Welcome to The Campaign Moment, your guide to the biggest moments in the 2024 election, including when politicians occasionally agree on some things.<\/p>\n
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Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) took part Tuesday night in the only scheduled vice-presidential debate of the 2024 election \u2014 and what for now looks to be the final debate, period.<\/p>\n
It was a chance for the long-unpopular Vance to try to right the ship, while it presented Republicans with a chance to lay a glove on Walz in ways they\u2019ve thus far failed to. And of course, the name of the game was not so much building themselves up as helping their tickets.<\/p>\n
So how did they do? And what were the key moments?<\/p>\n
Below, my takeaways.<\/p>\n
1. Walz struggled, Vance tried to recast himself<\/p>\n
Before the debate, word leaked out of Vice President Kamala Harris\u2019s campaign that they were worried about Walz as a debater. It could have been dismissed as lowering expectations, but they clearly had at least some reason to worry.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t great. And Vance appeared much more comfortable in his own skin, pitching a more broadly acceptable version of himself than what we\u2019ve seen so far in his political career.<\/p>\n
Walz began with a strained answer on the Iran-Israel tensions, repeatedly stumbling over his words at a time when many voters were first being introduced to him. He often looked down right after giving an answer. He seemed nervous, especially early on.<\/p>\n
Even when delivering attacks on former president Donald Trump and Vance, Walz often didn\u2019t explain what he was talking about in a way that was intelligible to casual viewers. (For instance, he cited Vance saying he would \u201ccreate stories\u201d about migrants in Springfield, Ohio, without saying he was talking about Vance\u2019s defense of his false claims about Haitian migrants eating Springfield residents\u2019 pets.)<\/p>\n
It was especially awkward for Walz, though, when the debate turned to his apparently false statements about being in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing.<\/p>\n
Walz tried to talk around the question and focus on his biography and work in China, before trying to get past the question with, \u201cI\u2019ve not been perfect, and I\u2019m a knucklehead at times.\u201d<\/p>\n
But moderator Margaret Brennan wanted a firmer answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll I said on this was \u2014 is I got there that summer and misspoke on this. So I will just \u2014 that\u2019s what I\u2019ve said,\u201d Walz said.<\/p>\n
When things turned silent, Walz added that he was in the area during democracy protests and added, \u201cAnd from that I learned a lot of what needed to be in governance.\u201d (Walz appears to have traveled to Hong Kong several months after the Beijing protests ended in a massacre.)<\/p>\n
That should be one of the lasting moments of the debate.<\/p>\n
Vance\u2019s performance was mostly confident, and he seemed to take care to appear as a relatively standard-issue conservative Republican \u2014 to borrow a phrase from George W. Bush, a \u201ccompassionate conservative.\u201d That included repeatedly emphasizing empathy \u2014 in contrast to the culture warrior he has fashioned himself as in recent years with his comments on \u201cchildless cat ladies\u201d and the like. Vance even seemed to suggest Obamacare was working (while suggesting Trump had somehow saved it, despite failing in his efforts to replace the health-care law).<\/p>\n
Whether this has an impact on the popularity gap between the two, we\u2019ll have to see.<\/p>\n
2. Vance tried to massage the abortion issue<\/p>\n
Perhaps no issue has troubled the Republican ticket like abortion, which has swung significantly in Democrats\u2019 direction since the Supreme Court in 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade. Trump has strained to avoid taking specific positions, saying it should be a state issue and trying to leave it at that.<\/p>\n
And Vance\u2019s handling of it really drove that home. Vance went for a moderate tone, without going into too many details.<\/p>\n
Vance cited a woman he knew who was in an abusive relationship who said that an abortion likely saved her life.<\/p>\n
He added that \u201cas a Republican who proudly wants to protect innocent life in this country, who proudly wants to protect the vulnerable \u2026 my party \u2014 we\u2019ve got to do so much better of a job at earning the American people\u2019s trust back on this issue where they, frankly, just don\u2019t trust us.\u201d<\/p>\n
But rather than moderate on abortion, Vance pitched policies that make having children easier.<\/p>\n
When pressed to square his comments about winning back trust with his past hard-line abortion stance, Vance claimed, \u201cI never supported a national ban.\u201d He said he just wanted a \u201cminimum national standard.\u201d But Vance also described himself in recent years as \u201c100% Pro-Life.\u201d<\/p>\n
3. Vance wouldn\u2019t let go of the Haitian migrants issue<\/p>\n
One moment where Vance might have gotten a little over his skis was when the topic turned to the Haitian migrants in Springfield.<\/p>\n
Vance and Trump have spun a baseless tale about the Haitian migrants stealing and eating pets, and Walz broached it early in the debate. But Walz didn\u2019t go into detail or really say what the claim was.<\/p>\n
Vance, though, repeatedly sought to litigate the issue and defend his comments and his focus on problems brought on by migrants, even when he could have turned to other things and when the question posed to him was about Congress\u2019s role on the border.<\/p>\n
