Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance (R) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) met in New York on Tuesday in the first and perhaps only vice presidential debate of the campaign. The all-or-nothing moment will come a little while ago with more than a month left until voting day.
The two candidates clashed on a wide range of issues, from abortion to immigration to foreign policy. But the forum was decidedly more civil and policy-focused than the debate between Vice President Harris and former President Trump last month.
It's unclear how much change this event will bring, but it could be the last time voters see a debate over the top voting rights candidates until November. Harris has been pushing her rival to face off again, but Trump has so far insisted there will be no rematch.
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday's vice presidential debate.
Vance shows off his debate skills
Vance probably entered the debate with higher stakes than Walz. The Ohio senator has been controversial and ridiculed for promoting a baseless conspiracy that Haitian immigrants were eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, and for past comments about “childless cat ladies.” I'm calling.
But on Tuesday night, Vance put to rest, at least temporarily, questions about why President Trump chose him as his running mate.
Vance, a Yale-trained lawyer, clearly came into his own Tuesday night, easily dodging tricky questions and at one point challenging the host over fact-checking a statement he made in Springfield. Ta.
His sophisticated oratory stands in sharp contrast to Waltz's sometimes turbulent performance, but his emphasis on his humble Appalachian upbringing may have put him off by the controversy surrounding him. It was an obvious effort to appeal to unsuspecting voters.
This was just the shot Vance needed, as he entered the debate with lower approval ratings than his Democratic rival.
Mr. Waltz stumbles over answers when talking about China
Minnesota's governor had an even less uneventful Tuesday night, highlighted by his awkward response to a claim that he was in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.
News outlets such as APM Reports and Minnesota Public Radio recently reported that there is evidence to suggest that Walz was actually in China later that year in August, but this contradicts his claims. There is.
Asked about the discrepancy between his statements and recent news reports, Walz struggled to give a concise answer, saying he can be a “sticky head” at times.
“Look, my community knows who I am,” Walz said. “They saw where I was. They — look, I'll be the first to tell you that I've poured my heart into my community. I've tried to be the best I can be. , it wasn't perfect and my fingers got dull at times, but it always was.
Pressed again, Waltz said, “All I said about this was that I got there that summer and I misspoke about this. So just do it — that's what I said.'' That's true.''
“So I was in Hong Kong and China during the democracy movement, and I went there and learned a lot from there about what it takes to govern,” he added.
The moment comes as Republicans have increased scrutiny of details of Walz's life, including his military service and his family's pregnancy journey.
Walz was also unable to land a knockout blow against Vance, with many commentators praising his performance after Tuesday's debate.
Vance's appeal focuses on abortion
As Democrats ramp up their attacks on Trump over the abortion issue, an Ohio Republican tried to appeal to political moderates on the issue.
Vance said that a woman he knew who had an abortion was watching his debate against Walz and said, “Years ago, she told me something that would have ruined her life if she hadn't had an abortion.'' “I was talking about it,” he said. She was in an abusive relationship. ”
“And as a Republican who wants to proudly protect innocent lives in this country, who wants to proudly protect the vulnerable, the takeaway from that is that our party needs to do better. I think we have to do the work to restore the trust of the American people on this issue where, frankly, they don't trust us,'' Vance said.
Vance said he wants the Republican Party to be “pro-family in the fullest sense of the word,” including making childbirth more affordable for women and supporting infertility treatment. He said he hopes Republicans will support it.
At the same time, Mr. Vance had to consider what to do with some of his past statements on the issue, including his previous support for a national abortion limit of 15 weeks.
When asked if Vance still supports such a ban, the senator said, “First of all, I have never supported a national ban. When we were there, we talked about setting minimum national standards.”
During the debate, President Trump made a surprising post on his platform Truth Social, saying he would veto the federal government's ban on abortion.
CBS under fire over fact-checking and microphones
CBS drew criticism from both viewers and candidates on stage over its handling of debate rules, highlighting the challenges news organizations face in conducting debates in the current political climate.
In one of the most tense moments in a generally subdued debate, Vance spoke to CBS News hosts after the station's Margaret Brennan tried to clarify her comments on immigration. An altercation broke out and both candidates' microphones were cut off. .
The candidates sparred over Springfield. Springfield is a hub where Trump and Vance have previously amplified false claims that Haitian immigrants are eating pets in the area. Vance did not make a similar argument during the debate, but he did argue that areas like Springfield are overwhelmingly home to “millions of illegal immigrants.”
Brennan clarified that Springfield has “a large population of Haitian immigrants with legal status and temporary protected status.”
“The rule was no fact-checking,” Vance said as the hosts tried to move the conversation to new questions about the economy. “And since you're fact-checking me, I think it's important to say what's actually going on.”
Brennan emphasized that there are “a lot of things that need to be resolved,” but Vance continued to elaborate and Walz interjected. The candidate's voice suddenly became low.
Throughout the debate, Trump posted on his Truth Society page: yelled mic cut and criticized the network For how the fact-checking attempt was “unfair” to Vance.
CBS News regularly featured QR codes that redirected viewers to online fact-checking blogs during discussions, but the network specifically said It is up to the candidates to confirm the facts with each other in real time.
The decision comes after ABC News, which hosted the Trump-Harris presidential debate last month, came under fire from Trump and his allies for fact-checking the host's live broadcast. Back in June, CNN also received criticism for refraining from checking during the Trump-Biden debate.
the discussion is civil
Tuesday's debate was one of the most civil-level national debates in recent memory. Unlike many presidential debates over the past eight years, there were no slurs or personal attacks on the debate stage. Instead, Vance and Walz focused strictly on discussing policy and clarifying the differences between the two campaigns.
Both men also agreed with each other at some point, shaking hands and having a friendly conversation after the event.
Indeed, while both candidates believe the other wants to solve the problems facing this country, including immigration, they have expressed sharp disagreements about how to solve those problems. said frequently.
“I enjoyed the debate tonight. I think there's a lot of common ground here,” Walz said toward the end of the forum.
At another point, Vance acknowledged one of Walz's personal anecdotes, in which the governor said his son witnessed the shooting.
“Tim, first of all, I had no idea your 17-year-old child witnessed the shooting. And I'm sorry for that. Christ have mercy,” Vance said. .
Tuesday's debate is likely to be seen as a refreshing change of pace in an election cycle defined by personal attacks and growing threats of political violence.
