What you should know about the policy-centered debate between Vance and Walz

NEW YORK (TND) — Vice presidential candidates Tim Walz and JD Vance met for their only scheduled debate Tuesday night in a volatile moment when nearly half the country was voting early and there were stark differences in their vision for moving the country forward.

The 90-plus-minute debate offered voters plenty of concrete policy proposals and an exchange of ideas on a range of issues, from gun control to abortion to climate change, as Vance and Walz sought to support their fellow candidates and tear down each other’s.

It was also the biggest stage yet for Vance and Walz to introduce themselves to voters after being elevated from relative unknowns nationally to becoming the potential next vice president.

Tuesday night will likely be the last debate voters will see before casting their ballots on Election Day, as Trump has refused to accept a second date agreed to by the Harris campaign. Vice presidential debates have never historically had a significant impact on the electorate, but in an election expected to be one of the closest in American history, small margins can have a big impact on the outcome.

What you should know about the debate:

Heartfelt disagreements about politics

Both candidates avoided attacking each other throughout most of the debate, often highlighting several areas where they agreed even if they had different policy solutions. It was a stark contrast to the presidential debate, in which Trump and Harris went back and forth in personal attacks and highly contentious exchanges.

Instead, Vance and Walz elaborated on the plans they propose to cure the nation’s problems, and instead of aligning attacks, they focused on the top issues.

There were also several particularly heartfelt moments on stage, with both candidates agreeing that the other wants to solve problems like the crisis at the southern border and expressing their sadness for the victims of Hurricane Helene.

Vance, who has frequently questioned Walz’s credibility over a series of misrepresentations of his past, also refrained from intervening when the governor was questioned about falsely claiming he was in Hong Kong during the 1989 protests. Walz once said he had a tendency to misspeak, prompting Vance to jump in and joke, “Me too, man.”

In another moment on stage, Vance expressed sympathy for Walz in a discussion about gun control when the governor said his teenage son witnessed a shooting.

“I’m sorry for that. Christ have mercy,” Vance said.

“I appreciate that,” Walz replied.

Testy exchanges over immigration

The rare heated exchanges during the debate occurred over questions about immigration.

Vance tried to intimidate Harris on immigration, the most important issue of the Republican presidential campaign and a central issue in national politics during the Trump era. It was also a strategy Trump used during his debate with Harris, who often took on immigration no matter what the issue was.

The only moment the microphones were muted was during a conversation about Springfield, Ohio, when Vance tried to intervene when the moderators noted that the migrants in Ohio had legal protection status. He continued talking as they tried to move on to a question about the economy, which resulted in both microphones being muted.

Vance has come under fire from some for supporting unfounded claims about pet consumption by Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, despite a lack of evidence and calls for local officials to stop the campaign.

Walz attacked Vance for denigrating migrants living in Springfield and blaming Trump for the failure of a bipartisan border bill passed by the Senate.

“I believe Senator Vance wants to solve this problem, but by standing with Donald Trump and not working together to find a solution, it becomes a talking point, and when it becomes such a talking point, we dehumanize and denigrate other people. Walz said.

Focus on the top of the ticket

Vance and Walz used much of their speaking time to support their running mates and try to drag opponents down rather than throwing barbs at each other. It is often the vice presidential candidate’s job to be an attack dog against the other side and help support his or her running mate in the race, which was prevalent during the debate.

Vance regularly blamed Harris’ leadership as vice president for many of the problems facing the election winner, from maintaining the economy to unrest in the Middle East to energy production. His rebuttal to several of Walz’s arguments about policy proposals was to point out that Harris has been in office for nearly four years and has failed to implement these ideas.

“Honestly, Tim, I think you have a tough job here because you have to play Whac-a-Mole,” Vance said. “You have to pretend that Donald Trump didn’t lower inflation, which of course he did, and then at the same time you have to defend Kamala Harris’s terrible economic record, which has put gas, food and housing unaffordable for American citizens.” “

Walz portrayed Trump as a chaotic figure who would plunge the country further into darkness and damage American democracy by continuing to refuse to accept the results of the 2020 election.

“We all know who Donald Trump is. He told us,” Walz said. “And as Maya Angelou said, believe it when he told you that his first inaugural address talked about American carnage, and then he spent four years trying to maybe do that.” Senator Vance made it clear tonight that he will support Donald Trump’s agenda and continue to move forward on this path.”

VANCE: “VOTERS DON’T TRUST US” ON ABORTION

Vance acknowledged how difficult things have been for Republicans since the overturn of Roe v. Wade was navigating abortion politics, trying to find a softer touch on the issue despite his personal history of staunchly anti-abortion politics.

Democrats have sought to make abortion a central issue in the 2024 election, often highlighting that Trump appointed three of the justices who voted to overturn the landmark abortion law.

“My party, we need to do a much better job of regaining the trust of the American people on this issue, when frankly they just don’t trust us,” Vance said.

He also tried to propose measures that he said would make it easier to have children, such as expanding the child tax credit or making fertility treatments easier. Trump has promised to let the government cover the cost of in vitro fertilization or require insurers to cover the cost.

During the debate, Trump also announced for the first time in social media posts that he would veto a nationwide abortion ban. Harris and other Democrats have frequently said that another Trump term could lead to restrictions on the federal process.

“Everyone knows that I would not support a federal abortion ban under any circumstances and would in fact veto it because it is up to the states to decide based on the will of their voters (the will of the people!). ” wrote Trump.