The winners (and losers) from VP debate between JD Vance, Tim Walz
WASHINGTON – JD Vance and Tim Walz traded in the harsh personal jabs that have come to define presidential politics for a robust policy discussion during Tuesday night’s vice-presidential debate in New York.
Vance came out on top, but other winners in the 90-minute discussion included the moderators, the Midwest and the rare glimpses of bipartisanship on display.
Walz, meanwhile, stumbled through answers, appeared stiff and got caught in several gaffes. Others who didn't fare well during the debate include the community of Springfield, Ohio, which was name-checked again, and the 2028 Republican presidential hopefuls who will be trying to wrestle Vance for the title of Trump-heir-apparent.
Vice presidential debates rarely influence voter decisions, but with the race between Harris and Trump resting on a razor-thin margin, every moment matters.
The match-up between Walz, 60, and Vance, 40, is also expected to be the last debate of the 2024 presidential election cycle. Former President Donald Trump has signaled that he will not debate Vice President Kamala Harris again before the election, which is less than 40 days away.
Here’s a look at the biggest winners and losers from the sparring match.
VP debate winners
JD Vance
Republicans set low expectations for Vance heading into the debate. Vance has for weeks been accused of coming across as unlikable and stiff. Polls before the debate showed that voters viewed Vance less favorably than Walz. And, in a social media post on Tuesday morning, Trump adviser Stephen Miller described Walz as a “slick” politician and argued that the Minnesota governor set the bar “at the ceiling.”
But throughout the 90-minute debate, Vance stood as a poised, articulate messenger of Trump’s agenda. One of his sharpest moments came when answering a question about protecting abortion access – a topic that Republicans have struggled to address, and that Vance has flip-flopped on. He framed his changed stance as a response to the concerns of the American people – who overwhelmingly support access to abortion.
“We've got to do so much better of a job at earning the American people's trust back. On this issue where they frankly just don't trust us,” Vance said. He also combatted concerns about likability in several light-hearted moments. In one instance, he showed sympathy for Walz after learning that the Minnesota governor’s son had witnessed a shooting.
The Midwest
Vance and Walz both hail from America’s heartland and have leaned heavily on their modest midwestern backgrounds on the 2024 campaign trail – with Vance often discussing the hardships he faced growing up in Middletown, Ohio and Walz talking about his small-town upbringing in Nebraska. It’s no surprise, then, that the Midwest was a common topic of discussion on Tuesday. Not to mention, the region is home to two major swing states, Michigan and Wisconsin, that both parties see as critical to their path to the White House.
Debate Moderators
CBS moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan said ahead of the debate that they would not fact check the candidates’ in real-time. The two journalists instead gave Walz and Vance opportunity to question and counter each other's claims. Occasionally, they added context to the conversation between Vance and Walz. The result: a candidate-focused debate that gave viewers a keen sense of the differing policy platforms and demeanors of the vice-presidential hopefuls.
The moderators' questions prompted policy-focused discussions – including a robust discussion about how each planned to combat climate change and bolster the U.S. energy sector, a topic that rarely pops up in debates. Brennan at the end of the discussion clarified that scientists overwhelmingly believe the climate is changing.
Bipartisanship
From economics to abortion, the candidates delved deep into their proposed policy agendas, and even noted several areas where rare bipartisan agreement could be possible. The word “agree” was spoken 12 times during the debate. The two candidates sought to find compromise on topics like ending the epidemic of gun violence in America and finding solutions to high housing prices. They often diverged when it came to the minutia of those policies, but in an era marked by bitter partisan feuds, the mere mention of agreement was a win for Washington.
Josh Shapiro
Harris’ decision to pick Walz as her running mate over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro earlier this year surprised many Democrats across the country. As the highly popular governor of a must-win swing state, Shapiro appeared at the time to be the likely choice. Walz has since gained support from some Democratic and swing voters who relate to his authentic, everyman demeanor. But others have suggested that Harris missed a major opportunity by not choosing Shapiro, especially given the tight race between her and Trump. Walz’ lackluster debate performance will give some of Shapiro’s most ardent supporters fodder to say: “I told you so.”
VP debate losers
Tim Walz
With less name recognition and a higher favorability rating among voters, Walz had the more to lose than Vance going into Tuesday night’s showdown. Walz attempted to present himself as a soft-spoken everyman concerned about issues affecting every-day Americans. Instead, he stumbled through questions and often appeared nervous on stage.
One of the most memorable gaffes of the night came when Walz was asked about his time in China. New reports surfaced hours before the debate contradicting Walz previous claims that he taught in China around the time of the Tiananmen Square protests, raising fresh questions about his history of misleading statements. When asked to explain the discrepancy said he had “misspoke” and that he has been “a knucklehead at times.”
Springfield, Ohio
It was another rough night for Springfield, Ohio. Ever since Trump falsely claimed that Haitian migrants in the city were eating pets during last month’s presidential debate, and Vance amplified the online rumors, the city has become the epicenter of the immigration debate in the U.S. The two vice presidential contenders again talked about the city during their discussion of immigration.
Walz criticized Vance for “vilifying” Springfield, while Vance said that the people he was “most worried” about in the city were the American citizens living there. Those comments are likely to further inflame tensions in the close to 60,000-person city. Its public schools have already been inundated with bomb threats and some of its residents have received death threats since it entered the spotlight nearly a month ago.
2028 presidential hopefuls
The 2024 presidential election might not be over yet, but already questions are swirling over who might run for the White House in 2028. On the Republican side, Vance has appeared as the likely successor to Trump since he was named as the ex-presidents running mate this summer. His composed performance against Walz further cements him as the fresh-new face of Trump’s GOP and brings fresh questions about whether other potential 2028 Republican primary contenders, including Nikki Haley, Marco Rubio and Vivek Ramaswamy, could compete with him.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who won (and lost) during Walz-Vance debate? We break it down.