Who won the vice presidential debate? Walz ‘fumbled bigly’ in ‘good old-fashioned’ spar with Vance
Despite a civilized and often convivial vice presidential debate on Tuesday night, Democratic nominee Tim Walz at times appeared nervous and unprepared, while his Republican rival JD Vance worked to downplay his image of an uncompassionate weirdo.
Ultimately, the Ohio senator’s confidence, command of party lines and smooth delivery made a largely positive impression during the New York showdown, in contrast to recent controversies including his false claims that Haitian migrants in Ohio have been eating their neighbors’ pets.
Snap polls from both CNN and CBS following the debate revealed a virtual tie between the two men. The CBS poll found that 41 per cent of those surveyed felt Walz had won, and 42 per cent saw the debate as a victory for Vance.
“JD Vance came to land a bunch of punches and he did… Tim Walz didn’t seem prepared for it,” said CNN anchor Abby Phillip.
Walz had a shaky start to the debate after being hit immediately with a question about the Middle East conflict, an ongoing source of criticism for the Biden administration, but later found his rhythm. Vance appeared largely unflustered throughout.
On CNN, commentator David Urban, former senior advisor to the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign, gave Vance “10 out of 10.”
“He landed a lot of good punches but he did so with an iron fist in a velvet glove,” Urban said. “He was very smooth, he was likable, he looked presidential. He had a command of the facts. He wasn’t flustered, he was a guy you’d want to have a beer with.”
One of the stickiest moments for Walz came when he was challenged over his previous statements that he was in Hong Kong during the April 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. The Minnesota Governor dodged the question before finally admitting he “misspoke”.
Elsewhere during his answer, Walz said: “I’ve not been perfect and I’m a knucklehead at times,” and added that he sometimes “will talk a lot” and “get caught up in the rhetoric.”
“Coach Walz fumbled bigly on Tiananmen Square… He went on and on, he should have just said ‘Look, I misspoke, I screwed up, I’m human’,” Urban said.
Alyssa Farah Griffin, former White House communications advisor under the Trump adminstration, added: “Tim Walz was a little in over his head tonight, I think his performance got better by the end of the night.”
Another notable feature of the debate, compared to the fiery showdown between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris last month, was the civilized nature of the content, described as a “good old fashioned policy debate” by NBC commentators.
The two men shook hands following the conclusion of the debate and even introduced each other to their wives on stage. They were also seen shaking hands and thanking the moderators.
“It didn’t get nasty, it didn’t get weird. They took their shots but it was earnest and there were even moments of congeniality,” said NBC anchor Savannah Sellers.
