Vice presidential candidates Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) clashed Tuesday in what is likely the final debate of the presidential election season.
With no presidential debate scheduled to follow, this year's vice presidential debate had unusually high stakes.
The debate, which lasted just under two hours, was largely friendly, but there were some heated moments.
Here are four memorable moments from the Vance-Waltz debate.
Vance challenges moderators over fact-checking
Vance sparred with the CBS News host after Margaret Brennan tried to clarify comments about immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, that have dominated the news cycle.
About 30 minutes into the debate, Brennan told viewers that Springfield “has a large population of Haitian immigrants with legal status and temporary protected status.”
As the moderators moved on to the next question, Vance interjected, saying, “The rule was no fact-checking.” “And since you're fact-checking me, I think it's important to say what's actually going on.”
Mr. Vance tried to continue speaking, but Mr. Walz also tried to interrupt. As the two were debating, the moderator cut off the candidate's microphone.
Mr. Waltz pursued the China story.
In a sharp exchange, Walz tried to defend his past false claim that he was in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square student protests in China, calling himself a “knucklehead” before saying he had made a gaffe. I called it.
Brennan followed up on recent reports that revealed the Minnesota governor did not visit Asia until August of that year, months after the protests broke out.
“I try to do the best I can, but I'm not perfect. I have a crooked finger sometimes,” Waltz said in a meandering response.
When pressed for comment, Walz said he arrived in the area over the summer but had mistakenly said he was there during the Tiananmen Square protests.
“I was in Hong Kong and China during the democracy movement, and from there I learned a lot about what it takes to govern,” he said.
Walz presses Vance on Trump's claims in 2020 election
Toward the end of the debate, Walz and Vance argued over the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and President Trump's continued claims that the 2020 election was affected by widespread voter fraud. did.
Walz asked Vance if Trump lost the 2020 election.
“Tim, I'm focused on the future,” Vance replied. “Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their minds in response to the 2020 coronavirus situation?”
“That's terrible. That's not the answer at all,” Walz said.
Vance says Republicans must do a better job on abortion
Abortion is a key issue in the November election, and Vance acknowledged Republican weakness on the issue during the debate.
Vance responded to Walz's attack on President Trump's record, saying, “Our party has to do a better job on this issue of restoring trust to the American people who frankly don't trust us.” he said. problem.
“I think that's one of the things that Donald Trump and I are trying to do. As a Republican Party, we want to be pro-family in the fullest sense of the word,” Vance added, adding that President Trump He emphasized that he wants to leave the abortion issue to each state to decide.
