The US vice presidential debate between Ohio senator (R) JD Vance and Minnesota governor (D) Tim Walz took place on Oct. 1. With 28 days left until election, both candidates used their vocabulary to the fullest to demonstrate their party as most ideal for the presidency.
This debate seemingly lived up to the American people’s wishes: a policy-focused conversation. The opening question asked each candidate about the sensitive, yet global topic, Israel and Iran. The moderator asked whether they would support or oppose a preemptive strike by Israel on Iran. Gov. Walz took lead with his response about “a coalition between Israel partners and the US” stopping the incoming nuclear attack from Iran and the need for “coalitions with allies.” JD Vance responded by introducing the presidency of Donald Trump that established “effective deterrence that had discouraged allies from stepping out of line.”
The Ohio senator and Minnesota governor kept the debate moderately respectful and technical, but there were a few inconsistencies with this behavior. For instance, when asked about climate change, Sen. Vance mentioned that Kamala Harris’s policies were implementing energy production in some of the “dirtiest parts of the entire world.” But, the exaggerated statements don’t stop there. Vance also responded to another question with “I think what Tim said just doesn’t pass the smell test.”
As topics continued, the vice-presidential candidates didn’t let their passive aggressiveness take over the debate. A strong focus on policy permitted discussion of another top issue for the American people: immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border. Both candidates were asked about their plans to handle the crisis. Vance stated that Trump’s border policies must be re-implemented and deportation has to start with “criminal migrants.” Walz responded by comparing Trump’s presidency to Harris’ work as Attorney General. He said she has a history of “prosecuting transnational gangs” and trying to pass a tough immigration bill, to which Trump said “No.” As of 2022, the US Department of Homeland Security has an “estimated 11 million illegal immigrants” living in America.
Unlike the presidential debate, the potential vice presidents used their rhetorical devices strategically throughout the debate. Walz gave a pro tip of the day “that if you need heart surgery, listen to the people at the Mayo Clinic, not Donald Trump.” This was part of his response to a question about helping the middle class. Vance also responded by saying his party is “going to stop nations that hate us” from supplying manufactured drugs and that Walz is having to play “whack-a-mole” with the different topics.
The candidates of Tuesday night’s debate kept the arguments organized and clear for American voters to follow along to. Both men were able to establish their campaign policies and how they planned to implement on both sides of the spectrum. They were also met with some discrepancies from their past that needed to be cleared up. Vance was asked about statements he made in 2020 on how Trump “failed to deliver his economic populism,” and was “America’s Hitler.” The senator responded that he believed “when you screw up, when you get something wrong, you ought to be honest with the American people about it.”
Walz was also asked about some of his own controversies including his time serving in Hong Kong and abortion views. Walz initially said he was in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square Protest in the spring of 1989, but numerous media outlets reported that he hadn’t been to Asia until August of that year. The governor responded with “I misspoke on this, I was in Hong Kong during the protest.” He also rebuts the claims that he believes in abortion in the ninth month is absolutely okay and that the Minnesota bill does not reflect such thinking.
A few takeaways from the first-and-only vice-presidential debate are that many rumors have circulated and fact-checked to be false, there was a stark difference in confidence on the national, and that both parties actually do have policy to be implemented. There were also numerous topics left untouched throughout the debate, primarily controversial and personal issues of the candidates. American citizens have much to take into consideration as they plan for their next president in a mere twenty-eight days.
