Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Walz and Vance Argue Their Running Mates Would Reduce Middle East Instability in VP Debate
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 days ago on
October 1, 2024

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks during a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News, with Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NEW YORK — Tim Walz and JD Vance on Tuesday each pointed to the crises of the day as reasons for voters to choose their respective running mates for president, opening their vice presidential debate by addressing the growing fears of a regional war in the Middle East and a natural disaster that has ravaged the southeastern U.S.

Walz, answering a question on whether he’d support a preemptive strike on Iran as it’s launched missiles into Israel, quickly pivoted to painting Donald Trump as too dangerous for the country and the world in an unstable moment.

“What’s fundamental here is that steady leadership is going to matter,” said Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota. “And the world saw it on that debate stage a few weeks ago, a nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment.”

Vance, in his reply, argued that Trump is an intimidating figure whose presence on the international stage is its own deterrent.

“Donald Trump actually delivered stability,” he said.

The debate in New York hosted by CBS News opened with a sober tone that reflected growing domestic and international concerns about safety and security. It gives Vance, a Republican freshman senator from Ohio, and Walz, a two-term Democratic governor of Minnesota, the chance to introduce themselves, make the case for their running mates, and go on the attack against the opposing ticket.

Both men found unity on Hurricane Helene, which has devastated several states and caused massive flooding in North Carolina in particular. Walz mentioned the storm’s devastation and talked about working with governors across the country, saying they don’t let politics get in the way of collaborating.

Vance said, “I’m sure Gov. Walz joins me in saying our hearts go out to those innocent people.”

Tuesday’s matchup could have an outsized impact. Polls have shown Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump locked in a close contest, giving added weight to anything that can sway voters on the margins, including the impression left by the vice presidential candidates. It also might be the last debate of the campaign, with the Harris and Trump teams failing to agree on another meeting.

The role of a presidential running mate is typically to serve as an attack dog for the person at the top of the ticket, arguing against the opposing presidential candidate and their proxy on stage. Both Vance and Walz have embraced that role.

Vance’s occasionally confrontational news interviews and appearances on the campaign trail have underscored why Trump picked him for the Republican ticket despite his past biting criticisms of the former president, including once suggesting Trump would be “America’s Hitler.”

Walz, meanwhile, catapulted onto Harris’ campaign by branding Trump and Republicans as “ just weird,” creating an attack line for Democrats seeking to argue Republicans are disconnected from the American people.

A new AP-NORC poll found that Walz is better liked than Vance, potentially giving the Republican an added challenge.

After a Harris-Trump debate in which Republicans complained about the ABC News moderators fact-checking Trump, Tuesday’s debate will not feature any corrections from the hosts. CBS News said the onus for pointing out misstatements will be on the candidates, with moderators “facilitating those opportunities.”

Trump, on Tuesday evening, said his advice to Vance was to “have a lot of fun” and praised his running mate as a “smart guy” and “a real warrior.”

As they’ve campaigned, both Walz and Vance have played up their roots in small towns in middle America, broadening the appeal of Harris and Trump, who hail from California and New York, respectively.

Walz, 60, frequently invokes his past job coaching a high school football team as he speaks about his campaign with Harris bringing “joy” back to politics and weds his critiques of the GOP to a message to Democrats that they need to “leave it all on the field.”

Walz, a Nebraska native, was a geography teacher before he was elected to Congress in 2006. He spent a dozen years there before he was elected governor in 2018, winning a second term four years later.

He also served 24 years in the Army National Guard before retiring in 2005. His exit and description of his service have drawn harsh criticism from Vance, who served in the Marine Corps, including in Iraq.

The 40-year-old Vance became nationally known in 2016 with the publication of his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” which recounts his childhood in Ohio and his family’s roots in rural Kentucky. The book was cited frequently after Trump’s 2016 win as a window into working-class white voters who supported his campaign. Vance went to Yale Law School before working as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley.

