The vice presidential debate between the Republican senator from Ohio J.D. Vance and the Democratic governor of Minnesota Tim Walz It was something that is rare in American politics: normal. They debatedthat is, they presented opposing points of view and discussed them.
The two running mates were cordial with each other, focusing their attacks on the main positions of the opposing candidates and in political differences.
Vance repeatedly criticized the vice president Kamala Harris for border security and immigration, while Walz attacked the former president donald trump for the right to abortion.
Vance is the youngest face and most educated voice on the Republican ticket. Unlike Trump, he pronounced Harris’s first name correctly. He referred to his opponent by his title and also passed up opportunities to litigate the details of Walz’s own biography.
Walz settled in after a nervous start. He described Trump as a liar who ignores experts and rejects truths he considers unfavorable.
A moment to remember: when Walz says that Vance, in his own words, would only be loyal to one person as vice president: Trump.
The debate focused almost entirely on internal issues
The vice presidential candidates began the debate by talking about the United States’ role in the Middle East crises and how the country should address issues like immigration, inflation and abortion rights. They also explained how they would try to reduce housing prices and gun violence in schools if elected.
In fact, Vance, the Republican, and Walz, the Democrat, They agreed at various moments of the debate, particularly when they talked about the need to make child care more accessible for families from coast to coast.
Immigration was one of the first conflict points. Vance notably dodged a question about whether a second Trump administration would deport undocumented immigrants who have children who are U.S. citizens, separating families. As president, Trump, who has promised “mass deportations” in a second term, separated parents who had crossed the border illegally from their children, drawing widespread condemnation.
Clash over the right to abortion. Walz showed why Democrats think it’s their best issuespeaking at length about women in Texas, Kentucky, and Georgia who have found themselves in unbearable situations dealing with those states’ restrictive abortion laws. “This is about health care,” he said. Vance, who is extremely conservative on the subject, She said she wanted policies that “make it easier for moms to afford babies.”
But their biggest disagreement came when asked about democracy and the deadly Capitol riot of January 6, 2021.
Walz found his footing at the end, when the debate turned to the issue of former President Donald J. Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election. When he asked Vance directly if Trump had lost in 2020, the Republican said he was “focused on the future,” and Walz called it “a non-answer.” It was perhaps the most intense exchange of the night.
In his final statement, Vance blamed Harris for rising costs, crime and drug trafficking. He then attacked the vice president again for not implementing the policy changes she is now promoting. “Their policies have made these problems worse,” he charged.
Walz ended by referring to the “politics of joy” and closed by talking about Vice President Kamala Harris’ broad coalition, which has ranged from independent Vermont senator Bernie Sanders to former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney and pop star Taylor Swift. .
“Not everyone agrees on everything, but they are truly optimistic people,” he said. Harris “is bringing us a politics of joy. “It is bringing real solutions to the middle class and it is putting the citizen at the center of that issue.”
Before this debate, polls showed that voters had a more favorable opinion of Walz than of Vance.
It is not yet known whether Vance softened his image with voters tonight, although, in any case, Americans do not typically vote based on vice presidential candidates.
Keep reading:
• Abortion rights cause confrontation in Walz and Vance debate
• Vice Presidential Debate: Tim Walz and JD Vance on Immigration
• Vance could be “one step away from the presidency,” Harris campaign warns