Walz shakes off nerves in vice presidential debate, finishes feisty on fate of democracy

Gov. Tim Walz looked and sounded nervous Tuesday at the start of his first and only vice presidential debate with Sen. JD Vance of Ohio before finishing strong, directly questioning his opponent on whether former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.

Vance did not answer the question and Walz pounced. “That is a damning non-answer,” the governor said. “He lost the election. This is not a debate. It’s not anything anywhere other than in Donald Trump’s world.”

The intense exchange came at the finale of a 90-minute debate that was otherwise loaded with policy and some agreement and kind words. Vance sought to introduce himself to the nation as a likable everyman, harkening back multiple times to his impoverished Appalachian childhood.

Walz, who had a deer-in-the-headlights look at the beginning, started shaky in response to the first question about whether the United States should support Israel in a preemptive strike on Iran. He and Vance both said the United States should support Israel, but they didn’t outright endorse an attack on Iran.

“What’s fundamental here is that steady leadership is going to matter,” Walz said, saying that Trump is seen as “fickle” on the world stage. When it comes to stability, a “nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment.” the governor said.

Vance struck a reassuring, not combative tone, describing Trump as a world leader who delivered stability. “I know that a lot of you are worried about the chaos in the world and the feeling that the American dream is unattainable,” the senator said.

The two men shook hands on the stage before and after the debate. Their wives, Usha Vance and Gwen Walz. then joined them on stage, lingering and chatting civilly in a habit that was common at national debates before Trump’s emergence.

Whether intentional or not, Vance mispronounced the governor’s last name throughout the 90-minute discussion, calling him “Waltz” and occasionally referring to him simply as Tim.

At multiple points, Walz touted Minnesota, referencing the state’s high-ranking health care system and institutions such as the Mayo Clinic and Medtronic. He also mentioned several of the state’s recently enacted laws pertaining to paid family and medical leave, a child tax credit and gun safety laws.

The governor became more comfortable when the debate turned to domestic issues with a question to Vance about whether and how a Trump administration would carry out the promised mass deportations, separating parents in the country illegally from children born in the United States.

Vance said, “The people that I’m most worried about in Springfield, Ohio, are the American citizens who’ve had their lives destroyed by Kamala Harris’ open border policy.”

Walz faulted Trump for encouraging his allies in Congress to spike a deal for Border Patrol reinforcements. “This is what happens when you don’t want to solve it, you demonize it,” he said.

Walz went on the offensive on abortion, noting that women in states that have banned abortion have died because doctors were unwilling or unable to provide the care they needed. He faulted Trump for appointing the Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade.

“These are women’s decisions to make about their health care decisions,” Walz said. “Just mind your own business on this.”

Vance claimed that Walz supports a law that allows a doctor to not intervene when a child is born alive after a botched abortion. Walz said that’s not how the law is written.

The most personal moment came after Vance said schools should be fortified to prevent more school shootings.

Walz responded that his son, Gus, had witnessed a shooting at a St. Paul recreation center while playing volleyball.

Vance took a moment and said to Walz warmly, “I didn’t know that your 17-year-old witnessed a shooting and I’m sorry,” Vance said, adding, “Christ have mercy.”

The governor was asked to respond to recent reports that he falsely claimed he was in Hong Kong in May 1989 during the Tiananmen Square protests. “I got there that summer and misspoke,” Walz said, adding that he was in Hong Kong and China during democracy protests.

He said he’d poured his heart into his community and that, “I’m a knucklehead at times.”

The governor said he does talk a lot and can get “caught up in the rhetoric.”

Pressed to respond further by moderator Margaret Brennan, Walz declined.

Toward the end, Brennan and fellow moderator Norah O’Donnell asked the two candidates about threats to democracy. Vance was pressed on previous statements he made that he wouldn’t have certified the results of the 2020 election. He said the democracy discussion should be forward-looking.

Walz said Trump still falsely claims to have won the 2020 election and said both Trump and Vance are “already laying the groundwork” to reject the results in November.

”When this is over, we need to shake hands and the winner needs to be the winner. This has got to stop,” Walz said.