Vice Presidential Debate Recap
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
On Oct. 1, 2024, the two vice presidential candidates, Republican Senator of Ohio JD Vance and Democratic Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz, met for the first time to take the vice presidential debate stage.
The two began by shaking hands and going to each of their designated lecterns. The moderators, Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan, asked the first question about whether the candidates would support a preemptive strike by Israel on Iran. Walz began first, stating that he believes Israel should defend itself, insisting, "Israel's ability to defend itself is fundamental.”
Then, Vance was asked the same question, yet he began by bringing in Trump’s policies. According to CBS News, “He then praised Trump for "delivering stability" in the world through a policy of deterrence.” Once Vance answered the question, he stated that it’s “up to Israel to decide what it needs to do.”
The debate continued with the moderators asking the candidates about climate change and what they would do in office to help climate change. Vance began by speaking about how he and Walz agree that Hurricane Helene is a tragedy, following with, “Our hearts go out to those innocent people, our prayers go out to them.” Moving on to the strategy he and Trump would use, Vance suggested that the best way to assist climate change is to “invest in American workers and the American people.” When Walz was given his two minutes, he began by stating that Trump has called climate change a hoax in the past, while Vance has said that it is a problem. Walz explained that the Harris-Walz strategy surrounding climate change starts by stating, “Reducing our impact is critical. But this is not a false choice. You can do that at the same time you're creating the jobs that we're seeing all across the country.”
The issue of women’s reproductive rights appears to have been prominent in this debate, as each candidate and their running vice presidents have vastly different beliefs.
As Walz puts out his stance on the issue, he speaks about real-life experiences he has had with women who have passed away due to their state not allowing abortion, with no exceptions. Walz states, “There's a young woman named Amber Thurmond. She happened to be in Georgia, a restrictive state. Because of that, she had to travel a long distance to North Carolina to try and get her care. Amber Thurman died in that journey back and forth.” Walz continues his argument that they will restore Roe V. Wade and put women in charge of their bodies and health. Furthermore, Walz made it crucial to point out that the Harris-Walz campaign is not pro-abortion but pro-women, allowing women to decide for themselves what decision they want to make with their bodies.
Vance began his argument by stating that he feels that Republicans need to earn back America’s trust with abortion. He followed by adding, “And the proper way to handle this, as messy as democracy sometimes is, is to let voters make these decisions, let the individual states make their abortion policy. And I think that's what makes the most sense in a very big, a very diverse, and let's be honest, sometimes a very, very messy and divided country.” Following this, as Walz was saying that the Trump-Vance campaign supported a national abortion ban, Vance made sure to disregard that statement, saying, “I never supported a national ban.” This statement, however, was later found false by the fact that Vance did state he supported the national ban when running for Senate in 2022.
As the debate continued, America got to view two candidates who were sympathetic to each other on the specific issue of school shootings and gun violence. The moderators asked the question, “Do you think holding parents responsible could curb mass shootings?”
Vance started first and began by criticizing Harris’ open border, believing that the mass majority of gun violence is coming from illegal guns. Continuing with his debate, he stated his beliefs that “we've got to increase school resource officers because the idea that we can magically wave a wand and take guns out of the hands of bad guys, it just doesn't fit with recent experience. So we've got to make our schools safer, and I think we've got to have some common sense, bipartisan solutions for how to do that.”
As Walz began to speak on his stance on gun violence, the two candidates shared a moment where they had compassion and sincerity towards each other after Walz revealed that his 17-year-old son witnessed a shooting at a community center while playing volleyball. Before returning to his stance, Vance stated to Walz, “Tim, first of all, I didn't know that your 17-year-old witnessed the shooting. And I'm sorry about that.” Walz, on his stance on gun violence in America, disagreed with Vance and said that schools should not be like hardened forts, continuing with, “Is that what we have to go…when we know there are countries around the world that their children aren't practicing these types of drills? They're being kids. We owe it to them to get a fix. These are things that shouldn't be that difficult. You can keep your firearms, and we can make a difference.”
While the two candidates had different views on certain policies, it appears they were cordial enough to have compassion for each other and their life experiences. Watching debates, researching, and focusing on each presidential and vice presidential policy can assist in the decision of who to vote for in this upcoming election.