Oct. 1 (UPI) — With just five weeks until Election Day, Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota squared off in their first and only debate between the vice presidential nominees, which began with a handshake and disagreements over the Middle East, climate change and immigration.
The debate, which got underway at 9 p.m. EDT, ran for more than 90 minutes at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.
“CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell and “Face the Nation” moderator and chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan moderated the debate, which had no studio audience.
The first question of the night focused on the war in the Middle East and Iran’s missile attack Tuesday on Israel as Walz called for “steady leadership.”
“You saw it and experienced today where you saw it with Israeli leaders and our coalition were able to stop the incoming attack. But, what’s fundamental here is that steady leadership is going to matter. It’s clear and the world saw it on that debate stage a few weeks ago, a nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment,” said Walz, who argued Trump is “dangerous.”
Vance responded by introducing himself and giving information on his background, before targeting the Middle East and countering Walz.
“Donald Trump actually delivered stability in the world and he did it by establishing effective deterrents. Iran, which launched this attack, has received over $100 billion in unfrozen assets, thanks to the Kamala Harris administration. They used it to buy weapons that they are now using to launch against our allies, and, God forbid, to launch against the United States, as well,” Vance said, as he called for “peace through strength.”
The moderators turned to Hurricane Helene, which could become one of the deadliest storms on record, with more than 160 people dead and hundreds more missing, as the focus turned to climate change and how each administration would address it.
Walz nodded and agreed with Vance as he said his “heart goes out” to those affected by Hurricane Helene.
“I commit that when Donald Trump is president again, the government will put the citizens of this country first when they suffer from a disaster,” Vance said. “I think it’s important to say, Donald Trump and I support clean air and clean water. But, what I notice is a concern from our Democratic opponents is about carbon emissions. If that’s true, then you’d want to reshore as much American manufacturing as possible and you would want to produce as much energy as possible in the United States of America because we are the cleanest economy in the world.”
Vance then attacked Kamala Harris’ policies of more “manufacturing overseas and doing business in some of the dirtiest parts of the entire world.”
Walz responded by saying climate change “roared onto the scene faster and stronger than anything we’ve seen. Sen. Vance has said there is a climate problem, but Donald Trump called it a ‘hoax’ and that this thing would make ‘more beachfront property,” as Walz said the Harris administration has made “massive investments in global history in the Inflation Reduction Act.”
“We are producing more natural gas and oil at anytime than we ever have,” Walz claimed. “We’re also producing more clean energy. The solution for us is to continue to move forward.”
As the focus turned to immigration, Vance was asked about his campaign’s plan for the largest deportation in history.
“We have a historic immigration problem because Kamala Harris said she wanted to ‘undo all of Donald Trump’s border policies.’ 94 executive orders suspending deportations, decriminalizing illegal aliens,” Vance said, adding that “that has opened the flood gates and that means a lot of fentanyl is coming into the country.”
“You’ve got to stop the bleeding,” Vance said. “You’ve got to reimplement Donald Trump’s border policies, rebuild the wall, reimplement deportations.”
Walz responded by blaming Trump for telling Congress to vote against the “fairest and toughest bill that this nation’s ever seen because it gives him a campaign issue.”
“What would Donald Trump talk about if we actually did some of these things,” Walz asked. “And they need to be done by the legislature. You can’t just do this through the executive branch,” he claimed, saying Trump is “demonizing the problem” and migrants instead of solving the issue.
Vance countered by saying “we already have massive child separation because of the open border” and “this border problem is leading to massive problems in the United States of America. Parents who can’t afford health care and schools that are overwhelmed.”
During the debate, both candidates attacked their respective running mates more than they attacked each other. At one point, Vance said “I agree with you. I think you want to solve this problem, but I don’t think Kamala Harris does.”
Vance also pushed back hard against the moderators, as they fact-checked him on immigration. Eventually both candidates’ microphones were cut off before the debate moved to the topic of the economy.
Walz was asked about the Harris plan for billions in tax credits that O’Donnell quoted the Wharton School of Business as saying “would increase the nation’s deficit by $1.2 trillion.”
Walz explained by saying he and Harris “do believe in the middle class.”
“There are 3 million new houses proposed under this plan with downpayment assistance at the front-end,” Walz said. “And then making sure tax cuts go to the middle class and do the right things for families.”
“This is the difference between us,” Walz added, as he criticized Trump’s so-called “20% consumption tax” that would “lead to a recession.”
Vance responded to claims that Trump’s plan would also “balloon the deficit,” by attacking Harris for inflation with the current administration.
“If Kamala Harris has such great plans for how to address middle class problems, then she ought to do them now,” Vance countered. “Not when she’s asking for a promotion, but in the job Americans gave her three and a half years ago.”
