JD Vance has microphone switched off during clash over immigration in Springfield

JD Vance’s microphone was muted by moderators during Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate as he clashed with Tim Walz over immigration.
In a string of barbed attacks, the Republican vice presidential candidate accused Kamala Harris of opening the “floodgates” at the US-Mexico border and allowing “fentanyl into our communities at a record level”.
But one of the most heated moments of the night came when Mr Vance and the debate moderators sparred over the status of Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio.
Credit: CBS News Vice Presidential Debate
The Midwestern city became a focal point of the 2024 campaign after Donald Trump claimed that newcomers to Springfield were “eating cats and dogs” owned by residents.
When the unsubstantiated claim was raised on Tuesday night, Trump’s running mate Mr Vance deflected to return to the central point, accusing Ms Harris of destroying Americans’ lives with a “historic” illegal immigration crisis that had overburdened public services.
CBS moderator Margaret Brennan interjected “to clarify” that many of the Haitian migrants in Ohio held a legal status in the country.
Mr Vance challenged the fact-check to criticise the temporary protected status programme that the Haitians in question had used, leading Mr Walz to interject with a defence of the policy. Both men’s microphones were swiftly muted.
Ahead of the debate, CBS said its moderators would urge the candidates to fact-check each other, but said the network’s hosts could also choose to clarify a point if they decided it was left unclear.
Immigration dominated the debate, with Mr Vance accusing Ms Harris of abdicating her responsibilities and claiming he had been to the border more than the sitting vice president.  
The Ohio senator went on to promote Trump’s hardline approach of mass deportations and building a border wall as he claimed between 20 and 25million people had entered the country illegally. 
Some independent analysis suggests the figure is closer to half that. 
Polls show that a majority of Americans rank immigration and border security as top priorities in the White House race and many support more restrictive policies. 
Mr Vance went on to link the border crisis to America’s opioid epidemic. 
He invoked his own mother’s years-long battle with opioids as he suggested “people who are struggling with addiction” could be “deprived of their second chance because Kamala Harris is letting fentanyl into our communities at record level”.
It was a tactic Trump’s running mate returned to throughout the 90-minute debate in questions spanning everything from the raging conflict in the Middle East to domestic manufacturing.
Tuesday night’s debate, likely to be the final one of the 2024 campaign, was also an opportunity for the two men who could be the country’s next vice president to introduce themselves to voters.
Mr Vance cast himself as a family man, repeatedly invoking his children and describing his humble origins in a former steeltown in Ohio.
He talked repeatedly about his mother, his wife Usha (pictured below) and their three children.
The 40-year-old appeared assured and confident as he parried questions on his past criticisms of Trump, 78, whom he once reportedly called “America’s Hitler”, simply saying he had been “wrong” about his new boss.
Mr Walz focused repeatedly on Mr Vance’s past comments, seeking to sow division between the Republican ticket and perhaps rile Trump, watching at home, into an angry response.
The 60-year-old is a relative newcomer to the national political stage despite serving six terms in the US congress and in his second term as Minnesota’s governor.
Aide described him as “nervous” ahead of the live televised showdown, on display on Tuesday night as he stumbled over his words at times, mixing up Iran and Israel in his opening answer.
Mr Vance, a hardliner on abortion rights, sought to portray himself as a compassionate conservative, citing his friendships with people who disagreed with him on the issue and conceding many voters in his home state had rejected his stance.
The subject is fraught with political jeopardy for Trump and Vance, with their core base supporting a more restrictive approach to abortion access than the majority of the country.
Mr Vance attempted to strike a balance, positioning his stance as a desire to make it “easier” for women to have children by making fertility treatment and the cost of raising children more “affordable” while conceding Republicans had to do better at “earning Americans’ trust back” on the issue.
Mr Vance also said he opposed a national abortion ban and denied ever supporting one. However in 2022 while running for the Senate in Ohio, Mr Vance said he “would like abortion to be illegal nationally”. 
Trump deflected the question of a national abortion ban during his own debate.
Mr Walz said he agreed with many of Mr Vance’s comments. “His running mate though, does not, and that’s the problem,” he added, as he attempted to widen the wedge between Mr Vance and Trump on the issue.
The Democratic candidate was pictured (below) after the debate a pizzeria with his wife Gwen. 
The debate’s opening question focused on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. 
Moderators asked both candidates if they would support a pre-emptive strike by America’s ally Israel on Iran to disrupt the development of the Islamic republic’s nuclear programme.
Neither answered the question directly, with Mr Walz immediately pivoting to Trump’s foreign policy record, linking the current crisis to the ex-president’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
“Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon because of Donald Trump’s fickle leadership,” he said.
It comes as the war in the Middle East escalated hugely in the last 48 hours, including Iran launching more than 100 missiles at Israel. 
Mr Vance hit back by pointing out the current crisis had only begun under the Biden-Harris administration. 
He said: “Who has been the vice president for the last three and a half years? The answer is your running mate, not mine.”
“As much as Governor Walz just accused Donald Trump of being an agent of chaos,” he said, it was the Republican former president who had established “effective deterrence.”
As the debate turned to the current storm ravaging parts of the US and environmental policy, Mr Walz said Democrats were focused on creating green jobs while Trump had labelled climate change “a hoax”.
The Democrat said Trump had even joked rising sea levels would lead to “more beachfront property”.
Mr Walz deftly pivoted from climate change policy to make the case for boosting America’s energy production and attacking Trump’s aggressive protectionist trade policies.
