On Tuesday, Oct 1, 2024, the first and only vice presidential debate of the 2024 presidential election took place in New York City. The Minnesota Democratic candidate, Tim Walz, and Ohio Republican candidate, J.D. Vance, took the stage, and neither hesitated to shake hands unlike the awkward moment between Trump and Harris last month.
Moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan cochaired enforcing the two-minute responses, one-minute rebuttals, and on occasion, muted microphones.
The tone was much different than the September debate as candidates shook hands and respectfully disagreed and agreed with each other on certain topics. Conversely, Trump and Harris spent most of the debate attacking each other barely acknowledging the median for both parties with little respect for the other.
Once again, the same topics discussed in the presidential debate were at the forefront, giving each opponent the opportunity to back their running mate.
Topics included abortion/reproductive rights, border control/immigration, and the economy. In addition, moderators posed questions on more recent concerns of Hurricane Helene relief efforts, the Israeli/Gaza conflict, and the Russian/Ukrainian conflict.
Starting with the economy, Walz repeats what he and Harris have been saying. They will fight for the middle and working class, that in which they grew up. They have expressed that Trump is not. Harris and Walz want more tax cuts and more unions.
Vance reassures that he and Trump also want to cut taxes for the middle class, reminding the audience that Trump’s previous tax cuts helped the middle class once before. Vance shared that he cares deeply about the middle class since he grew up submerged in it.
One concern both parties shared is the increase in debt if taxes are cut too much.
On the topic of abortion, Walz and Harris are pro-choice and blame Trump for prompting the overturning of Roe v. Wade which took away the freedom of a woman’s right to choose. Now, it is back to the states, which some people, mostly women, say is not freedom. Walz affirms he and Harris are “pro-women and pro-freedom.”
Vance previously stated that he will not support a national abortion ban. Vance and Trump want abortion to be a choice made by the states. Vance and Trump want to earn trust back in the polls so they are interested in making childcare easier.
The last main issue was border control/immigration. Harris has been very clear that she has prosecuted border felons. Walz backed her up on that and also said they have the fairest bill on immigration and both Democrats and Republicans have worked together on it.
In the presidential debate, Trump said that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were “eating the dogs.” Walz criticized those statements as bringing chaos to the legal Haitian citizens in Ohio to the effect of law enforcement having to escort the Haitian children to school.
Vance blamed the border crisis on Harris, referring to immigrants as “illegal aliens.” Vance and Trump want to build a stronger border wall. Vance also acknowledged the nationwide epidemic of drug addiction and thinks the influx of immigrants will push back progress for people struggling with addiction.
At the end of the debate, both opponents gave their closing statements again demonstrating how this debate was more civil and respectful than many past debates. Both Walz and Vance shook hands many times, patted each other on the shoulder, and had a civil conversation at the end of the debate.
Hopefully, each opponent gave enough reasoning and support for their running mates that you can now answer the question from the previous presidential debate article: “Where do you stand?”
With one month left until the 2024 presidential election, hopefully, you know where you stand and have registered to vote on Nov 5, 2024.
