TOLEDO – If it wasn’t already clear that the economy will define this year’s midterm elections, perhaps the sitting vice president delivering a speech about it — under the words “lower prices, bigger paychecks” — is a sign.
Vice President JD Vance, who previously served as one of Ohio’s two U.S. senators, spoke at Midwest Terminals’ Ironville Terminal on Toledo’s east side yesterday morning. The focus of the VP’s remarks? Selling the Trump administration’s economic agenda.
Vance’s visit, which opened with brief remarks from Senator Jon Husted, as well as gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, was attended by a number of other Republican candidates for office — particularly those hoping to represent Ohio’s 9th Congressional District. Former State Representative Derek Merrin, current State Rep. Josh Williams, veteran Alea Nadeem, and former deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Madison Sheahan, are all vying for the Republican nomination to face Representative Marcy Kaptur in November.
Vance began his speech by discussing the administration’s goal of returning jobs to the U.S. Without providing specifics, he claimed that “we’re one year into $18 trillion of new investment for the United States of America.”
Regarding the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which was passed by Republican lawmakers last summer, Vance emphasized its tax cuts. He specifically promoted the bill’s provisions for no tax on tips and overtime. However, according to the IRS, the maximum annual deduction for tips is $25,000, while it’s $12,500 for overtime pay.
On inflation, the issue that drove 2024’s election cycle, Vance claimed “we have the lowest inflation that we’ve had, well, since the last Trump administration.” While the Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that, in February 2017 and August 2018, the 12-month U.S. inflation rate was 2.7 percent – what it is now – it had been lower toward the end of President Biden’s term. It had gotten down to 2.5 percent in August of 2024 and 2.4 percent the following month, before climbing up again, beginning in October of 2024.
Discussing prescription drug costs, Vance said “for four years under the Biden-Harris administration, Americans paid the highest prescription drug costs in the world.” While it is true that Americans pay significantly more than their peers for prescription drugs, that has been the case for years – including during President Trump’s first term. Data from the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker offers a fuller picture.
Housing costs continue to be a concern nationwide. While it’s a problem driven by high demand and a lack of affordable housing, Vance placed blame with the nation’s undocumented community.
“That is how you lower prices: focus on American workers and invest in American homebuilding – you don’t give all of our homes to illegal aliens.”
While a slowdown in homebuilding, resulting from the 2008-09 recession, is a legitimate cause of high housing prices – experts say undocumented Americans, while a contributor to demand, are not a significant contributor to prices rising.
A noteworthy line from Vance’s speech was that “you don’t turn the Titanic around overnight – it takes time to fix what was broken.” The metaphor, which was mocked by some on social media, served as a call for patience, amid some voters souring on the Trump administration. The president’s approval rating has been down in multiple polls, of multiple states, including Ohio. An October 2025 BGSU poll showed Trump underwater by 10 points, while a December 2025 Emerson College poll showed him with a 46 percent approval rating.
