Tim Walz and JD Vance faced off Tuesday in a vice presidential debate that opened with burgeoning domestic and international unrest — a hurricane that ravaged much of the southeastern United States and the growing fears of regional war in the Middle East.
Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota, and Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, focused many of their attacks on the top of the ticket, as is tradition for vice presidential debates. They each pointed to the crises of the moment as reasons why voters choose Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump.
Walz, responding to a question about whether he would support a preemptive strike against Iran after launching missiles at Israel, described Trump as too dangerous for the country and the world in a time of instability.
“The bottom line here is consistent leadership,” said Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota. “And the world saw it on the debate stage a few weeks ago, an almost 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need right now.”
Vance, in his response, argued that Trump is an intimidating figure whose presence on the international stage is in itself a deterrent.
“Donald Trump actually brought stability,” he said.
When asked about the January 6 insurrection, JD Vance defended former President Donald Trump in his handling of a peaceful transfer of power, while Tim Walz accused Trump of abusing his power to discredit the election. “A president’s words matter.”
The debate hosted in New York by CBS News opened with a sober tone that reflected growing national and international concerns about safety and security. But that led to more heated attacks from Walz and Vance — and a moment in which moderators shut down the discussion by muting both men’s microphones.
Walz accused Vance and Trump of vilifying legal immigrants in Vance’s home state. He pointed to the fact that Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine had to send additional law enforcement to keep the city’s schools safe after Vance tweeted about it and Trump amplified false claims that Haitians ate pets.
“That’s what happens when you don’t want to solve the problem, you demonize it,” Walz said, saying that not doing so would allow people to “come together.”
Vance said the city’s 15,000 Haitians caused housing, economic and other problems that the Biden-Harris administration was ignoring.
When debate moderators pointed out that Haitians living there had legal status, Vance protested that CBS News had said its moderators would not verify the facts, leaving the responsibility up to the candidates. As Vance continued and the moderators tried to move on, his microphone was cut off and neither man could be heard.
The two men found their unity during Hurricane Helene, which devastated several states and caused massive flooding in North Carolina in particular. Walz mentioned the devastation of the storm and talked about working with governors across the country, saying they don’t let politics get in the way of collaboration.
The question about Hurricane Helene led to a moment of political civility when Vance said, “I’m sure Governor Walz joins me in saying our hearts go out to these innocent people.” »
The two Midwesterners struck a noticeably friendlier tone than during the showdown between Trump and Harris — or, earlier this year, Trump and President Joe Biden before he withdrew from the race.
When they first addressed immigration and the influx of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, one of the campaign’s hottest issues, the two men credited each other with good intentions.
“I believe Senator Vance wants to solve this problem, but by standing with Donald Trump and not working together to find a solution, it becomes a talking point and when it becomes a talking point like this, we dehumanize and vile other human beings,” Walz said. said.
Vance echoed that sentiment, saying, “I think you want to solve this problem, but I don’t think Kamala Harris does.”
The debate could have an outsized impact
Polls showed Harris and Trump facing off in a tight race, giving added weight to anything that can influence voters at the margins, including the impression left by the vice presidential candidates. It could also be the final debate of the campaign, with the Harris and Trump teams unable to agree on another meeting.
A vice presidential candidate’s role is typically to serve as an attack dog for the person at the top of the ticket, arguing against the opposing presidential candidate and their proxy on stage. Both Vance and Walz took on this role.
Vance’s sometimes confrontational interviews and appearances have underscored why Trump chose him for the Republican ticket despite his past harsh criticism of the former president, including once suggesting that Trump would be “the Hitler of America.”
“When something goes wrong and you change your mind, you have to be honest with the American people,” he said Tuesday.
Walz catapulted himself onto Harris’ campaign by calling Trump and Republicans “just weird,” creating a line of attack for Democrats seeking to argue that Republicans are out of touch with the American people.
There was emphasis Tuesday on his misleading claim, investigated this week by Minnesota Public Radio and other media outlets, that he was in Hong Kong during the turmoil surrounding the Hong Kong massacre. Tiananmen Square in 1989, part of a larger pattern of inaccuracies that Republicans hope to exploit. .
Confronted with his false claims about his trips to China years ago, Walz defended himself by saying, “I haven’t been perfect. » In fact, he said, “I’m a fool sometimes.” » Finally, he admitted to having spoken poorly about his story.
A new AP-NORC poll found that Walz is more well-liked than Vance, which could give the Republican an additional challenge.
Trump on Tuesday night said his advice to Vance was to “have a lot of fun” and praised his running mate as a “smart guy” and “a real warrior.”
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Price and Megerian reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Josh Boak in Baltimore and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
