In an hour-long town hall hosted by CBS News, Vice President JD Vance argued the Trump administration's handling of the economy and Iran strategy will pay dividends in the future.He was also pressed on the Trump administration's controversial immigration tactics, widespread discontent about the cost of living and his own political future during "Things That Matter: A Town Hall With Vice President JD Vance," which aired Saturday evening and was hosted by "CBS Evening News" anchor Tony Dokoupil.Vance took questions from voters in Michigan, a swing state that helped propel Vance and President Trump to victory in 2024 — and is the host of a tight Senate race that could help determine which party wins control of the upper chamber in next month's midterm elections.Vance says he hasn't decided if he'll run for presidentIf he decides to run for president in 2028, the vice president is widely viewed as an early frontrunner in the Republican primaries and a possible heir to Mr.

Trump's political movement.

Trump has called Vance his "most likely" GOP successor and has joked about a potential contest between Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.Asked by Dokoupil if there's any chance he won't run, Vance said: "Of course there's a chance.""The way that I think about life, big life decisions — my wife will tell you this — is I'm a procrastinator.

I hate thinking about it," said Vance, adding that he'll "have to think about it."He also noted that he and his wife, Usha Vance, have four young children, and the second lady "has never loved politics," though "she loves public service."On economy, Vance says "we're turning the ship around" but it will take timeSeveral town hall attendees asked Vance about cost-of-living issues.

The topic weighs heavily in the midterms, and has demonstrated it's a liability for Republicans based on CBS News polling.

Voter dissatisfaction with inflation and the state of the economy under the Biden administration helped bring Mr.

Trump and Vance to power, but polls indicate that most voters are still unhappy with the economy and hold the Trump administration responsible.Sandy Johnson said the family entertainment center she owns is "barely making ends meet," and asked when she can expect changes "so that the normal American has money to spend on small businesses."The vice president argued it could take some time.

"What broke the United States, as much as I might like to criticize Joe Biden, but it was a bipartisan, multi-generational failure to under-invest in American workers, to under-invest in American manufacturing, to ship all of our good jobs overseas," Vance said.

"If all the good jobs are overseas, then people here in Michigan can't spend money at your family business."He pointed to promises of new foreign investment in the United States, and growth plans by the three major Detroit-area automakers, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler parent Stellantis."We are turning the tide on this," Vance said, referring to the decline in U.S.

manufacturing.

"And I think there are all these things I pointed to that show signs of progress.

But Sandy, I'll be the first person to tell you that, just as this country wasn't broken in one presidential term, it's gonna take more than 18 months to fix things and turn them around."Since Mr.

Trump returned to office last year, the unemployment rate has remained low, but inflation has remained stubbornly higher than the Federal Reserve's 2%-per-year target, eating into Americans' wages.

The number of manufacturing jobs has also remained roughly flat.Asked by Dokoupil about Mr.

Trump's assessment of an "A+" economy, Vance said the president was referring to new investments, "but he would be the first person to tell you that you gotta build the factories first before you can employ the workers working in those factories."Vance later said: "I think what we're doing is, we're turning the ship around."Iran and energy: "I recognize that gas prices are too high right now"One of the biggest pressure points on Americans' wallets is the Iran war, which has kept oil prices high even as the U.S.

and Iran have refrained from active fighting in recent weeks.Keshon Wheatley, a barber from Detroit, told Vance that he voted for Mr.

Trump in 2020 and 2024, in large part because he gave the president credit for low gas prices during his first term.

Now, gas prices are far higher — and he said he plans to vote for Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, not Republican Mike Rogers.Vance pointed to Iran's attacks on oil tankers."We've never had a situation like this, where you have effectively the largest state sponsor of terrorism that's trying to completely choke off world energy supply," the vice president said, arguing that "if we just … left, and we let the Iranians control shipping out of the Strait of Hormuz, what that would mean is you would pay a lot more for gasoline."Asked how long it will take for prices to ease, Vance said, "When this conflict is over, we are going to see gas prices come down." He said oil is still being exported from the Middle East because of efforts by the U.S.

military to allow ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.On the competitive Michigan Senate race, he argued El-Sayed — a frequent critic of the Iran war — has not offered a solution to the problem, and gave Rogers credit for....