Vice President Debate Preview: JD Vance vs. Tim Walz

What To Expect From Tim Walz

Both candidates can expect to field questions about important topics such as the economy, abortion rights, and immigration at the border. However, they may also take direct questions specific to their viability to serve as vice president.

In the case of Tim Walz, he could be asked again to clarify his service in the National Guard. There is an old clip where he mentioned he carried weapons of war in combat, but he never actually stepped foot in a live war zone. Some have even excused him of stolen valor or leaving his troops for retirement when they were scheduled to deploy.

Still, these are old accusations that he has dealt with before when he became the Governor of Minnesota, and he’s had practice at answering questions about his service and the way he retired.

The topic in the debate that could get the most heated is abortion.

As the Minnesota Governor, Walz signed a bill in January 2023 that protected abortion rights, the first state to do so after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022.

However, some believe the bill offers no limits on when abortion can be performed, including in the third trimester. During September’s presidential debate, Trump even noted that Walz supports executing a baby after it is born in Minnesota, a common lie told by Republicans about abortion. A popular internet meme has said that Walz let 5 babies die in Minnesota who survived an abortion, though there is no evidence that his law stripped away any protections from a born infant.

While Republicans like to lie about a post-birth abortion, otherwise known as murder (illegal in all states), Democrats have not done a good job of messaging that there should be some restrictions on abortion, including in the third trimester unless it’s for the health of the mother and the baby is no longer viable.

That topic might get really heated, and we’ll also see if they talk about transgender rights, as that was largely ignored in both presidential debates this year. Walz has also been called “Tampon Tim” online by Republicans who note he wants to put tampons in boys’ bathrooms in schools.

This debate could get awkward in a hurry, but that’s almost a given when the other speaker is JD Vance.

Why JD Vance Can Win and Why He Could Implode

There is a huge difference and clash in personality between Walz and Vance that should be interesting to see play out in a debate.

Walz is a jovial, everyday guy with the experience of being a football coach and high school teacher. He’s the “Minnesota Nice” dad you don’t mind calling at 3:00 a.m. if you get into trouble. He’s unlikely to do as well in a debate format as he would on a stage in front of a live crowd he can pump up with his energy and referring to his opponent as “weird,” the catchphrase that helped catapult him into being Harris’ running mate.

Vance, one of the youngest VP nominees in history, is not nearly as lively as Walz despite being 20 years younger. However, Vance is more analytical and calculating in his approach, which could actually serve him very well in a debate format. Still, there are also 2 major pitfalls he must avoid, or this debate could be a disaster for him.

First, he has no charisma compared to his running mate Trump. Vance desperately needs to stay away from making jokes. His inability to land a punchline makes him a terrible joketeller, and it just fills the room with awkwardness when he tries it.

Vance: I had a Diet Mountain Dew yesterday and one today. I’m sure they will call that racist. pic.twitter.com/z3ra8Y5F2f

— Acyn (@Acyn) July 22, 2024

More importantly, Vance must avoid taking the bait from Walz, who should absolutely lean into the “weird” thing about the way Vance has attacked childless cat ladies. If I was Walz, I would also ask Vance directly why he doesn’t say anything about Trump’s attacks on Harris’ mixed-race heritage, including her Indian mother, when Vance’s own wife is Indian, making his children biracial as well.

Harris baited Trump repeatedly by bringing up things like his crowd size, and he took it every time. Vance may not be as bad at this as Trump is, but he could really get into a rough debate if he’s up there trying to debunk that he did not have sex with a couch, as a popular internet meme someone fabricated and spread. Just avoid that nonsense.

Still, it may be unavoidable for Vance to skirt past the meme that derailed Trump in September’s debate when he uttered the line “They’re eating the dogs” as a reference to Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio.

That story was not true, and the main person who pushed that story was Vance himself. He later went on CNN with Dana Bash in a disastrous interview where he admitted that he created a fake story to get American media to cover such topics:

JD Vance on lies about Haitians:

“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people then that’s what I’m going to do”

pic.twitter.com/q95BGYj78J

— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) September 15, 2024

It’s hard to imagine this story won’t be a topic on Tuesday night, and how Vance answers that can determine how the rest of his night goes. At the very least, he needs to beat the “weird” allegations from Walz, but that cat may already be long out of the litter box.

If styles make fights, then Tuesday night could be very entertaining.