US VP debate: Walz, Vance face off as election looms

Following the debate between VP candidates Tim Walz and JD Vance, DW Washington Bureau Chief Ines Pohl said the event was "unlikely to significantly shift the dynamics of the race."

"Both candidates are providing their supporters with reasons to feel satisfied, but neither is delivering any knockout punches," she said.

"It's also reflective of generational differences," she added, saying that "Tim Walz relies on facts and logical arguments, while JD Vance presents himself as more charismatic and polished on camera. This contrast in styles may resonate differently with voters, but in terms of impact, I don't expect a major change in momentum from this encounter."

Filippo Trevisan, associate professor with the School of Communication at American University in Washington, told DW: "There was a surprising amount of civility. We haven't had a debate like this since before 2016. It wasn't only different from the Trump/Harris debate in September, but also the Harris/Pence vice presidential debate in 2020."

The 2024 US vice presidential debate has wrapped up in New York City.

Democratic candidate Tim Walz and Republican nominee JD Vance each made their pitch to the American people amid the backdrop of fighting in the Middle East, a housing crisis, and natural disasters made worse by climate change.

But one figure loomed large over the debate: Donald Trump.

Vance said the former US president brought stability to the Middle East, while Walz said Trump would be a foreign policy liability if elected again.

"He did it by establishing effective deterrence," Vance argued. "People were afraid of stepping out of line."

The two candidates clashed even more strongly over Trump's attempt to overturn the last presidential election on January 6, 2021.

Walz asked Vance whether Trump did in fact lose the election and accused Vance of giving "a damning non-answer" when he changed the subject.

Meanwhile, Vance said immigrants were to blame for the housing crisis while Walz condemned Republicans for spreading a false claim that Haitian immigrants had eaten household pets in Springfield, Ohio.

At one point, the moderators cut off the candidates' mics after Vance continued to talk out of line about immigration procedures.

Unlike the debate between Trump and Kamala Harris, microphones were not automatically muted outside of a candidate's turn to speak.

Vance and Walz were asked about Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the last presidential election result in 2021. 

Trump's running mate distanced himself from the January 6, 2021 US Capitol riot and said issues such as the election outcome should be debated "peacefully in the public square."

Walz accused Vance of "revisionism" about what happened with Trump on January 6.

"Did he lose the 2020 election?" Walz asked Vance directly.

"Tim, I'm focused on the future," Vance replied. "Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 COVID situation?"

Walz interjected and said: "That is a damning non-answer."

On the topic of gun control, Tim Walz brought up that his son had witnessed a shooting.

"Look, I've got a 17-year-old and he witnessed a shooting in a community center playing volleyball. Those things don’t leave you," Walz said.

JD Vance expressed offered his sympathies when he heard this.

"I didn't know that your 17-year-old witnessed a shooting," he said. "I'm sorry about that and I hope he's doing okay. Christ have mercy, it is awful."

Vance went on to claim that the United States was experiencing a disproportionate number of shootings because of a mental health crisis.

Walz rejected this line of reasoning said that while he and Kamala Harris were gun owners, he supported gun control.

"Just because you have a mental health issue, doesn't mean you're violent. I think what we end up doing is looking for a scapegoat," Walz said. "Sometimes it just is the guns. It's just the guns." 

JD Vance brought up last year's referendum in his home state of Ohio, where a majority of voters backed enshrining abortion rights — against his own position.

"What I learned from that is that we have got to do a better job of winning back people's trust," the Republican said.

Vance said "so many women see an unplanned pregnancy as something that's going to destroy their livelihood, destroy the education, destroy their relationships, and we have got to earn people's trust back" through policies like making childcare more accessible.

Tim Walz said it was not the government's place to prevent women from having abortions, and defended a bill he signed into law last year in Minnesota that codified a woman's right to an abortion.

"We're pro-women. We're pro-freedom to make your own choice," he said.

