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In recent weeks, Tim Walz’s team has tried to lower expectations for his debate with rival JD Vance. Now we know why.
Democratic vice presidential nominee and Minnesota governor Walz didn’t have a disastrous performance on the debate stage, but he was clearly outclassed by Ohio Sen. Vance. Trump supporters who questioned the young Ohio senator’s qualifications for the nation’s second-highest office, or asked why the former president chose him as his vice presidential nominee, slept better Tuesday evening. He was sharp, engaging and politically savvy. Most importantly, Vance completely overturned the media’s unflattering characterization of him by being sympathetic, respectful and likeable.
Vance has had the advantage of having granted dozens of press interviews in recent weeks; he was ready and tested. In contrast, Walz has had virtually no unscheduled encounters with the media since becoming the Democratic vice presidential nominee; his inability to move beyond talking points and delve deeper into politics was not surprising.
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Walz spent much of the debate talking about programs he claimed to have successfully implemented in Minnesota, like paid family leave. What he was supposed to do Tuesday night was make the case for Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Time and time again during the nearly two-hour debate, Vance asked the most important question, also asked by Trump during his debate. Harris has been in the White House for three and a half years. Why hasn’t she pushed forward with the policies she believes will solve the nation’s problems?
Like during the ABC presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, CBS News moderators embarrassed themselves by clearly favoring the Democratic candidate. Additionally, CBS’s Margaret Brennan and Norah O’Donnell adopted a grating tone, all too eager to accompany what was an extremely orderly debate.
Their questions focused on well-known Democratic priorities (climate change, abortion) and they largely avoided topics that could have benefited Vance, like crime. O’Donnell took issue with Trump previously calling climate change a “hoax” and then gratuitously asserting that “the overwhelming consensus is that the climate is changing.”
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Additionally, after saying they would not vet candidates, both women stepped in more than once to question an answer from Vance, and only did so once with Walz.
Unfortunately for Minnesota’s governor, this probing question proved calamitous. When asked why he falsely claimed to be in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, Walz launched into a word salad that would have made Kamala Harris proud, speaking about his experiences traveling to China . When asked again why he lied, Walz missed and appeared stunned. In fact, he was caught lying. Since he has a habit of telling lies about his past, and especially his military rank, this hasn’t been much help.
Vance, like Walz, was supposed to champion his running mate’s cause, and that’s what he did. When moderators and Walz ridiculed Trump’s assertion during the presidential debate that he had the “concept of a plan” when it came to health care, Vance said Trump didn’t have a plan — he had a case. Several times throughout the evening, he reminded the audience that under Trump’s presidency, inflation was low, the border was closed and the world was at peace.
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When moderator Margaret Brennan pressed Vance on why Trump abandoned the Iran nuclear deal, allowing the terrorist state to accelerate its efforts to build a nuclear weapon, Vance noted that for more than three years, Harris and Biden disagreed. charge. He rightly pointed out that they helped rebuild Iran’s ability to wage war by not enforcing Trump’s sanctions, thereby allowing the mullahs to increase their revenue by $100 billion. With Iran having just attacked Israel with 180 missiles, Vance’s reference to the Reagan-Trump doctrine of peace through strength resonated.
As Walz repeated Harris’ vague promises about improving the lives of middle-class families, Vance reminded the audience that take-home pay had increased under Trump and inflation was low, while under Harris, prices of everything from food to housing had climbed more than 20%. When Walz claimed that economists supported Harris’ plan over Trump’s, Vance responded that Trump didn’t have a Ph.D. on his team, that he had common sense.
When Walz accused Trump of wanting to impose tariffs on imports that would serve as a new tax on Americans, Vance praised President Joe Biden for maintaining the former president’s tariffs on China, defusing thus the problem.
Time and time again during the nearly two-hour debate, Vance asked the most important question, also asked by Trump during his debate. Harris has been in the White House for three and a half years. Why hasn’t she pushed forward with policies that she believes will solve the nation’s problems?
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Vance clearly won the border dispute, noting that Harris had been boasting for three years about rolling back every restriction Trump put in place. When Brennan challenged Vance on how Trump would handle family separation while carrying out deportations, Vance referenced the horrific report that the Department of Homeland Security lost track of more than 320,000 children brought illegally to the border – an overwhelming and heartbreaking situation that resulted in Harris’ open border.
Unsurprisingly, the debate heated up over abortion. Vance criticized the Minnesota law signed by Walz that does not require a doctor to do everything necessary to care for a baby who survives a late-term abortion. Walz disputed this characterization, but Vance is correct. Walz, meanwhile, accused Vance of supporting a 15-week nationwide ban on abortion. Vance explained that he shares Trump’s view that states are now responsible for setting regulations.
The candidates clashed on other issues and delivered expected blows to their respective running mates, but both kept their cool and even agreed that on some issues, like school safety, they probably could find common ground. Especially given the Harris-Walz strategy of avoiding scrutiny and attempting to hide their progressive agendas, this event was particularly helpful to American voters.
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The winner of the night was without a doubt JD Vance. Will this matter? After all, many argue that no one votes for the vice president. But voters are telling pollsters they don’t know enough about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
Now they know more, and based on Tuesday night’s performance, Vance might have won over a few people. With a tied race, everything counts.
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