Warning: This article contains information that may be sensitive to young viewers.
On Tuesday, October 1, at 9:00 pm EDT, the vice presidential debate of 2024 took place in New York City, NY. The candidates facing off in the CBS-hosted event were Governor Tim Walz of the Democratic Party and Senator JD Vance of the Republican Party, and the moderators were CBS news anchors Margaret Brennan and Norah O'Donnell. The two candidates fought over issues such as the Middle East and the economy throughout the debate. Today, we will explore how it went down.
Contents:
The first topic was the Middle East.
Vance stated that he would support a preemptive Israeli strike on Iran.
Walz claimed that Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than before because of "Donald Trump's fickle leadership." (This does have some basis because Trump exited a deal with Iran to stop their respective nuclear programs. See my CIC:Y? article, U.S.A. vs. Iran, for more details. Spoiler alert: there was some reasoning behind the decision.)
The second topic was Hurricane Helene.
Walz claimed that Trump said climate change was a hoax. (This is true. Donald Trump made this statement on a Fox Business show called Varney & Company. However, Vance maintained that the statement was taken out of context.)
The third topic of the evening was immigration and border security.
Vance said he supports putting back Trump-era border policies.
Walz stated there was a bipartisan effort for better border control, but Trump put it down for a need to have a campaign issue. (Harris also maintained this argument in the presidential debate. This claim is valid.)
Vance claimed that the border control officers were "just [wanting] to be empowered to do their job." He expressed that it was heartbreaking.
The next topic was the economy.
Walz opposes tax cuts for wealthier people and advocates for them to pay "their fair share."
Vance criticized Harris for not implementing her policies during her term so far.
Walz blamed Trump for the economic crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic. (This claim is most likely false due to presidents having very little control over the economy's well-being.)
He opposes outsourcing jobs from the US.
He also stated that the Biden-Harris administration oversaw the creation of about 250,000 manufacturing jobs. (This is true, according to the US Department of Commerce.)
The next topic was personal qualifications for the role of vice president.
Vance said he was wrong about Trump when he criticized him in 2020. He stated that he had believed "dishonest fabrications of his record."
The next topic of the debate was abortion and reproductive rights.
Walz highlighted his reasons for protecting abortion rights, citing an example in Texas where a mother almost died and another in Kentucky where r*pe was involved.
Vance gave an example of his experience with abortion, saying he knew someone who had an abortion. He said that if "she hadn't had that abortion, [it] would have destroyed her life because she was in an abusive relationship." After that, he said he was a firm pro-life supporter.
Vance said he supports the states deciding whether abortion should be legal or not instead of a nationwide ban.
Walz does not support the states deciding abortion's legality. (To prove his point, he gave the example of a woman in Georgia experiencing complications. Georgia restricts abortion, but North Carolina restricts it to a lesser amount. So this woman traveled from Georgia to North Carolina, but on the way, she died.)
Vance expressed his sympathy towards this woman, saying she should not have died.
He also said he wants to improve access to childcare and fertility treatments.
The next topic was "America's gun violence epidemic."
Vance said he would support increased security measures, including stronger locks and more security personnel.
Walz stated that Minnesota has enhanced red flag laws and background checks. (This is true.)
Vance claimed that the leading causes of school shootings are bad mental health and substance abuse. (This is true according to a survey done by Alfred University.)
Walz said he advocates for good healthcare and mental health support.
The next topic was the high housing cost/rent, a significant contributor to inflation.
Walz said he had lessened the bureaucracy in Minnesota and provided down payment assistance.
Vance said that the presence of 25 million illegal immigrants is driving up demand, increasing the cost of housing. (This is true. However, illegal immigrants can help with housing because they are likely to join the construction field.)
Walz claimed illegal immigration has decreased since Trump's presidency. (This is false according to the Pew Research Center.)
The next topic was healthcare.
Vance claimed prescription medicine prices fell during Trump's presidency. (This is partially true. According to a study by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, while medicine prices were lower during his presidency, they were consistently above the inflation rate. During Biden's presidency, prices were at or below the inflation rate.)
Walz claimed that Trump tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act. (This is true. However, Trump said in a post in March that he now wants to make it "better.")
The next topic was childcare.
Both Walz and Vance support a paid family medical leave program. (The US currently does not have a law enforcing paid leave. Instead, companies get to decide how much time is allowed.)
Vance said Trump's planned tariffs would create tax cuts for the people, essentially freeing parents to spend on childcare.
The final topic of the night was the "State of Democracy."
Vance claimed Harris was censoring the media on "misinformation." (He meant she claimed it was on accounts of misinformation. This is true. According to Mark Zuckerburg, Meta's CEO, the Biden administration pressured the social media company Meta to remove some of its content. The White House declined to comment.)
Walz said he was concerned about the safety of America because Trump did not recognize that the 2020 election was lost. He argued that it undermined the "peaceful transfer of power."
Vance countered that claim by saying Trump peacefully transferred power to Biden on January 20, 2021.
For the entire debate (1 hr, 39 mins, 30 secs) and the entire debate transcript, go to https://www.cbsnews.com/news/full-vp-debate-transcript-walz-vance-2024/?scrlybrkr=aad20f5d.
Good recap