"We know what the implications are to not be that: women having miscarriages, women not having care, physicians feeling like they may be prosecuted for providing that care."

The issue of abortion is at the forefront in the 2024 presidential election, after the conservative-majority Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling in 2020. Roe v. Wade generally protected the right to abortion across the country, and its overturn has led to restrictions on the procedure in states such as Texas.

Tim Walz has addressed the false claim made by JD Vance, Donald Trump and other Republicans that Haitian immigrants had eaten family pets in Springfield, Ohio.

"That vilified a large number of people who were here legally in the community of Springfield," Walz said.

"The consequences in Springfield were, the governor had to send state law enforcement to escort kindergartners to school," he added.

Walz accused the Republicans of "demonizing" migrants rather than addressing immigration issues. 

Just three questions into the debate, the moderators were forced to mute both candidates' microphones.

As moderators wrapped up the discussion on immigration, JD Vance began talking over them about the CBP One app, which migrants can use to to deal with US Customs and Border Protection.

"Thank you senator for describing the legal process," said CBS moderator Margaret Brennan.

Walz also chimed in to note that the immigration policies had been in place since the 1990s.

Amid the backdrop of escalating tensions in the Middle East, the first question of the night focused on how candidates would deal with Iran's attacks on Israel.

The debate quickly pivoted to each party's recent track record on Middle East security.

"When our allies see Donald Trump turn towards Vladimir Putin, turn towards North Korea, when we start to see that type of fickleness about holding the coalitions together — we will stay committed," Tim Walz said.

JD Vance responded by claiming Trump brought stability to the region during his time in office.

"As much as Governor Walz just accused Donald Trump of being an agent of chaos, Donald Trump actually delivered stability in the world," Vance said.

"And he did it by establishing effective deterrence. People were afraid of stepping out of line."
 

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz and Republican nominee JD Vance each claim to be the true voice of the Midwestern swing states that both parties need to win.

But they offer opposing visions for the future of the United States.

Walz, 60, has served as governor of Minnesota since 2019 after more than a decade as a state lawmaker.

He pursued a progressive agenda as governor, introducing free school meals, overseeing tax cuts for the middle class, and expanding paid leave for workers. Walz has also expressed empathy for refugees and immigrants as governor and backed legislation in 2023 enshrining abortion rights in Minnesota. 

Walz's years as a high school teacher and football coach have contributed to a folksy persona that he has repeatedly contrasted with the "weirdness" of pro-Trump Republicans.

Vance, 40, has been a senator for Ohio since 2023.

He authored the bestselling memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy," about his working-class upbringing and Appalachian roots. 

Vance was previously a vocal Trump critic before adopting a more firebrand conservative image, recently smearing Democrats as "childless cat ladies."

The Ohio senator has railed against illegal immigration, echoing Trump, while also opposing free trade. Vance is socially conservative, criticizing abortion and frequently saying the US should do more to boost the country's birth rate.

In regards to foreign policy, he has also criticized aid to Ukraine and believes China is the greatest foreign policy challenge to the US. 

The debate is being hosted by broadcaster CBS in New York City.

Walz and Vance will face off for 90 minutes in a TV studio without a live audience.

Candidates will each be asked questions by the moderators and will have two minutes to answer. The other candidate will then have two minutes to respond.

Following that, each candidate will have an additional minute for any potential rebuttals, and moderators may at their discretion give candidates an additional minute each to continue a topic.

Unlike the presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, the microphones won't automatically be muted. However, CBS News said it reserves the right to shut off candidate's microphones at any point.

Topics like the economy and immigration are set to top the agenda.

Walz is expected to go after Vance for spreading the unproven claim that Haitian immigrants were eating household pets in Springfield, Ohio — a claim that Trump has also spread and which local officials have denied.

Meanwhile, advisors for the Trump campaign said Vance ask Walz to defend the Biden-Harris administration's economic track record as well as its immigration policies.

zc/wd (AP, Reuters, AFP)