Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz stunned those watching Tuesday night's vice presidential debate by fidgeting nervously, furrowing his eyebrows and even calling himself a “knucklehead.” Meanwhile, his fellow Republican governor, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, gave a solid, lawyerly presentation and is widely seen as the winner.
The largely friendly forum, hosted by CBS News, saw both candidates repeatedly agree with each other, express warm personal feelings and avoid the harsh personal attacks that were part of both presidential debates earlier this year. .
The 60-year-old Walz, who has honed his folksy demeanor during his campaign, was noticeably nervous and repeatedly misspoken while clasping his hands and rolling his eyes inside the CBS studios.
In answering the first question of the night, Walz was asked if he supported an Israeli pre-emptive strike targeting Iran's nuclear weapons program, saying “Israel and its proxies are expanding,” not Iran and its proxies. expressed concern about.
The Minnesotan ultimately did not answer the question, and Vance, 40, said he would leave the final decision to the Israelis and would support them regardless.
Still nervous after an hour, Walz declared during her gun control argument that she had “been friends with a school shooter,” although she appeared to mean the victim. Vance responded in a friendly manner, expressing regret that the governor's son witnessed a shooting at a community center in Minnesota.
In the scene most reenacted in debates, Democrats stumbled again. When asked about new reports that he lied about being in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square massacre in the spring of 1989.
“Look, I'll be the first to tell you that I've poured my heart into my community,” Walz said in a rambling initial response. “I have tried to be the best I can be, I have not been perfect and I have had some crooked fingers at times, but it has always been the same people who elected me to Congress for 12 years. It was.”
Co-host Margaret Brennan pressed: “Governor, I have a question to follow up on that, could you please explain this contradiction?''
Walz was visibly shocked and dismayed by the candid follow-up, claiming, “I got there that summer and I misspoke about this.”
Neither Mr. Vance nor the host brought up Mr. Walz's embellishment of his military accomplishments or his alleged use of fertility treatments to help his wife conceive, even though Republicans have focused on both in recent weeks. .
At one point, Walz praised President Donald Trump's running mate for giving viewers “the conversation they want to hear” about the future of the country, an apparent reference to the civility of the debate.
While advocating for stronger U.S.-Mexico border security, Vance spoke fondly of his mother's battle with opioid addiction and how his grandmother sometimes turned off the heat in the winter to save money. He was the one who benefited the most from showing it.
The 40-year-old Republican entered the debate with more negative reviews from the public. 10.3% According to RealClearPolitics' average recent poll, Walz's own favorability rating is lower than that of Walz. plus -2.5% Likeability.
According to prominent pollster Frank Luntz, it appears to have been quite successful. find it In a focus group of 14 undecided voters in seven swing states, 12 concluded that Mr. Vance won the debate.
Other commentators gave similar evaluations of Waltz's performance.
“Fortunately for Democrats, presidential debates tend to be much more important than vice presidential debates.” I wrote Dave Wasserman, senior editor and election analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
“Waltz seems rusty and nervous. Maybe he should have taken some press interviews to prepare better.” tweeted Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin – points out Walz's relative lack of media involvement.
“After 15 minutes, it's clear that Waltz not being interviewed was a big mistake. He's nervous, but rest assured that J.D. has had hostile interviews every day since he was chosen.” “I'm there” I wrote “Breaking Point” co-host Sagar Enjeti.
Chris Sillizza, former CNN and MSNBC veteran political commentator, said: I wrote Near the end he says, “Vance is winning the debate. He is clearly the best debater of the four candidates running for President or Vice President. His answer/point on abortion. Walz is doing well, but spotty. His answer to the lie that he was in China during the Tiananmen massacre was terrible.”
Mr. Vance has given more than 60 interviews since becoming former President Donald Trump's running mate, while Mr. Walz has given only a few.
Republicans remained calm during the debate's rare controversial moments, even speaking out despite having their microphones cut off when they challenged the moderator's fact-checking claims.
When Mr. Brennan said that the thousands of Haitian immigrants living in Springfield, Ohio, awaiting asylum decisions “have legal status,” Mr. Vance said that they are Biden-Harris. He had prepared a counterargument that he entered the country under the administration's illegal expansion of “parole.”
“I think it's important to say what's actually going on because we're fact-checking,” Vance protested. “There is an application called the CBP One app that allows undocumented immigrants who continue to operate under Kamala Harris’ open borders wand wave to apply for asylum or parole and be granted legal status.”
Republicans argue that the program exceeds the administration's legal authority and that parole should absolutely not be granted.
Vance, meanwhile, praised some of the Harris-Waltz campaign's policies, such as expanding housing construction and lowering housing affordability, but repeatedly questioned why Harris has yet to deliver on her policy promises during her time in office.
“Some of those ideas I actually think are halfway decent, and some I don't agree with,” Vance said.
“The most important thing here is that Kamala Harris is not running as a political newcomer. If she wants to enact all these policies, I encourage her to use the office that the American people have already given her, instead of sitting around doing nothing and campaigning.”
