DemDaily: The Last Debate
October 2, 2024
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance squared off last night in the only vice presidential election debate of the 2024 election cycle, and by all accounts, a fairly civil one that focused on policy rather than personal attacks.
Moderated by "CBS Evening News" anchor and Managing Editor Norah O'Donnell and "Face the Nation" Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Margaret Brennan, the 90-minute debate took place at CBS Broadcast Center in Midtown Manhattan.
While both running mates effectively presented their case to the voters, a very polished Vance, more seasoned and at home before the camera, projected more confidence on the stage. His demeanor was deceptively agreeable, a stark contrast to the man who spews falsehoods and vitriol when campaigning before MAGA crowds.
Walz, the midwestern, likable former coach and high school teacher, still held his own, exuding more warmth and, after a nervous start, more comfort before the national audience.
While post-debate polling gives Vance a slight edge, averaging 48% to Walz's 46% in performance, Walz received a much larger boost in favorability.
| According to a post-debate CNN/SSRS flash poll, the Minnesota governor saw a 23-point boost in his favorability ratings, now at 59% favorable, 22% unfavorable and 20% undecided. Meanwhile, Vance saw a 19-point boost in his favorability ratings, with 46% favorable, 32% unfavorable and 22% undecided. |
While there were certainly contentious moments, the rivals, for the most part, directed their criticisms to the candidates at the top of the ticket, not directly to each other
Counter to the heated tone of the presidential debate three weeks ago, last night offered -- at least publicly -- a respectful discourse between the candidates, with the word "agree" used nearly two dozen times.
In a debate over immigration and border security, Vance said Trump would deport migrants who are in the country illegally, that their administration would focus on making it “harder for illegal aliens to undercut the wages of American workers,” and assailed Harris as President Joe Biden’s failed “border czar.”
Walz hammered Trump for thwarting a hard-fought bipartisan border security bill earlier this year, so he could, admittedly, keep immigration alive as a campaign issue.
Walz called out Vance’s false claims about Haitian immigrants eating the pets of residents in Springfield, Ohio and the "consequences," to the wild rhetoric, which drew a series of bomb threats, causing the state's Governor, a Republican, to dispatch state troopers to Springfield to ensure the safety of school children.
Vance retorted, “The people I care most about in Springfield are the American citizens,” claiming the illegal immigrants were overwhelming schools, hospitals and housing. Brennan fact-checked Vance, noting that the 12,000 to 15,000 Haitian migrants in Springfield are in the United States legally.
Cordiality, however, does not ensure honesty as Vance espoused more than a dozen lies. From climate change, healthcare and fentanyl to gun violence, Israel and China, the network fact-checkers were provided no shortage of material.
| In a Politico snap poll of the debate, while voters were split 50-50 on who won, Walz was seen to have won with independents by 58-42. He was also preferred as vice president by 44% of independents, with 36% choosing Vance. |
On reproductive rights, one of the election's most critical motivators, Vance, who has previously stated that he supported a national abortion ban and wanted to prosecute people who sent abortion pills through the mail, skillfully reframed his stance.
A seemingly compassionate Vance said that he recognized "that my party, we’ve got to do so much better of a job at earning the American people’s trust back on this issue," adding that he and Donald Trump want a pro-family Republican party "in the fullest sense of the word. I want to support fertility treatments. I want us to make it easier for moms to afford to have babies.”
Vance then accused Democrats of taking “a very radical pro-abortion stance” and said that, if elected, Harris would force medical providers who opposed abortion to perform them.
Walz's strongest moment came at the end of the night, when he blasted Trump for not conceding the 2020 election, saying “A president’s words matter … This has got to stop. It’s tearing our country apart.”
“He lost this election, and he said he didn’t. One hundred and forty police officers were beaten at the Capitol that day, some with the American flag, and several later died,” said Walz. “The democracy is bigger than winning an election.”
When asked if he accepts that Trump lost the election, Vance deflected, saying he is "focused on the future" -- to which Walz shot back, "That is a damning non-answer."
Vance attempted to redirect the subject of democracy into a debate about media censorship -- claiming Harris is censoring people on social media.
Vances still refused to say whether Trump lost the 2020 election, and whether he would contest the 2024 vote if Democrats win November 5.
According to post-debate polling, just 1% of voters who tuned into the debate said it had changed their minds about whom to vote for.
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Kimberly Scott
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Sources: CBS, Newsweek, CNN, NPR, Baltimore Sun, BBC
