a muted microphone, abortion and civility

On Tuesday evening, JD Vance and Tim Walz launched attacks on their presidential opponents, arguing about international conflicts, the US economy, immigration and abortion rights.

Despite those heated moments — and at least one muffled microphone — this was perhaps the most civilized debate of the 2024 campaign. There were even points on which the two men agreed.

Here are some of the most memorable parts of the first and only scheduled TV showdown between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s vice presidents.

Immigration was a key issue during the 90-minute head-to-head race. Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, frequently returned to the issue of the U.S. southern border and immigration, seen by many voters as a weakness of his opponents.

Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota, countered that Trump helped torpedo bipartisan legislation that led to some of the harshest immigration policies in U.S. history.

The discussion eventually became tense when Vance was asked about false claims he made about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio. Vance and Trump previously shared conspiracy theories that illegal immigrants were eating pets in the small town.

When a CBS News anchor attempted to correct Vance, the Ohio senator spoke over the anchors – who then muted his microphone.

Walz and Vance took the stage just hours after Iran launched a missile attack on Israel – whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised retaliation.

The ongoing tensions in the Middle East formed the basis of the first question.

Walz appeared nervous and stumbled as he repeated Harris’ promise of unwavering support for Israel.

Vance, meanwhile, reiterated one of Trump’s main arguments: that no new world conflicts broke out during the former president’s time in office.

Neither man would say whether they would agree to a preemptive strike by Israel against Iran.

Abortion rights, a top issue in the 2024 election, sparked one of the longest and most heated exchanges of the evening.

It’s an issue that Democrats have used to mobilize voters, regularly portraying Trump as a threat to women’s autonomy because of his role in appointing a conservative majority to the Supreme Court. The court later overturned Roe v Wade, which had protected the right to abortion in the United States for decades.

Walz cited the stories of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, two Georgia women whose deaths were linked to abortion restrictions in their home state.

Vance, meanwhile, said his opinion on the issue has changed. He previously supported some sort of statewide abortion restriction, but said his position changed when he saw that the majority of Ohio voters supported abortion access.

He also said his party must do “so much more to regain the trust of the American people on this issue, when, quite frankly, they just don’t trust us.”

Shortly before the debate, a claim by Walz that he was in Hong Kong when the Tiananmen Square massacre occurred in Beijing in 1989 failed.

“I’m a dick sometimes,” Walz said when asked about it Tuesday night.

The Minnesota governor clarified that he misspoke, saying he was influenced by events because he arrived in China this summer.

Vance was also asked to respond to some past comments, including previous attacks on his vice president, Trump, whom he once called “America’s Hitler.”

The Ohio senator said he, like many people, has made mistakes in the past. “I was wrong about Donald Trump,” he said.

Walz had his best moment of the evening near the end, when the focus shifted to the January 6, 2021 insurrection and election denial.

In a tense exchange, Vance refused to say that Trump lost the 2020 election, prompting some disbelief from Walz, who called it a “fucking non-answer.”

The moderators also brought up Vance’s previous comments that he would not have certified the 2020 election results if he had been vice president at the time.

Vance maintained his support for Trump, saying the former president urged protesters to protest peacefully on the day of the Capitol riot.

He added that Walz would have his best wishes if Democrats won the Nov. 5 election, but said there were legitimate questions about voter fraud and security.

Walz said he and his opponent are “miles apart” on the issue of Jan. 6 and election integrity.

The tone was a stark contrast to Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s first meeting last month, when insults were rife and interruptions were frequent.

Vance and Walz began the evening with a handshake and then proceeded to be polite and courteous to one another. The two even exchanged occasional smiles and from time to time agreed with what their rival had said.

However, they directed some fire at the top of the ticket — Vance took aim at Harris and Walz at Trump.