Republican Sen. JD Vance and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz clashed Tuesday on the whole lot from financial and gun coverage to immigration and faculty shootings in the one vice presidential debate of the 2024 election.
The Ohio senator and Minnesota governor largely saved issues cordial personally, even showing chummy at instances and saying they might work with one another. But they repeatedly savaged one another’s working mates and defended their social gathering insurance policies and tickets.
The debate, hosted by CBS News in New York City, may very well be the final occasion that includes candidates from each campaigns, with Kamala Harris and Donald Trump not at the moment scheduled to debate once more.
Here are 5 key takeaways from the talk.
It wasn’t actually about Vance or Walz
It was instantly clear the 2 outstanding politicians on stage have been merely proxies for his or her working mates, utilizing the questions as autos to assault their top-of-the-ticket rivals and on many events going out of their means to not personally assault one another.
Walz used his first query, relating to Iran’s strikes on Israel, to hit at Trump’s age: “A virtually 80-year-old Donald Trump speaking about crowd sizes isn’t what we’d like on this second.” He went on to assail “Donald Trump’s fickle management” around the globe.
Vance replied, “Who has been the vice chairman for the final three and a half years? And the reply is your working mate, not mine. Donald Trump constantly made the world safer.”
In the following part, about local weather change, Walz hit Trump once more: “Donald Trump referred to as it a hoax, after which joked that this stuff would make extra beachfront property to have the ability to spend money on.”
On immigration, Vance sidestepped when requested how Trump would perform his mass deportation promise, and repeatedly attacking Harris: “I’ve been to the southern border greater than our border czar, Kamala Harris, has been.”
Notably, each males mentioned they believed their on-stage rival needs to unravel the issue on the border, in addition to different areas of coverage disagreement.
“I imagine Sen. Vance needs to unravel this, however by standing with Donald Trump and never working collectively to discover a answer, it turns into a speaking level,” Walz mentioned.
Vance replied, “I really suppose I agree with you. I believe you wish to resolve this downside, however I don’t suppose that Kamala Harris does.”
The most rigidity between them got here towards the tip, when Walz requested Vance point-blank if Trump misplaced the 2020 election. Vance would not give a straight reply, as an alternative throwing a query again at Walz about censorship in regards to the Covid-19 pandemic on Facebook.
Walz admits he flubbed Tiananmen Square story
Walz had a nervous first reply earlier than getting right into a rhythm later. But he stumbled a couple of instances when requested about falsely claiming he visited Hong Kong in the course of the Tiananmen Square protests within the spring of 1989, when a report by Minnesota Public Radio mentioned he was actually there later within the yr.
Walz initially dodged the query: “I’ve not been excellent, and I’m a knucklehead at instances,” he mentioned, whereas giving an extended and meandering reply about his upbringing and expressing his dedication to Minnesotans by way of his profession.
When a moderator adopted up, Walz conceded: “I obtained there that summer time and misspoke.”
It’s the kind of query digging into previous statements that nationwide political candidates get rather a lot — however Walz has largely prevented media interviews and due to this fact hasn’t handled many questions since turning into the Democratic vice presidential nominee.
Vance defends his flip on previous criticism of Trump
Vance was well-prepared with a solution when requested to elucidate his previous criticisms of Trump, together with saying he may very well be “America’s Hitler” and his critiques of Trump’s financial report as president.
“Sometimes, in fact, I disagree with the president, however I’ve additionally been extraordinarily open about the truth that I used to be improper about Donald Trump. I used to be improper, initially, as a result of I believed among the media tales that turned out to be dishonest fabrications of his report,” Vance mentioned, treading over territory he and his marketing campaign have talked about in media interviews and responses to tales.
Vance continued: “But most significantly, Donald Trump delivered for the American individuals, rising wages, rising take house pay, an financial system that works for regular Americans, a safe southern border… When you screw up, whenever you misspeak, whenever you get one thing improper, and you modify your thoughts, you must be trustworthy with the American individuals.”
He additionally partially blamed Congress, saying there “have been a number of issues on the border, on tariffs” that “might have performed a lot extra if the Republican Congress and the Democrats in Congress had been somewhat bit higher about how they ruled the nation.”
Walz and Vance decide by way of their working mates’ financial information
Walz got here geared up with an argument to assault Trump on the financial system, which is likely one of the GOP nominee’s strongest points, based on polls that ask voters whom they belief extra to deal with it.
“Kamala Harris’ Day One was Donald Trump’s failure on Covid that led to the collapse of our financial system. We have been already, earlier than Covid, in a producing recession — about 10 million individuals out of labor, largest proportion for the reason that Great Depression,” Walz mentioned.
Vance responded by attacking the Biden-Harris financial report as “atrocious” and defending Trump.
“Honestly, Tim, I believe you bought a tricky job right here, since you obtained to play Whac-A-Mole,” he mentioned, accusing Walz of getting to “fake” that Trump’s financial system improved wages and had decrease inflation.
Walz additionally attacked Trump on taxes and commerce coverage.
“If you are listening tonight and also you need billionaires to get tax cuts,” Trump is your candidate, Walz advised voters whereas trying on the TV display. “How is it truthful that you simply’re paying your taxes yearly and Donald Trump hasn’t paid any federal tax within the final 15 years?”
Vance’s revisionist historical past on Trump’s Obamacare repeal push
Vance rewrote the historical past of Trump’s yearslong efforts to destroy the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” as an alternative repeating the marketing campaign’s declare that Trump had rescued it.
“Donald Trump might’ve destroyed this system. Instead he labored in a bipartisan means to make sure that Americans had entry to reasonably priced care,” Vance mentioned when requested about Trump saying he has “ideas of a plan” to exchange the 2010 well being care legislation.
The declare distorts the info. As president, Trump labored in a partisan means with Republicans to attempt to destroy ACA, endorsing laws that will have rescinded the legislation’s insurance coverage subsidies and prohibitions on charging larger costs to individuals with pre-existing situations; the push fell one vote brief within the Senate. He used government actions to chop funding for applications to signal individuals up for protection on the legislation’s marketplaces. He additionally requested the Supreme Court to wipe out the ACA in its entirety in 2020 — the case failed.