When Brennan tried to conclude the segment by noting that the Haitian migrants are legal ones with temporary protected status, Vance again wouldn\u2019t let it go. He accused Brennan of fact-checking \u2014 which CBS said before the debate that it wouldn\u2019t do \u2014 and dove into the technical details of immigration status.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rules were that you guys weren\u2019t going to fact-check,\u201d Vance said. (Vance hadn\u2019t specifically called the Haitian migrants \u201cillegal,\u201d but he has in the past.)<\/p>\n
Ultimately, when Vance and Walz continued to argue about the point, their microphones were shut off. Again, a moment that will live on.<\/p>\n
Americans believe Trump\u2019s and Vance\u2019s claims about Springfield are false by a margin of 2-1, and Vance could easily have skirted the issue. It probably would have passed viewers by. But he made the exchange a centerpiece of the debate.<\/p>\n
4. It was a remarkably civil debate<\/p>\n
Running mates are often tasked with being attack-dogs for their tickets. And both Vance and Walz got their licks in as the debate wore on \u2014 including a testy exchange on democracy and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the end.<\/p>\n
But it was also a remarkably substance-focused and largely civil debate.<\/p>\n
One of Walz\u2019s most interesting strategies was in not so much attacking Vance, but in casting him as someone who might actually be reasonable \u2014 in contrast to Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe Sen. Vance wants to solve this,\u201d Walz said of immigration, \u201cbut by standing with Donald Trump and not working together to find a solution, it becomes a talking point.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Vance\u2019s comment on abortion, Walz responded: \u201cI agree with a lot of what Senator Vance said about what\u2019s happening. His running mate, though, does not. And that\u2019s the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walz also repeatedly cited Vance\u2019s past strong criticisms of Trump and suggested he knows better about his running mate.<\/p>\n
\u201cSenator Vance has said that there\u2019s a climate problem,\u201d Walz said. \u201cIn the past, Donald Trump called it a hoax and then joked that these things would make more beachfront property.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was notable that Walz would suggest Vance isn\u2019t actually that bad, given Vance\u2019s high unpopularity. But the name of the game seemed to be defining Trump rather than Vance \u2014 pitching Trump as too extreme and unwieldy even for his running mate.<\/p>\n
Vance also said he agreed Walz wanted to solve the country\u2019s immigration problems, and he largely passed on opportunities to drive home Walz\u2019s less-resounding moments, including on Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
It seemed both candidates believed the debate was unlikely to move the needle too much in the race, and the name of the game was in pitching their own competencies and not getting tripped up in angry exchanges.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve enjoyed tonight\u2019s debate, and I think there was a lot of commonality here,\u201d Walz said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m sympathetic to misspeaking on things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMe too, man,\u201d Vance responded.<\/p>\n
5. Walz landed a moment on Jan. 6<\/p>\n
Toward the end of the debate, Walz had some of his strongest moments, and they related to the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.<\/p>\n
Vance compared Jan. 6 to Democrats\u2019 past claims about Russian interference, saying this \u201chas been going on for a long time, and if we want to say that we need to respect the results of the election, I\u2019m on board.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walz took the cue to press Vance on whether Trump actually lost the 2020 election, and Vance avoided the question by talking about the Biden administration\u2019s efforts to crack down on covid misinformation.<\/p>\n
\u201cJanuary 6th was not Facebook ads,\u201d Walz shot back, citing Russian efforts to help Trump in 2016. Walz added: \u201cThat is a damning non-answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was indeed tough to see how Vance squared his emphasis on respecting election results with Trump\u2019s many false claims about voter fraud, which Trump continues to focus on to this day. And Walz drove that home.<\/p>\n
Walz added of Vance\u2019s predecessor as Trump\u2019s VP nominee: \u201cWhen Mike Pence made that decision to certify that election, that\u2019s why Mike Pence isn\u2019t on this stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Helene affects voting, Trump may pay the price\u201d (Washington Post)<\/span> Welcome to The Campaign Moment, your guide to the biggest moments in the 2024 election, including when politicians occasionally agree on some things. (Did a friend forward this to you? If so, sign up here. And make sure you\u2019re subscribing to the Campaign Moment podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else.) The big moment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":10462,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u201c24 hours of MAGA misinformation\u201d (Washington Post)<\/span>
\n\u201cPolls show big increase in Republicans planning to vote for abortion rights\u201d (Washington Post)<\/span>
\n\u201cJD Vance vowed to \u2018never forget\u2019 Middletown. Some say he already has.\u201d (Washington Post)<\/span>
\n\u201cTim Walz\u2019s bubble-wrapped campaign\u201d (Washington Post)<\/span>
\n\u201cWalz\u2019s claim that he was in Hong Kong during Tiananmen Square protests undercut by unearthed newspaper reports\u201d (CNN)<\/span>
\n\u201cWhat Democrats don\u2019t understand about JD Vance\u201d (Atlantic)<\/span><\/p>\n