J.D. Vance, Tim Walz clash on economy, immigration and abortion in U.S. vice-presidential debate | CBC News
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance took part in the first and only televised vice-presidential debate in the 2024 election campaign Tuesday night, staking out their policy positions on abortion, immigration, climate change and conflict in the Middle East.
Walz is the running mate of Democratic presidential nominee and sitting Vice-President Kamala Harris; Vance is the Republican candidate for vice-president, running with former president Donald Trump.
Vance, 40, and Walz, 60, shook hands before the debate began. The discussion was more deeply rooted in policy compared to last month’s debate between Harris and Trump, with the lengthiest exchanges coming on the topics of abortion and immigration.
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On the 2020 election
As the debate drew to a close, Vance was asked whether he would seek to challenge this year’s election results, with moderators referencing his past remarks that he would not have certified the election result in 2020.
Vance said Trump did not incite violence on Jan. 6, 2021 and claimed Trump “peacefully gave over power” when President Joe Biden was inaugurated in January.
During the CBS News Vice-Presidential Debate on Tuesday, , when Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz asked his Republican counterpart J.D. Vance if Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, Vance said he is ‘focused on the future’ — which drew a rebuke from Walz.
Walz said Trump’s denial of the 2020 result cannot be questioned and called Vance’s characterization “revisionist history.”
“Did [Trump] lose the 2020 election?” Walz asked Vance.
“I am focused on the future,” Vance responded.
“That is a damning non-answer,” Walz said.
On gun violence
The candidates were asked halfway through the debate how they would address mass shootings and gun violence across the United States. Walz, who was once supported by the National Rifle Association, said he changed his mind on an assault weapons ban after meeting with parents whose children were affected by the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.
“Sometimes it just is the guns,” said Walz, who also noted that his own teenage son had witnessed a shooting at a community centre.
On the topic, Vance said, “we do have to do better.” He did not say guns should be restricted, but said schools “unfortunately” need stronger doors, windows and a police presence. He also said a mental health “crisis” and immigration have contributed to the gun problem in the U.S.
On abortion
On abortion, Walz spoke about women who’ve faced grave health consequences trying to navigate strict laws in states like Texas, Kentucky and Georgia after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.
He criticized Trump having praised the repeal of the landmark decision, which had guaranteed Americans’ right to an abortion for nearly half a century.
“Things worked best when Roe vs. Wade was in place,” Walz said.
During the CBS News Vice-Presidential Debate on Tuesday, Democratic nominee Tim Walz countered Republican nominee J.D. Vance’s comment that states should make their own decisions about abortion by referring to the case of a Georgia woman who died while trying to access a legal procedure out of state. ‘There’s a very real chance, had Amber Thurman lived in Minnesota, she would be alive,’ Walz said.
Vance acknowledged his past anti-abortion statements have been problematic for voters and added many Americans have lost faith in Republicans when it comes to reproductive rights.
“We’ve got to do a much better a job at earning Americans’ trust back,” he said.
On immigration
While discussing immigration, moderators asked Vance whether a second Trump administration would separate children from their migrant parents, even if those children were U.S. citizens. Vance did not answer the question directly and dodged it again when moderators came back to him.
“We all want to solve this,” Walz said of the border issue, before adding, “Well, most of us.”
He then blamed Trump for sinking a congressional bill aimed at slowing illegal immigration because he saw it as “a campaign issue.”
At one point, during a heated exchange about migrants in Ohio, the moderators cut the microphones.
While discussing immigration during the CBS News Vice-Presidential Debate on Tuesday, Republican nominee J.D. Vance saw his audio cut off by moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan.
On past remarks
Both candidates were also questioned on past remarks.
Walz was asked about having claimed he was in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, when he in fact did not arrive until afterward. He said he “misspoke.”
“I’m a knucklehead at times,” Walz said. “I will talk a lot, I will get caught up in the rhetoric.”
Similarly, Vance said he misspoke when he said after the 2016 election that Trump could be “America’s Hitler.”
“I was wrong about Donald Trump,” he said.
On unrest in the Middle East
The first question was about ongoing unrest in the Middle East, hours after Iran launched a missile attack on Israel. The assault was the latest in a series of escalating attacks between Israel and Iran and its Arab allies, which is threatening to push the region closer to a wider war.
Neither candidate directly answered when asked whether they would support a pre-emptive Israeli strike on Iran. Walz said Israel had a “fundamental” right to defend itself and retrieve the people taken hostage in the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, then turned to an attack on Trump. He said Harris would bring steady leadership to resolve the regional crisis.
Vance began his answer by introducing himself and taking viewers through his upbringing in Ohio before ending his answer by saying, “it is up to Israel” to do what it need to do to “keep their country safe.”
The Current19:39Why running mates matter in the race for the White House
Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, three weeks after Donald Trump chose Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance. Guest host Susan Bonner discusses the pivotal role that these potential vice presidents will play in the race for the White House.
On climate change
The second question, on the heels of Hurricane Helene, was about the responsibility presidential administrations have to reduce the impacts of climate change. In his response, Vance said those who believe carbon emissions are causing climate change should address the problem by investing in American manufacturing.
Walz used his time to draw on the benefits of the key tax and climate law Democrats passed in mid-2022.
CBS News hosted the 90-minute debate from its New York City broadcast centre, with CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell and Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan serving as moderators.
The Current19:40Trump or Harris? What undecided U.S. voters are thinking
Political scientists have noted the majority of U.S. voters typically don’t cast their ballot based on the potential vice-president. In recent campaigns, vice-presidents are typically used to rally the party’s voter base and shore up support for the presidential candidate.
But vice-presidential hopefuls are not insignificant — Vance or Walz would have the constitutional duty to step up and lead the United States in the event the president was unable to perform the duties of president.
As Canada’s public broadcaster, CBC News often fields questions from members of our audience on why we give the U.S. election so much time and focus. Editor in chief Brodie Fenlon explains.
The 2020 face-off between Harris and former vice-president Mike Pence drew the second-highest viewership for a vice-presidential debate, according to the television and streaming ratings monitor Nielsen.
The most-watched vice-presidential debate in history happened in 2008 when Biden, who was then Barack Obama’s Democratic running mate, debated Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the vice-presidential pick of Republican Sen. John McCain in his unsuccessful presidential bid.
It’s unclear if there will be another presidential debate before voters head to the polls on Nov. 5.
Harris’s campaign said she agreed to an Oct. 23 match-up on CNN.
But Trump rejected the possibility of another debate with her before election day, arguing that “it’s just too late” and that advance voting has already started.