After the publication of his book, he was a prominent critic of Trump’s before he morphed into a staunch defender of the former president, especially on issues like trade, foreign policy and immigration.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Russia Urges Citizens to Leave Israel as Tensions with Hezbollah Escalate

DON'T MISS

Taxpayers in 24 States Will Be Able to File Their Returns Directly With the IRS in 2025

DON'T MISS

California Collects Millions in Stolen Wages, but Can’t Find Many Workers to Pay Them

DON'T MISS

Sweet Lola on the Mend, Ready for a Forever Home

DON'T MISS

Houthis Vow Retaliation Against US for Yemen Airstrikes

DON'T MISS

Chavez-Quintero Debate: How Would You Rate City-County Cooperation?

DON'T MISS

Biden Talks Election, Economy and Middle East in Surprise News Briefing

DON'T MISS

Big Money Rolling in from Commercial Builders for Local School Bond Measure Campaigns

DON'T MISS

Behind the Scenes at Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s Sea Lion Cove: A Flipper-tastic Adventure

DON'T MISS

Clovis Daytime Burglary: 2 Suspects Arrested, 1 at Large

UP NEXT

Taxpayers in 24 States Will Be Able to File Their Returns Directly With the IRS in 2025

UP NEXT

California Collects Millions in Stolen Wages, but Can’t Find Many Workers to Pay Them

UP NEXT

Sweet Lola on the Mend, Ready for a Forever Home

UP NEXT

Houthis Vow Retaliation Against US for Yemen Airstrikes

UP NEXT

Chavez-Quintero Debate: How Would You Rate City-County Cooperation?

UP NEXT

Biden Talks Election, Economy and Middle East in Surprise News Briefing

UP NEXT

Big Money Rolling in from Commercial Builders for Local School Bond Measure Campaigns

UP NEXT

Behind the Scenes at Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s Sea Lion Cove: A Flipper-tastic Adventure

UP NEXT

Clovis Daytime Burglary: 2 Suspects Arrested, 1 at Large

UP NEXT

Trump Stalled California Wildfire Aid? Ex-Aide Reveals Political Motive

Sweet Lola on the Mend, Ready for a Forever Home

20 hours ago

Houthis Vow Retaliation Against US for Yemen Airstrikes

1 day ago

Chavez-Quintero Debate: How Would You Rate City-County Cooperation?

1 day ago

Biden Talks Election, Economy and Middle East in Surprise News Briefing

1 day ago

Big Money Rolling in from Commercial Builders for Local School Bond Measure Campaigns

1 day ago

Behind the Scenes at Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s Sea Lion Cove: A Flipper-tastic Adventure

1 day ago

Clovis Daytime Burglary: 2 Suspects Arrested, 1 at Large

1 day ago

Trump Stalled California Wildfire Aid? Ex-Aide Reveals Political Motive

1 day ago

Costa Bill Opens Grants for Heavy Manufacturers to Start Using Hydrogen

2 days ago

Watch: Fresno County Supervisor District 3 Debate

2 days ago

Russia Urges Citizens to Leave Israel as Tensions with Hezbollah Escalate

Russia has advised its citizens to leave Israel amid rising tensions with Hezbollah and Iran, reports Newsweek. Moscow’s ambassador to...

17 hours ago

17 hours ago

Russia Urges Citizens to Leave Israel as Tensions with Hezbollah Escalate

20 hours ago

Taxpayers in 24 States Will Be Able to File Their Returns Directly With the IRS in 2025

20 hours ago

California Collects Millions in Stolen Wages, but Can’t Find Many Workers to Pay Them

20 hours ago

Sweet Lola on the Mend, Ready for a Forever Home

1 day ago

Houthis Vow Retaliation Against US for Yemen Airstrikes

Challenger Luis Chavez and incumbent supervisor Sal Quintero debate in Fresno, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024.
1 day ago

Chavez-Quintero Debate: How Would You Rate City-County Cooperation?

1 day ago

Biden Talks Election, Economy and Middle East in Surprise News Briefing

1 day ago

Big Money Rolling in from Commercial Builders for Local School Bond Measure Campaigns

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend