Voters react to JD Vance claiming he and Donald Trump support ‘clean air, clean water’

Republican, Democrat and independent voters reacted differently when Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, stated that he and former President Trump support “clean air, clean water” while responding to a question on the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate stage about climate change, the Fox News Debate Dial showed. 

“Look, a lot of people are justifiably worried about all these crazy weather patterns. I think it’s important for us, first of all, to say, Donald Trump and I support clean air, clean water. We want the environment to be cleaner and safer,” Vance said.

The Fox News Debate Dial showed support among independents and Democrats dipping downward when Vance made that statement. Support among Republicans remained fairly consistent. 

But support among independent viewers began to rise again when Vance referenced how Democrats bring up carbon emissions when discussing climate change. 

“This idea that carbon emissions drives all of the climate change. Well, let’s just say that’s true just for the sake of argument. So we’re not arguing about weird science. Let’s just say that’s true,” Vance said. “Well, if you believe that, what would you — would you want to do? The answer is that you’d want to reshore as much American manufacturing as possible, and you’d want to produce as much energy as possible in the United States of America, because we’re the cleanest economy in the entire world.” 

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Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks during the vice-presidential debate at CBS Studios on Oct. 1, 2024, in New York City. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The dial for independents remained flat as Vance moved into criticizing Kamala Harris on energy policy. Support among Democrats took a dive by contrast. 

“What have Kamala Harris policies actually lead to more energy production in China, more manufacturing overseas, more doing business in some of the dirtiest parts of the entire world,” Vance said. “When I say that, I mean the amount of carbon emissions they’re doing per unit of economic output. So, if we actually care about getting cleaner air and cleaner water, the best thing to do is to double down and invest in American workers and the American people. And unfortunately, Kamala Harris has done exactly the opposite.” 

CBS News host Nora O’Donnell began her question by noting how more than 160 were dead and hundreds more were missing in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. 

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are shown on screen in the spin room during the first vice presidential debate at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024.  (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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“Scientists say climate change makes these hurricanes larger, stronger and more deadly because of the historic rainfall,” she said. “Senator Vance, according to CBS news polling, 7 in 10 Americans and more than 60% of Republicans under the age of 45 favor the U.S. taking steps to try and reduce climate change. Senator, what responsibility would the Trump administration have to try and reduce the impact of climate change?” 

Vance began his response by recognizing the hurricane as “an unbelievable, unspeakable human tragedy” and recalling a photograph of grandparents and a six-year-old child on a roof that later collapsed, causing those people to lose their lives. “I’m sure Governor Waltz joins me and saying, our hearts go out to those innocent people, our prayers go out to them,” Vance said. “And we want as robust and aggressive as a federal response as we can get to save as many lives as possible. And then, of course, afterwards to help the people in those communities rebuild.” 

Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz shake hands after the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in New York City.  (Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty Images)

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When the Republican vice presidential nominee referenced Appalachia and said he knew impacted people personally across the Southeast who “need their government to do their job,” the Fox News Debate Dial showed support spiked drastically among Republican viewers, and also rose for independents. For Democrats, the dial seemed to dip down, especially when Vance added, “I commit that when Donald Trump is president again, the government will put the citizens of this country first when they suffer from a disaster.”