JD Vanceâ€s mic is muted during debate exchange on immigration

The microphone of Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance was muted Tuesday night during a debate when he sought to dispute an effort by moderators to fact-check his claims about immigration.

A moderator suggested the microphone of Vanceâ€s Democratic rival, Tim Walz, was also cut off.

The moment unfolded after Vance, an Ohio senator, and Walz, the Minnesota governor, sparred over the situation in Springfield, Ohio. Vance and the GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump have amplified false claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield are eating pets and are in the country illegally.

“Just to clarify for our viewers, Springfield, Ohio, does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status, temporary protected status,� moderator Margaret Brennan said.

Brennanâ€s comment prompted a rebuke from Vance, who said: “The rules were that you guys werenâ€t going to fact-check, and since youâ€re fact-checking me, I think itâ€s important to say whatâ€s actually going on.â€�

Vance went on to try to explain his position, but before long, the volume of Vanceâ€s voice was audibly lower and distant.

“Gentlemen, the audience canâ€t hear you because your mics are cut,â€� Brennan said.

The decision quickly angered Republicans. Trump expressed outrage on his Truth Social platform, saying Brennan “cut off JDâ€s mic to stop him from correcting her!â€�

Going into the debate, CBS warned that it could cut off the candidates†microphones.

“CBS News reserves the right to mute the candidates†microphones, but otherwise, they will be hot,� the network said.

The muting of microphones was a contentious issue in the lead-up to Trumpâ€s debate last month with Vice President Kamala Harris. The Harris campaign wanted microphones to remain hot, while Trumpâ€s campaign successfully pushed to keep the rules from a previous CNN debate where microphones were muted when it was not a candidateâ€s turn to speak.