HOME > AFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL > Article
US VP rivals defend Trump and Harris in polite debate
US vice presidential contenders J.D. Vance and Tim Walz faced off in a surprisingly civil debate Tuesday, despite tense moments on the hot topics of migration, abortion and the threat of war in the Middle East.
Republican Vance and Democrat Walz dug into policy and avoided the bitter personal attacks that presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris exchanged during an often heated clash in September.
But the shadow of their bosses hung over the CBS debate, with Walz attacking Trump as a threat to democracy and unfit to lead America on the world stage, and Vance slamming Harris's record on the economy and illegal migration as part of President Joe Biden's administration.
A key moment came near the end, when Vance refused to say whether he backed Trump's false claims to have won the 2020 election against Biden.
Minnesota governor Walz accused him of a damning non-answer and blasted Trump over the January 6, 2021 attacks on the US Capitol by pro-Trump supporters.
There was also a fiery moment when Vance, who mostly restrained his persona as Trump's attack dog, had his microphone briefly muted when the moderators tried to factcheck him on migration.
Walz said false stories spread by Vance and Trump about migrants in the town of Springfield, Ohio dehumanize and villainize other human beings.
- 'Very radical' -
Another tough exchange was over abortion, a key issue since a Supreme Court packed with judges picked by Trump overturned the national right to abortion in 2022.
Vance accused Democrats of taking a very radical pro-abortion stance who backed what he called barbaric laws. Walz hit back saying he was pro-women.
But the debate, which is likely to be the last before the November 5 vote, featured a mostly respectful tone despite the deep ideological differences between the two men.
Vance, 40, and Walz, 60, who both claim folksy roots in the US Midwest, said several times that they agreed with each other during the debate, and shook hands at the beginning and the end.
The usually ebullient Walz had a nervy start and stumbled several times, but became more confident, while Vance gave a smooth performance.
Their fire was trained instead on their opposite running mates.
Trump came up again as the veep rivals took on the crisis in the Middle East after Iran's missile attack on Israel.
Walz slammed Trump's foreign policy record, accusing the ex-president for a turn towards Russia's Vladimir Putin and his withdrawal of the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
As much as Governor Walz just accused Donald Trump of being an agent of chaos, Donald Trump actually delivered stability in the world, Vance countered.
Walz faced some awkward questions, particularly when he was forced to admit he misspoke about whether he had been in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in China.
- 'Great job' -
Trump praised his protege after the debate, saying on his TruthSocial network: GREAT JOB JD ? We will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
History suggests vice-presidential debates rarely move the dial much. But in an election campaign that has seen Harris step in for President Biden unprecedentedly late in the game, Tuesday's contest may have added significance.
It was also a chance for Americans to be introduced to the two men who would be a heartbeat away from the presidency -- or next in line should the president step aside.
Walz and Vance both claim to be the true voice of the crucial swing states that could decide the election.
Both are military veterans with strong blue-collar credentials. Vance authored the Rust Belt memoir Hillbilly Elegy -- before going to law school and working in Silicon Valley -- while Walz is a former teacher and football coach.
The combative Vance shares Trump's penchant for courting controversy, whether by smearing Democrats as childless cat ladies or by boosting false claims that Haitians living in an Ohio town ate residents' pets.
Walz became a hit with Democrats for branding Vance and Trump weird and for his progressive politics.
(2024/10/02 18:19)
Click Here for Japanese TranslationAFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL
- 10/09 21:59 Gilded canopy restored at Vatican basilica
- 10/09 21:53 Pyongyang to 'permanently' shut border with South Korea
- 10/09 21:45 Nepali becomes youngest to climb world's 8,000m peaks
- 10/09 17:38 Jurgen Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- 10/09 17:03 Syria says seven civilians killed in Israel Damascus strike
- 10/09 17:00 Osama bin Laden's son Omar banned from returning to France
- 10/08 20:26 Australia moves to expand Antarctic marine park
- 10/08 18:23 Musk says he is 'all in' on Trump in US election
- 10/08 18:21 Tampa zoo rushes Chompers the porcupine and others to safety as Milton nears
- 10/08 18:08 Harris-- 'Of course' I've fired my Glock
- 10/08 18:06 Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- 10/08 17:02 Trump-- immigrants bringing 'bad genes' into US
- 10/07 17:13 Rescuers say 17 dead in Gaza as Israel troops encircle Jabaliya
- 10/07 17:10 Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- 10/07 17:06 In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- 10/07 17:03 Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- 10/07 17:00 Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- 10/07 16:55 India asks top court to heed marital rape leniency
- 10/04 19:25 Scientists unlock secret of 'Girl With Pearl Earring'
- 10/04 19:22 Sinner not 'comfortable' as doping case clouds Shanghai campaign
- 10/04 19:19 Dolphins flash friendly grins when they're ready to play
- 10/04 19:18 Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
- 10/04 19:16 North Korea's Kim threatens to use nukes if attacked
- 10/04 16:53 'Devastating' storm hits Augusta National but Masters will go on
- 10/03 19:32 Paris Olympics sports equipment moves to new homes
- 10/03 19:29 'Heartbreaking'-- Biden, Harris tour storm areas as deaths surpass 160
- 10/03 19:28 Deadly Israeli strike on central Beirut after soldiers killed
- 10/03 19:26 NBA legend Jordan files anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR
- 10/03 19:25 South America treated to rare 'ring of fire' eclipse
- 10/03 19:24 Hamas claims Tel Aviv shooting attack that killed seven
- 10/02 19:06 Gaza children 'extremely impacted' by war-- UNICEF
- 10/02 19:03 Sheinbaum takes office as Mexico's first woman president
- 10/02 18:19 US VP rivals defend Trump and Harris in polite debate
- 10/02 18:17 Supercars line up at Cambodia's Angkor Wat temples
- 10/02 16:50 China's Xi tells Putin ready to 'expand' ties-- state media
- 10/02 16:50 Former US president Jimmy Carter turns 100
- 10/01 21:02 Brazilians choke as fire smoke blankets 80% of country
- 10/01 20:58 LeBron James 'given life' by playing with son, Olympic gold
- 10/01 20:55 Israel defies a nervous Biden administration
- 10/01 16:47 With 118 dead from Hurricane Helene, Biden defends US government response
- 10/01 16:43 Renault to end Formula One engine production from 2026
- 10/01 16:42 Russia plans sharp defence spending hike in 2025
- 09/30 19:52 Trumping Churchill, and who's 'Tom' Walz?-- an offbeat campaign week
- 09/30 19:49 Country star, actor Kris Kristofferson dead at 88
- 09/30 17:05 Alcaraz sympathises with rival Sinner over steroid case
- 09/30 17:03 Death toll soars in US from storm Helene, North Carolina reeling
- 09/30 17:02 Trump launches into 'dark speech' on illegal immigration
- 09/30 17:00 New Zealand breaks world record for largest mass haka