Tim Walz and JD Vance on Tuesday each pointed to the crises of the day as reasons for voters to choose their respective running mates for president, opening their vice-presidential debate by addressing the growing fears of a regional war in the Middle East and a natural disaster that has ravaged the southeastern US.
With Mideast in turmoil, Walz promises steady leadership and Vance offers ‘peace through strength’
Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel on Tuesday elicited a contrast between the Democratic and Republican tickets on foreign policy: Walz promised steady leadership under Harris while Vance pledged a return to peace through strength if Trump is returned to the White House.
The differing visions of what American leadership should look like overshadowed the sharp policy differences between the two tickets.
The Iranian threat to the region and U.S. interests around the world opened the debate, with Walz pivoting the topic to criticism of Trump.
What’s fundamental here is that steady leadership is going to matter, Walz said, then referenced the nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes and responding to global crises by tweet.
Vance, for his part, promised a return to effective deterrence under Trump against Iran, brushing back on Walz’s criticism of Trump by attacking Harris and her role in the Biden administration.
Who has been the vice president for the last three and a half years and the answer is your running mate, not mine, he said. He pointedly noted that the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, happened during the administration of Kamala Harris.
Vance and Walz punch up rather than at each other
Vance and Walz trained the bulk of their attacks not on their on-stage rival, but on the running mates who weren’t in the room.
