MANSPLAINER MUTED

CBS Moderators Cut Vance’s Mic During Fact-Checking Clash

JD Vance tried to complain about the rules. Margaret Brennan didn’t bother to listen.

CBS News cut out JD Vance’s mic on Tuesday night after Vance sparred with moderator Margaret Brennan over her fact-checking his false claims about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio.

Vance tried to lay out how migrants were entering Springfield before Brennan hit him with a rebuttal: “Just to clarify for our viewers, Springfield, Ohio does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status.”

That appeared to set Vance off, who accused her of violating CBS’ rules for the debate. “The rules were that you guys weren’t going to fact check, and since you're fact checking me, I think it's important to say what's actually going on.”

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He then laid out the very legal process of how migrants receive Temporary Protected Status, which has been extended repeatedly throughout the Trump and Biden administrations.

But as he kept going, repeatedly speaking over Brennan and co-moderator Norah O’Donnell as they tried to pivot to the economy, he was suddenly silenced. His voice echoed in the room, but what he said was largely inaudible to the audience at home.

“Gentlemen, the audience can't hear you because your mics are cut,” Brennan said. “We have so much we want to get to.”

The network said this week it would encourage the candidates to fact-check each other, but it never ruled out the notion that moderators would fact-check the candidates.

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