The vice-presidential debate between Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Sen. JD Vance of Ohio delivered a mix of civil discussion and heated exchanges, addressing everything from immigration to democracy. Hosted by CBS News, the debate featured significant moments where both candidates laid out their visions for the future of America.
Vance’s Introduction and Praise for Trump
Right from the start, Sen. JD Vance sought to introduce himself to the American public, recognizing that many voters may not be familiar with him or his background.
“I want to answer the question, but I want to actually give an introduction to myself a little bit, because I recognize a lot of Americans don’t know who either one of us are.”
Vance, known for his “Hillbilly Elegy” memoir, recounted his upbringing and the influence of his grandmother, his military service, and his rise through the ranks. He positioned himself as a leader who would bring back the American dream, particularly under the leadership of former President Donald Trump.
“I want to try to convince you tonight over the next 90 minutes that if we get better leadership in the White House, if we get Donald Trump back in the White House, the American dream is going to be attainable once again.”
Throughout the debate, Vance praised Trump’s tenure, citing his strength as a world leader and claiming that Americans were better off during his administration.
Walz Criticizes Trump’s Fitness for Office
Gov. Tim Walz was quick to pivot the conversation back to Trump’s fitness for office when the discussion turned to foreign policy. Walz used Trump’s past behaviour as a major point of contention.
“It’s clear, and the world saw it on that debate stage a few weeks ago: A nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment.”
Vance defended Trump, attributing his effectiveness on the world stage to “effective deterrence,” or the idea that other world leaders were afraid of him.
“It is up to Israel what they think they need to do to keep their country safe, and we should support our allies wherever they are when they’re fighting the bad guys. I think that’s the right approach to take with the Israel question.”
Vance’s Bold Claim on Trump’s Foreign Policy
A notable moment came when Vance claimed that Trump’s time in office was the only period in recent history without a major conflict.
“I’m 40 years old. When was the last time that an American president didn’t have a major conflict break out? The only answer is during the four years that Donald Trump was president.”
While Vance’s claim was bold, Walz pointed out that Trump had engaged in significant military actions, including missile strikes in Syria and the killing of key Iranian and Syrian leaders. Vance’s assertion, however, painted a picture of a stable and conflict-free world under Trump’s leadership.
Climate Change Acknowledgment
Vance touched on climate change during the debate, offering a somewhat indirect acknowledgment of its existence. He framed it in terms of what he called “weird science,” making a point that Trump’s economic policies could actually help combat climate change.
“Look, a lot of people are justifiably worried about all these crazy weather patterns. … One of the things that I’ve noticed some of our Democratic friends talking a lot about is a concern about carbon emissions, this idea that carbon emissions drives all the climate change. Well, let’s just say that’s true, just for the sake of argument, so we’re not arguing about weird science.”
Walz shot back with a reference to Trump’s history of dismissing climate change.
“Sen. Vance has said that there’s a climate problem in the past. Donald Trump called it a hoax and then joked that these things would make more beachfront property to be able to invest in.”
Immigration and Trump’s Border Policies
A key theme of the debate was immigration, with Vance defending Trump’s past border policies and blaming the current administration for the crisis at the border.
“We have a historic immigration crisis because Kamala Harris started and said that she wanted to undo all of Donald Trump’s border policies.”
Walz countered that Trump had failed to live up to his promises on immigration, specifically calling out the lack of progress on building the border wall.
“Donald Trump had four years. He had four years to do this, and he promised you, America, how easy it would be. ‘I’ll build you a big, beautiful wall, and Mexico will pay for it.’ Less than 2% of that wall got built, and Mexico didn’t pay a dime. But here we are again, nine years after he came down that escalator, dehumanizing people.”
Vance maintained that immigrant communities were overwhelming American towns and services, but Walz used a Bible verse to advocate for compassion toward immigrants.
“I don’t talk about my faith a lot, but Matthew 25:40 talks about, ‘To the least amongst us, you do unto me.’ I think that’s true of most Americans. They simply want order to it.”
Abortion and Trust in the GOP
Perhaps the most surprising admission of the night came when Vance acknowledged that Republicans have lost the trust of Americans on abortion.
“One of the things that changed is in the state of Ohio, we had a referendum in 2023 and the people of Ohio voted overwhelmingly, by the way, against my position. And I think that what I learned from that, Nora, is that we’ve got to do a better job at winning back people’s trust.”
Walz called for a return to Roe v. Wade, advocating for women’s rights to make their own decisions.
“Just mind your own business on this. Things worked best when Roe v. Wade was in place.”
Final Moments on Democracy
As the debate concluded, the two clashed on the issue of democracy. Walz pressed Vance on Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election, while Vance argued that Trump peacefully transferred power.
“It’s really rich for Democratic leaders to say that Donald Trump is a unique threat to democracy when he peacefully gave over power on January the 20th, as we have done for 250 years in this country.”
Walz ended with a plea for the importance of accepting the election results and upholding democratic norms.
“Here we are four years later in the same boat. I will tell you this, that when this is over, we need to shake hands, this election, and the winner needs to be the winner. This has got to stop. It’s tearing our country apart.”
The debate highlighted the stark differences in vision between the two candidates, with both finding moments of common ground but also fiercely defending their positions on key issues like immigration, abortion, and democracy.
