JD Vance and Tim Walz took the stage in New York City on Tuesday (October 1) for their first and only vice presidential debate, hosted by CBS News.
The debate was moderated by CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell and Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan.
The two men shook hands before the debate, just as Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump did during their first debate.
The first question was about the conflicts going on in the Middle East. Walz was asked if he would support or oppose Israel preemptively striking Iran.
Walz used his time to attack Trump, arguing he was unfit for office based on the people he appointed to key national security positions during his time in office. He noted that Harris has “steady leadership” and understands that “allies matter.” During the rebuttal, Walz pointed out that Trump ripped up the Iran nuclear deal, which allowed Iran to restart its nuclear weapons program.
Vance managed to sneak in an opening statement before answering the question, introducing himself, and briefly talking about his upbringing. He then went on to say he would support Israel’s right to defend itself.
“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.”
He then countered Walz’s claim that Trump was unfit for office, pointing out that many of the current conflicts started during the Biden administration.
“Donald Trump actually delivered stability in the world, and he did it by establishing effective deterrence. People were afraid of stepping out of line,” said Vance.
“Ask yourself at home, when, when was the last time — 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,” Vance added.
“Who has been the vice president for the last three and a half years?” he said to Walz. “And the answer is you’re running, not mine. Donald Trump consistently made the world more secure.”
Next up, the candidates were asked about the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene and how their administration would tackle the issue of climate change.
Vance started by offering his thoughts and prayers to those impacted by the monster storm.
“I’m sure Governor Walz joins me in saying our hearts go out to those innocent people, our prayers go out to them. And we want as robust and aggressive as a federal response as we can get to save as many lives as possible,” he said.
Walz pointed out the accomplishments that the Biden administration has made during the past three years, highlighting investments in solar technology and electric vehicles.
He also took shots at Trump, who previously called climate change a hoax.
“Donald Trump called it a hoax and then joked that these things would make more beachfront property to be able to invest in what we’ve seen out of the Harris administration,” Walz said. “Now the Biden Harris administration is we’ve seen this investment. We’ve seen massive investments.”
The most contentious issue of the night was immigration, as both candidates traded barbs about the current situation along the U.S.-Mexico border and other migrants who are in the United States.
Walz blamed Trump for the issues at the border, pointing out how he scuttled a bipartisan immigration bill.
“Donald Trump said ‘No,’ and told them to vote against it because it gives them a campaign issue,” Walz said. “What would Donald Trump talk about if we actually did some of these things and they need to be done by the legislature you can’t just do this through the Executive Branch.”
He also noted how Trump never followed through on his campaign promises to solve the immigration issue when he was in office.
“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 percent 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 and telling them what he was going to do.”
Walz also attacked Vance for his unsubstantiated comments about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, which “vilified” legal migrants living in the U.S.
“I believe Senator Vance wants to solve this, but by standing with Donald Trump and not working together to find a solution, it becomes a talking point, and when it becomes a talking point like this, we dehumanize and villainize other human beings,” Walz said.
“Don’t do it. There are consequences for this. There are consequences…and the consequences in Springfield were the governor had to send state law enforcement to escort kindergartners to school.”
Vance responded by pointing out the issues facing the people of Springfield but did not mention the previous claims he and Trump made.
“In Springfield, Ohio, and in communities all across this country, you’ve got schools that are overwhelmed, you’ve got hospitals that are overwhelmed, you’ve got housing that is totally unaffordable because we’ve brought in millions of illegal immigrants to compete with Americans for scarce homes,” Vance said. “The people I’m most worried about in Springfield, Ohio, are the American citizens who had their lives destroyed by Kamala Harris’ open border.”
As the moderators tried to end the section on immigration, they were forced to cut off the candidates’ microphones as Vance tried to clarify remarks about how migrant claims are made versus the system for immigrants to gain a Green card.
Next up, the two candidates were asked about their economic plans.
Walz said that Democrats’ plan for the economy would include tax cuts for the middle class and enhancing childhood tax credits. He said they would pay for their plan by raising taxes on the rich.
Walz also said he wanted to bring jobs back to the United States and empower unions and their collective bargaining rights.
“But we had people undercutting the right to collectively bargain. We had right to work. States made it more difficult. We had companies that were willing to ship it over,” Walz said. “And we saw people profit, folks that are venture capital, in some cases, putting money into companies that were overseas. We’re in agreement that we bring those home.”
Vance blamed the current economic conditions on the Biden-Harris administration, noting that their policies have led to higher prices across the board.
“[Harris] had the opportunity to enact all of these great policies, and what she’s actually done instead is drive the cost of food higher by 25%, drive the cost of housing higher by about 60%, open the American southern border and make middle-class life unaffordable,” Vance said.
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