Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance, respectively Kamala Harris’s and Donald Trump’s running mates in the US presidential election, faced off on Tuesday in their first and only debate. Here are five takeaways.
• Also read: Running mate debate tonight: what to expect from Tim Walz and JD Vance?
• Also read: Harris and Trump set course for key states again
• Also read: Walz’s Vance less popular in the polls: the two running mates will debate on Tuesday
A courteous debate
The two candidates remained largely civil towards each other. They focused their attacks on Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, rather than each other.
A tone which contrasted with the invectives launched by the presidential candidates during their own duel three weeks ago.
JD Vance, also very comfortable, for example said he was “sorry” to learn that Tim Walz’s son had witnessed a shooting. The latter, whose stress was more visible, thanked him.
The candidates’ microphone was only cut off at one point.
Opposing views
The two men nevertheless showed their differences on most subjects, from abortion to immigration, including the climate and the economy.
JD Vance questioned “the idea that CO2 emissions are the cause of all climate change”, while Tim Walz insisted: “climate change is a reality, reducing our impact is absolutely essential”.
On immigration, the Democrat accused his rival of “dehumanizing” migrants, after JD Vance recently relayed a false theory according to which Haitian migrants eat dogs and cats.
Another major subject of the campaign: abortion, which has been banned in several American states since a decision by the American Supreme Court. JD Vance accused Democrats of “radical pro-abortion” positions. “We are pro-women,” his opponent replied.
Close to the people?
Each of the two candidates sought to give themselves an image of a man close to the people.
“I am a hunter, I have weapons,” said the Democrat, for example. In his closing message, he also thanked viewers who missed the popular show Dancing with the stars (Dancing with the Stars) to watch the debate, and cited Taylor Swift’s support for her candidate.
JD Vance has spoken several times about his childhood.
“I remember when my grandmother was raising me, and she didn’t have enough money to turn on the heat some nights, because it gets pretty cold at night in Ohio and because the money came often to be missed,” he mentioned for example at the end of the debate.
Repentant candidates
Both candidates acknowledged making erroneous statements in the past.
Tim Walz admitted to being wrong about the date of one of his trips to Hong Kong in 1989 – Republicans having accused him of seeking to stage himself during the pro-democracy Tiananmen movement, repressed in the blood.
“I was wrong about Donald Trump,” said JD Vance, when asked about his strong criticism of the real estate mogul, whom he had, in the past, said was “not fit” to be president.
Democracy at stake
The fate of American democracy has given rise to a strong sequence.
The storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was “the first time in American history that a president, or anyone, attempted to overturn a fair election and peaceful transfer of power,” Tim Walz said.
Did Donald Trump “lose the 2020 election?” he even directly asked JD Vance, while the former president always refused to recognize his defeat at the polls.
“I remain focused on the future,” the Republican senator replied, adding that there had been “problems in 2020.”
He turned the attack on Kamala Harris, accusing her of “practicing censorship on a large scale”, “a much greater threat to democracy”, according to him.