(NEXSTAR) – Republican J.D. Vance and Democrat Tim Walz met Tuesday in the lone vice presidential debate of the 2024 election, bringing together undercards who have spent two months going after each other and the opposing nominees who top the major-party tickets.
The matchup, hosted by CBS News in New York, might not have carried the same stakes as the Sept. 10 debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. But it offered their top lieutenants a fresh opportunity to introduce themselves, vouch for their bosses and fulfill a time-honored role of a running mate: attack dog.
Both Vance and Walz spent more time attacking each other’s running mates than the person standing next to them on the debate stage – though even their attacks remained cordial. Walz depicted Trump as wrong on the issues and a chaotic leader. Vance rebuffed him with every answer and made the case for the man he once heavily criticized.
Their mics had to be cut once by the moderators, but the debate was largely characterized by deep policy discussions, with the candidates sometimes saying they agreed with each other.
A sharper turn on immigration
The debate in New York hosted by CBS News opened with a sober tone that reflected growing domestic and international concerns about safety and security. But it gave way to sharper attacks from both Walz and Vance — and a moment in which the moderators stopped the discussion by cutting the two men’s mics.
Walz accused Vance and Trump of villainizing legal immigrants in Vance’s home state. He pointed to the fact that Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine had to send in extra law enforcement to provide security to the city’s schools after Vance tweeted about and Trump amplified false claims about Haitians eating pets.
“This is what happens when you don’t want to solve it, you demonize it,” Walz said, saying not doing so would allow people to “come together.”
Vance said the 15,000 Haitians in the city had caused housing, economic and other issues that the Biden-Harris administration was ignoring.
When the debate moderators pointed out that the Haitians living there had legal status, Vance protested that CBS News had said its moderators would not be fact-checking, leaving the onus to the candidates. As Vance continued and the moderators tried to move on, his microphone was cut and neither man could be heard.
A return to cordiality on the debate stage
The two Midwesterners struck a noticeably friendlier tone than the matchup between Trump and Harris — or, earlier this year, the showdown between Trump and President Joe Biden before he dropped out of the race following a disastrous performance.
When they first turned to immigration and the influx of migrants coming over the U.S.-Mexico border, one of the most heated topics of the campaign, the two men credited each other with having good intentions.
“I believe Sen. 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.
Vance echoed the sentiment, saying, “I think you want to solve this problem, but I don’t think that Kamala Harris does.”
Walz catapulted onto Harris’ campaign by branding Trump and Republicans as “ just weird,” creating an attack line for Democrats seeking to argue Republicans are disconnected from the American people. But for almost the entire debate, he never used the word.
Vance’s occasionally confrontational interviews and appearances have underscored why Trump picked him for the Republican ticket.
Vance in particular seemed to be attempting to soften his aggressive image, ratcheting down his typically forceful delivery, referring to Walz as “Tim” and a more supple approach, saying at one point, “I know a lot of Americans don’t agree with everything that I’ve ever said on this topic.”
His efforts to explain Trump’s policies and positions with a more gentle touch were also reminiscent of how former Vice President Mike Pence often operated when he and Trump were in the White House.
The two broke over Pence’s refusal to join his efforts to try to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
In one raw moment when Walz said his teenage son had witnessed a shooting at a community center, Vance expressed empathy.
“I’m sorry about that. Christ have mercy,” Vance said.
“I appreciate that,” Walz said.
Both men acknowledged past missteps
The role of a presidential running mate is typically to serve as an attack dog for the person at the top of the ticket, arguing against the opposing presidential candidate and their proxy on stage. Both Vance and Walz have embraced that role.
Vance was asked to address his past biting criticisms of the former president, including once suggesting Trump would be “America’s Hitler.”
“When you get something wrong and you change your mind, you ought to be honest with the American people,” he said Tuesday.
Walz, meanwhile, was pressed on his misleading claim, which was investigated this week by Minnesota Public Radio and other outlets, that he was in Hong Kong during the turbulence surrounding the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, part of a broader pattern of inaccuracies that Republicans hope to exploit.
Confronted with his misstatements about his travels to China years ago, Walz defended himself by saying, “I’ve not been perfect.” In fact, he said, “I’m a knucklehead at times.” Eventually, he acknowledged he misspoke about his history.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
