Vance vs. Walz: What to expect from the Vice Presidential debate
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The presidential debate may be over, but Kamala Harris and Donald Trump's runnings mates will face each other on 1 October.
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In brief…
Read time: 4 mins
- Vice President candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz will debate on CBS on 1 October, in the final scheduled clash between any nominees in the 2024 US election race.
- This will be the first time they meet in public, but have already traded attacks during the campaign trail this year.
- The News Agents say…
This week, JD Vance and Tim Walz step up to slug it out in the vice presidential debate
Republican Vance and Democrat Walz will meet on Tuesday 1 October on CBS, where the rivals will be moderated by Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan.
It will be the first time the two have met face to face, in public, since their respective nominations for VP during this year’s election campaign.
Recent polling in the US shows that Walz is the preferred of the two among American voters.
They have already traded barbs over recent months, and both will be looking to score points against each other in person when the debate takes place, just a month before the US goes to the voting booths.
You can expect attacks from one side about claims of military lies, while the other may give just a one-word response: “weird”.
What are their key policies?
In Minnesota, governor Walz has introduced free breakfasts and lunch for school children, signed legislation that commits Minnesota to only use electricity from renewable energy by 2040, and introduced child tax credits for low-income families.
Despite being a proud gun owner himself he introduced tough rules and background checks for anyone wanting to buy a handgun in Minnesota.
He has also called for greater voter rights for people in prison, and introduced partial wages for people in Minnesota to take time off work after a serious medical diagnosis, mental health or after becoming a parent.
In Ohio, lawmaker Vance has introduced strict measures to curb support for migrants, including blocking them from getting jobs at universities, stopping sanctuary cities from getting housing grants and permitting states on the border to place barbed wire between US and Mexico land.
Vance wants to introduce high tariffs on imported goods, especially from China, to encourage more support for US products.
He opposes gun control and same-sex marriage, and says abortion laws should be decided at state level. He also opposes America's ongoing support of Ukraine against Russia's invasion.
What has Tim Walz said about JD Vance?
It was Walz who first used the simple insult of “weird” to describe his Republican rivals.
"Weird" was a word he used to hit out at his rivals before he was even selected to be Harris’s running mate.
It helped the Democratic candidates gain traction with potential voters early in their campaign, when previous attacks on Donald Trump’s lies and criminal convictions failed to help them claim ground.
On a more serious note, he condemned Vance’s comments that school shootings in America are a “fact of life” as he called for more security in US schools.
"It’s a fact of life some people are gay. But you know what’s not a fact of life? That our children need to be shot dead in schools,” Walz said at a Washington event for the Human Rights Campaign.
He also flipped JD Vance’s comments about “childless cat ladies” on its head, making a Taylor Swift joke, referencing women who chose pets over offspring, during a September rally.
What has JD Vance said about Tim Walz?
Vance has previously claimed Walz “lied” about his military record and “stolen valor”, following a comment made by the Democrat that he carried weapons “in war”. The White House has said Walz misspoke.
Both Vance and Walz served in the US military, but neither saw combat.
Walz has said he’s “proud” of his military record.
Emily has described Vance’s attack on Walz and his military as the Republicans “making mischief” for the Democratic VP candidate.
Vance has also accused Walz of lying about his wife having IVF treatment to conceive. She did not have IVF, but a process known as intrauterine insemination (IUI), with the term IVF being frequently used as shorthand to refer to any type of fertility treatment, when it is in fact a specific – and slightly different – process.
He hit back at Walz's "weird" comments, saying it was "schoolyard bully stuff".
Listen to The News Agents this week for analysis on the Vice Presidential debate.
