NEW YORK (AP) — In a debate that evoked a calmer era in American politics, Tim Walz and JD Vance on Tuesday went after each other’s running mates and sought to shore up their campaigns’ vulnerabilities at a time of renewed fears of a regional war in the Middle East and sadness over devastation from Hurricane Helene.
Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota, and Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, focused many of their criticisms on the top of the ticket, as is traditional for vice presidential debates. They each pointed to the crises of the day as reasons for voters to choose Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump.
The debate unfolded in the final weeks of a campaign that has been defined by harsh, personal attacks and historic convulsions, including a candidate dropping out and another facing two attempted assassinations. Polls have shown Harris and Trump locked in a close contest as early voting begins across the country, giving added weight to anything that can sway voters on the margins, including the impression left by the vice presidential candidates.
Despite the milder tone of the debate, there were still glimpses of the political fractures that threaten American democracy. Vance papered over the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and echoed Trump’s election denial by refusing to acknowledge that President Joe Biden won the race in 2020.
But throughout much of the rest of the night, two Midwesterners struck a noticeably friendlier tone than the matchup between Trump and Harris — or, earlier this year, the showdown between Trump and Biden before he dropped out of the race following a disastrous performance.
In one raw moment when Walz said his teenage son had witnessed a shooting at a community center, Vance expressed empathy.
“I’m sorry about that. Christ have mercy,” Vance said.
“I appreciate that,” Walz said.
In other parts of the debate, Vance tried to soften his image, ratcheting down his typically forceful and aggressive delivery and acknowledging that people watching might not agree with him or Trump. He discussed Trump’s ideas with polish while avoiding being pinned down on the more controversial parts of the former president’s record. His performance immediately delighted the Trump campaign and many of its allies.
Walz depicted Trump as wrong on the issues and a chaotic leader. He occasionally stumbled over his words, even saying “I’ve become friends with school shooters” when he was talking about meeting with survivors. He did deliver several points sure to please Democrats, including on abortion rights and democracy — even if he never used the word “weird,” the branding he attached to Trump and Vance that brought him to national prominence.
The debate began with a discussion of the Middle East, where Israeli forces are fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran has fired missiles at Israel. In Gaza, Israeli forces continue to fight Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack.
“What’s fundamental here is that steady leadership is going to matter,” said Walz. “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.
“Gov. Walz can criticize Donald Trump’s tweets, but effective, smart diplomacy and peace through strength is how you bring stability back to a very broken world,” he said.