CNN
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Democrat Tim Walz and Republican J.D. Vance are scheduled to meet Tuesday night in the only vice presidential debate of the 2024 election, which could be the last time the two sides face off on stage. I don’t know.
The matchup between Mr. Walz, 60, the governor of Minnesota, and Mr. Vance, 40, the senator from Ohio, will be hosted by CBS News and will be played behind closed doors in New York.
The discussion will take place at home and abroad, including with Hurricane Helen recovery efforts across the southeastern United States and the Middle East in crisis as Israel escalates operations against Iranian-backed militants in Lebanon. It coincides with a major news story.
Vice presidential nominees traditionally serve as attack dogs aimed at the top of the ticket — in this case, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump.
But Walz and Vance have been beating each other up for months. Walz was chosen as the Democratic vice presidential nominee in part because he labeled the Republican ticket as “strange” in a television interview that served as a semi-audition for the role. Vance, a military veteran, questions Walz’s military record.
The debate will be moderated by CBS’ Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan. It begins at 9pm ET and will be simulcast on CNN.
Here are five things to keep an eye on during the vice presidential debate.
The Central American roots at the heart of Walz and Vance’s well-cultivated political identities were highlighted on Tuesday night, when the two men vying for the presidency reached their largest audience of voters ever. It will be displayed when we introduce our biographies. up to now.
Walz is a two-term governor and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006. However, he is expected to lean toward the positions he held before entering politics, such as high school teacher and assistant football coach.
Vance, on the other hand, is a Marine Corps veteran and author of a best-selling memoir depicting Appalachian family values and the socio-economic issues of his homeland. He is likely to focus less on his past as a political commentator, who was a harsh critic of President Trump, and more on how he has criticized the former president in recent years.
Biographical advertising for both candidates is an effort to promote their credibility, a valuable political commodity, especially in races where undecided voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin could swing the outcome. Born from.
Voter decisions are overwhelmingly influenced by those at the top of the party ticket, and Walz and Vance are likely to spend much of their time attacking Trump and Harris, respectively. But they could also spend time emphasizing parts of their own biographies or trying to undermine those of their rivals in order to establish credibility with voters.
The two tickets are divided on abortion rights, an issue Democrats see as important for motivating women and young people and gaining support from volatile voters.
Walz discusses the issue within the broader framework of Harris’ support for “liberty,” the Supreme Court justices who voted in the majority to overturn Roe v. Wade’s federal protections for abortion rights in 2022. This is in contrast to Trump, who appointed three of them.
He also revealed the more vulnerable sides of his story, including the infertility struggles he and his wife Gwen faced. And Democrats highlighted Vance’s quip about “childless cat women” in 2021 to portray him as critical of women’s reproductive choices.
Meanwhile, Mr. Vance and Mr. Trump have at times struggled to see eye to eye on the issue of abortion. But Vance has supported policies that encourage childbirth.
He also attempts to portray Waltz as an extreme figure on the abortion issue. At a campaign event in Charlotte, North Carolina, last week, Walz said that as Minnesota’s governor, he supported legislation that would allow abortions “up to the moment of birth and even to the point where there is no longer a need for a physician to perform an abortion.” said. We provide life-saving care to babies who survive failed abortions. ”
“It’s just a disease,” he said.
Walz signed the bill in early 2023. Supporters at the time said the bill aimed to put reproductive health decisions in the hands of women and their doctors, rather than politicians or judges.
Walz, a relative unknown nationally, became Harris’ running mate in August after going through the quickest selection process in a generation. This is due in no small part to the bittersweet commentary on cable news.
His bland assertion that Trump, Vance, and their allies are “weirdos” appealed to Democrats desperate to get a shot at MAGA Republicans and brought him one step closer to vice president. I pushed it up to the spot.
But since then, Waltz has quieted down considerably.
His appearances on cable news have receded, he didn’t say much in a joint CNN interview with Harris, and his speech didn’t garner much attention. He spent some time on the defensive over his war record, but it all but faded into the background.
Things will change on Tuesday night. What is less clear is what effect it has.
Mr. Walz once played a role Mr. Biden once played in a key debate in 2012, when he interrupted Mitt Romney’s running mate, Paul Ryan, in a debate with another rising young conservative. There is a possibility that it will be fulfilled.
Or is there another reason why Waltz has been kept under wraps for the past six weeks or so? The answer should become clear within the first few minutes of the debate.
If past performance is any indication, Vance will be harsh on Walz’s record.
Republicans, especially Mr. Vance, argue that Mr. Walz was actively trying to avoid combat, accusing the governor of exaggerating his background and retiring before troops were sent to Iraq. A review of records showed Walz filed to run for Congress in February 2005, before he was notified that his troops might be deployed to Iraq. He retired in May 2005, according to the Minnesota National Guard.
Walz also admitted that he had made a gaffe about his experience carrying “weapons of war.” Still, he never explicitly stated he faced combat, according to a review of early operations by KFILE.
The story is nuanced, so Vance is unlikely to back out. In August, Walz called Harris’ “stolen valor partner” and called the governor’s past comments “disgraceful.”
Waltz doesn’t seem to want to litigate on stage, but it’s possible Vance will force him to do so.
In recent weeks, Mr. Vance and Mr. Trump have doubled down and tripled on false claims that Haitians in Ohio City are kidnapping and eating their neighbors’ pets.
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and many others have called the claims outlandish, but no one has provided evidence to the contrary. Still, Trump and Vance want to put immigration at the forefront, even though immigrants are in the country legally, with Republicans trying to stoke anger over the Biden administration’s handling of the border crisis. is trying to take advantage of a rumor that was debunked.
When Trump brought up Springfield during last month’s presidential debate, moderators fact-checked him in real time.
Asked about CNN’s Dana Bash’s allegations in September, Vance said, “If I have to write a story that will get the American media to actually pay attention to the suffering of the American people, that’s what I’ll do.” ” he said.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Walz brought up that comment, especially when attacking Republican rhetoric.