Vance then argued that the candidates’ economic plans should be evaluated not on what they say they will do, but rather on their record.
“I know a lot of you are struggling. I know a lot of you are struggling to pay the bills. It’s going to stop when Donald Trump brings back common sense to this country,” Vance added.
Walz countered by blaming Trump for the economy that the Biden-Harris administration inherited during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If you want billionaires to get tax cuts. Look, I’m a union guy. We need to have fair trading partners. But Donald Trump is the guy who created the largest trade deficit with China,” Walz claimed.
During the debate, both candidates were allowed to clarify issues surrounding their backgrounds. Walz admitted that he was in Hong Kong during the deadly Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.
“All I said on this was as I got there that summer and misspoke on this, so I will just say that’s what I’ve said,” Walz argued. “So I was in Hong Kong and China during the democracy protests.”
And Vance was asked about criticizing Trump year’s ago, to which he responded, “I’ve also been extremely open about the fact that I was wrong about Donald Trump. I was wrong, first of all, because I believed some of the media stories that turned out to be dishonest fabrications of his record.”
As the debate turned to abortion, Vance said he wanted to be “pro-family in every sense of the word.”
“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 admitted. “And I think that’s one of the things that Donald Trump and I are endeavoring to do,” before clarifying that he believes the decision on abortion belongs with the states.
Walz blamed Trump for the overturning of Roe v. Wade. He “put this all into motion” as Walz said the Democrats are “pro-women.”
“We know that the options need to be available. We are pro-freedom for women and children, with a $6,000 child tax credit,” Walz added. “These are women’s decisions to make and physicians who are there to help them,” as he called for a restoration of Roe v. Wade.
As the vice presidential candidates faced questions on gun violence and mass shootings, Vance claimed the “gross majority” of gun violence is committed with illegally obtained firearms, while blaming the Biden-Harris administration’s border policy for an influx in illegal weapons.
“Unfortunately, I think we have to increase security in our schools,” Vance said. “The idea that we can magically wave a wand and take guns out of the hands of bad guys. It just doesn’t fit with recent experience.”
“This is parents’ biggest nightmare,” Walz said. “I’m a hunter. I own firearms. We understand the Second Amendment. But here’s the problem, we have folks that won’t even allow research on gun violence. There are reasonable things that we can do.”
Vance agreed with Walz when he said Finland manages to be safe despite high gun ownership.
“We have way higher rates of mental health and substance abuse than other countries” Vance added. “I do think it’s a big piece of our gun violence.”
The candidates differed when the topic turned to housing, as Vance blamed Kamala Harris for letting in undocumented immigrants and causing the housing crisis, as Walz defended the Harris’ campaign promise to provide $25,000 down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, a $10,000 tax credit and the construction of 3 million new homes.
“If she wants to enact policies to make housing more affordable, I invite her to use the office the American people already gave her and not sit around and campaign and do nothing while Americans find the American dream of home ownership completely unaffordable,” Vance countered, as he claimed lower energy costs would lead to increased home ownership.
On healthcare, Walz called for paid family medical leave, as he referenced Fortune 500 companies in Minnesota.
“They think it’s a good thing, but it also keeps their employees healthy,” Walz said, adding that Minnesota’s law on paid leave “allows you to stay home a certain amount of time. What we know is that gets the child off to a better start.”
“People know that they need to have health care. They expect it,” Walz added.
In response to whether he would challenge the election results this year, Vance dodged the question, as he blasted tech companies for “censoring their fellow citizens.”
“Remember Trump said on January the 6th, the protesters ought to protest peacefully, and on January the 20th, what happened? Joe Biden became the president. Donald Trump left the White House,” Vance said.
Walz responded with “That is a damning, that is a damning non-answer.”
“That is a damning non-answer for you to not talk about censorship,” Vance countered. “You, yourself, have said there’s no First Amendment right to misinformation. Kamala Harris wants to threaten government and big tech to silence people from speaking their minds.”
With both candidates from the Midwest, the tight presidential race is focused on seven swing states that include Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona.
A coin toss before the debate determined which candidate would have the option to go first during closing remarks.
Vance won the coin toss and chose to be the last to make closing remarks, which he used to focus on his upbringing and the importance of energy.
“I believe as a person who wants to be your next vice president, we are a rich and prosperous enough country where every American ought to be able to turn on their heat,” Vance said, adding that the current administration is to blame for “rising crime” and “communities flooded with fentanyl.”
Walz closed with praise for Kamala Harris for “bringing us politics of joy” and “a new way forward,” while blasting Donald Trump for a return to the past.
