CNN anchor Abby Phillip criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for the Democrats' “obvious lack of preparation and execution” during Tuesday night's vice presidential debate.
The prime-time host said fellow CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash praised Walz and Republican Sen. J.D. It wasn't. It was a sharp contrast to the heated debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and the former president. Donald Trump last month.
Philip interrupted their discussion and called for Waltz.
“I don't think we should forget, however politely, the fact that J.D. Vance came to this debate to throw a lot of punches, and he did,” Philip said.
“He threw a lot of punches, some great ones, but what really stood out to me was that Tim Walz didn't seem ready for it.”
A snap poll after the debate showed Vance ahead of Walz.
About 42% of debate viewers said Vance won, while 41% supported Walz. According to a CBS poll.
The New York Times asked 13 columnists and contributors rate the discussion In an opinion article. Nine people said Vance won the debate, two gave the nod to Walz and two others said there was no winner.
Mr. Phillip blamed Mr. Walz's lackluster performance on Mr. Vance's inability to quickly fact-check.
“He didn't respond to the many criticisms and attacks that Vance put on the table. He left some obvious falsehoods completely unanswered,” Phillip said.
“He essentially allowed J.D. Vance to sidestep a lot of issues, including issues of climate change and his flip on Donald Trump.”
Phillip highlighted Walz's rebuttal of Vance defending President Trump's approach to the Affordable Care Act.
“It took him a few sentences to get to the part of Waltz's answer, the part where he actually answered it,” Philip said. “So I think there was a clear lack of preparation and execution on Walz’s part.”
Bash, who accompanied Walz to Harris' first network interview five weeks after Biden abstained, disagreed with his colleague.
“Actually, I think the opposite is true,” Bash argued. “I think he overprepared.”
Bash argued that Walz's poor debate performance may have been due to over-preparation and confusing prepared “lines” while trying to respond.
“He had so many lines that when J.D. Vance said one of his harshest criticisms of Kamala Harris, he clearly didn't listen.” Bash said. “He obviously had something on his mind and didn't react.”
Bash said a “lack of interviews with national and local media” also contributed to Walz's lackluster debates, and that “he needed more reps.” He said it was proven.
