Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he believes his rival for vice president, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, wants to solve the nation\u2019s immigration crisis, but he questioned whether former President Donald Trump really does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vance acknowledged that Walz wants to solve the problem, too, but he questioned whether Vice President Kamala Harris really does. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walz agreed with \u201ca lot of what Sen. Vance said\u201d about Americans\u2019 not trusting Republicans on abortion. Vance said he and Walz \u201cprobably agree that we need to do better\u201d on addressing gun violence. And Walz conceded that he was \u201cin agreement\u201d with much of what Vance had said about decades of trade policy that enabled manufacturing jobs to move overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On and on it went at Tuesday night\u2019s debate between Walz and Vance, who met in person for the first time and put on a textbook performance of Midwest nice: feints at consensus serving as rhetorical fig leaves that often gave way to more cutting, though politely delivered, attacks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The running mates \u2014 Vance a right-wing Republican, Walz a progressive Democrat aiming to appeal to moderates \u2014 used the words \u201cagree\u201d or \u201cagreement\u201d or \u201cI don\u2019t disagree\u201d more than a dozen times to describe the common ground they share. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI believe Sen. Vance wants to solve this, but by standing with Donald Trump and not working together to find a solution, it becomes a talking point, and when it becomes a talking point like this, we dehumanize and villainize other human beings,\u201d Walz said in the midst of criticizing both Republicans for spreading debunked claims about Haitian immigrants\u2019 abducting and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With early voting underway in several states and Election Day precisely five weeks away, Tuesday\u2019s faceoff, hosted by CBS News, was an opportunity for Vance and Walz to make their campaigns\u2019 closing arguments. Barring a change-up from Trump, who has resisted the idea of debating Harris a second time, it could be the last widely broadcast prime-time moment of the race. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But a TV audience expecting to see ferocious vice presidential attack dogs instead saw a couple of puppy dogs seeking affection. The debate in some ways was reminiscent of the cordial clash 24 years ago<\/a> between vice presidential hopefuls Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman. Cheney, who at the time was as loathed on the left as much as Vance is today, escaped harsh scrutiny. He and Republican George W. Bush won the first of two terms that fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think it’s healthy,\u201d Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told NBC News of the unexpectedly civil tone. \u201cI think Tim Walz agreed with JD Vance significantly more times in this debate. I think the memes on social media of him nodding in agreements are going to be out there if they’re not out there already.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps the most profound disagreement of the night came from inside the Democratic Party, where some found Walz too nice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was more congenial than I thought it would be, for sure,\u201d Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, told reporters in the post-debate spin room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wajahat Ali, a progressive podcaster and pundit, blamed the team that prepared Walz for the debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey told him to be nice to Vance, who is one of the most unpopular VP candidates in history,\u201d Ali posted on X<\/a>. \u201cThis is only normalizing his extremism and his hate against women. Dumb. Dems playing scared for no reason.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Symone Sanders, an MSNBC host and former Harris aide, criticized Walz for \u201cnot prosecuting the case\u201d but, rather, running a \u201cnicefest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you agree with Vance on so much then why should we vote for you?\u201d Sanders posted on X<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Others gave Walz a pass. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLook, I\u2019ve known Tim Walz 16 years, and that\u2019s who he is,\u201d Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat working the postdebate spin room, told NBC News. \u201cIt\u2019s very important to be authentic in these kinds of settings and in all settings. And Tim Walz is a nice guy, a kind guy and a respectful guy, and I think what he showed tonight is that he\u2019s ready to serve along Kamala Harris as her partner in moving our country forward, rather than backward to the chaotic days of the past with Donald Trump and JD Vance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vance turned in his own moments of kindness. After Walz recalled the time his teenage son witnessed a shooting, Vance offered a compassionate response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTim, first of all, I didn\u2019t know that your 17-year-old witnessed a shooting. I\u2019m sorry about that,\u201d he said, promoting a note of appreciation from Walz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cChrist have mercy,\u201d Vance added. \u201cIt is awful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beneath the overwhelming niceties, substantial differences of opinion were on display. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Vance repeatedly attacked the \u201cHarris administration\u201d \u2014 essentially erasing President Joe Biden, who decided this summer <\/strong>against seeking a second term and elevating Harris as the person chiefly responsible for the problems the country faces. Vance, for example, blamed Harris for the situation in Springfield, where an influx of Haitian immigrants \u2014 who are in the country legally under the Temporary Protected Status program \u2014 has caused socioeconomic concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe people that I\u2019m most worried about in Springfield, Ohio, are the American citizens who have had their lives destroyed by Kamala Harris\u2019 open border,\u201d Vance said. \u201cIt is a disgrace, Tim, and I actually think I agree with you. I think you want to solve this problem, but I don\u2019t think that Kamala Harris does.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Walz repeatedly blamed the problems of today on Trump\u2019s four previous years in the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDonald Trump had four years,\u201d Walz said during the exchange on immigration, calling back to Trump\u2019s pledge to make Mexico pay for a border wall. \u201cHe had four years to do this, and he promised you, America, how easy it would be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Co-moderator Margaret Brennan asked both candidates about previous statements they have made that might speak to their \u201cpersonal qualifications\u201d and \u201cleadership qualities.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Walz was asked about recent news reports<\/a> scrutinizing his claims that he was in Hong Kong in May and June 1989, preparing for a teaching job in China around and at the time of the deadly Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve not been perfect, and I\u2019m a knucklehead at times,\u201d Walz said, initially dodging a direct question about the discrepancies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pressed further by Brennan, Walz admitted that he \u201cmisspoke.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vance, once known for his raft of Trump criticism<\/a> before he aligned himself with Trump as he sought elected office, was asked about private messages, reported last week by The Washington Post<\/a>, in which he expressed doubts about Trump as recently as 2020. In the messages, Vance criticized Trump, writing that he \u201cso thoroughly failed to deliver on his economic populism\u201d and predicting that he would lose to Biden. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen you screw up, when you misspeak, when you get something wrong and you change your mind, you ought to be honest with the American people about it,\u201d Vance responded Tuesday night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve been extremely consistent that I think there were a lot of things that we could have done better in the Trump administration the first round if Congress was doing its job. I strongly believe \u2026 that Congress is not just a high-class debating society. It\u2019s not just a forum for senators and congressmen to whine about problems. It\u2019s a forum to govern.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Toward the end of the debate, Vance demonstrated his lockstep loyalty to Trump by downplaying the violence on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump\u2019s refusal to accept his election loss to Biden sparked a riot at the U.S. Capitol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRemember, [Trump] said that on January the 6th, the protesters ought to protest peacefully,\u201d Vance said. \u201cNow, January the 20th, what happened? Joe Biden became the president. Donald Trump left the White House, and now, of course, unfortunately, we have all of the negative policies that have come from the Harris-Biden administration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The answer drew a rebuke \u2014 polite, of course \u2014 from Walz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve enjoyed tonight\u2019s debate, and I think there was a lot of commonality here,\u201d Walz said, before he called Vance\u2019s response \u201ctroubling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe fact is, is that I don\u2019t think we can be the frog in the pot and let the boiling water go up. [Trump] was very clear,\u201d Walz added. \u201cI mean, he lost this election, and he said he didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n