer to the question, journalist Ahmed Baba said his approach to the exchange displayed "the political instincts of a gnat. The charisma of a concrete slab. The saucelessness of an unseasoned chicken. Unprecedented levels of lame."
Should Vance, widely seen as the successor to Trump's MAGA movement, become the Republican presidential nominee in 2028, said journalist Mehdi Hasan, "he will be eminently beatable. He is an awful politician."
Campaign strategist Charles Monaco said the exchange illustrated how the people in Trump's orbit "have so long ago given up on their most basic job of answering to voters."
"All they do," he said, "is answer to the increasingly deranged attention vortex of Trump."
- Vance Fraud Task Force Condemned as ‘Smokescreen’ for Booting 700,000 More People Off Healthcare ›
- 'Outrageous and Backwards': Trump Officials Plot Raid on Childcare Funds Amid Affordability Crisis ›
- 'Sickening and Unacceptable': Anger Mounts as Trump and Vance Gleefully Rip Healthcare From 750,000 ›