“Donald Trump was the guy who created the largest trade deficit in American history with China,” he said, while workers’ right to “collectively bargain” was undercut.
Mr Walz also accused Trump of granting tax breaks “to the wealthiest” and claiming the Republican ex-president “hasn’t paid any federal tax in the last 15 years”.
Mr Vance downplayed Trump’s refusal to concede the 2020 election and his role in the Jan 6, 2021 Capitol riot during which his supporters delayed the certification of Joe Biden’s victory.Mr Walz said his Republican counterpart Mr Vance was helping to deny “the first time in American history that a president or anyone tried to overturn a fair election and the peaceful transfer of power”.Mr Walz challenged Mr Vance to declare his running mate had lost the 2020 race. 
“I’m focused on the future,” Mr Vance said, a response which Mr Walz branded a “damning non-answer”.Trump has also refused to unconditionally accept the outcome of the 2024 race.Mr Vance countered that the real threat to democracy was censorship of political opponents, which he claimed Ms Harris was engaged in “on an industrial scale”.“She did it during Covid. She’s done it on a number of other issues. That is a much bigger threat to democracy than what Donald Trump said when he said protesters should peacefully protest on January 6th,” Mr Vance said.
Thank you for following our live coverage of the vice presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance. This live blog is now closed.
Backstage in the spin room, senior Trump aide Jason Miller suggests the more restrained approach by JD Vance allowed him to show voters he is a “likeable guy”.
But he said that there was merit to the more forceful approach Donald Trump has taken in his debates. He argued the media controversy over Trump’s claims pets were being eaten by immigrants in Springfield had been successful in focusing attention on a top issue for voters.
Mr Miller also confirmed what we had suspected: Trump has no plans to participate in another debate. 
A narrow majority of registered voters polled by CNN believe that JD Vance won the vice presidential debate.
Some 51 per cent said that Republican senator Mr Vance won the debate, compared to 49 per cent for Tim Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota.
Before the debate, 54 per cent thought Mr Walz would win compared to 45 per cent for Mr Vance, despite attempts by the Minnesota governor to downplay expectations.
The voters polled are roughly five per cent more Democratic than the national picture, CNN said.
JD Vance said after the vice presidential debate that he wanted to show Donald Trump was not a “caricature” and to focus on policy issues.
“I just wanted to talk about issues,” Mr Vance told Fox News. “You should just make it as much as possible about substance.”
The Ohio senator continued: “One of the things I tried to do is obviously criticise Kamala Harris’ record, but also remind the American people that Donald Trump is not the caricature that Kamala Harris and the media have made him out to be.
“He was an incredibly effective president for four years in the Oval Office, and he actually solved problems.”
Pete Buttigieg, who helped Tim Walz prepare for this evening’s debate, gave a backhanded compliment to JD Vance’s “polished” performance.
“Tonight Tim Walz displayed his characteristic decency and passion for making everyday life better for Americans,” the Transportation Secretary wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. 
“Even when facing polished falsehoods, he reminded us why the future will be so much better under Kamala Harris’ leadership than a return to the chaos of the Trump era.”
Tonight Tim Walz displayed his characteristic decency and passion for making everyday life better for Americans. Even when facing polished falsehoods, he reminded us why the future will be so much better under Kamala Harris’ leadership than a return to the chaos of the Trump era.
“I think it was a good debate,” Tim Walz said when questioned after his face-off with JD Vance.
“The public got to see a contrast, and I think the ending sums it up. The democracy issue is important.”
Donald Trump Jr has praised JD Vance’s “masterclass” and “real command of the facts” in the vice presidential debate.
The Ohio senator was “very comfortable on so many of the issues on which Republicans tend to fail… so I think it was an incredible debate”, he told CNN.
Some Left-wing voices have praised JD Vance’s “calm and disciplined” performance in the vice presidential debate this evening.
“Sadly, JD Vance was calm and disciplined on the debate stage, even as he advocated crazy, dangerous stuff,” Adam Green, a co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said in a statement.
“Tonight’s debate is a reminder for all Democrats: Trump could win.”
JD Vance was “stumped” by Tim Walz asking him whether Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, the Harris campaign has claimed.
It said that polling from swing voters in the battleground states ranked it as Mr Vance’s “worst moment of the entire debate”.
The Ohio senator did not answer the question directly, insisting he was “focused on the future” and claiming that Kamala Harris would introduce “censorship”.
JD Vance, whom allies had previously said was “unflappable” ahead of the vice-presidential debate, now admits that he was “nervous” as he faced off against Tim Walz.
He told Fox News’ Sean Hannity: “I was nervous. This is the biggest stage of my life.”
Asked if he thought Mr Walz was nervous, Mr Vance said: “Honestly, I didn’t notice it… I tried not to focus on his demeanor.”
The Harris-Walz campaign’s top strategist, Jen O’Malley Dillon, said Tim Walz won “on every single issue” and showed himself to be a “straight talker” in the debate.
“Tonight, Governor Walz showed exactly why Vice President Harris picked him: he is a leader who cares about the issues that matter most to the American people,” she said.
“On every single issue – the economy, health care, foreign policy, reproductive freedom, gun violence – Governor Walz won.”
The campaign highlighted an exchange at the end of the debate, where JD Vance refused to acknowledge that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, as the “most crucial moment”.
“He stood up for our Constitution, while JD Vance admitted he’d put Trump ahead of the country,” she said.
Elon Musk, the tech billionaire, claimed that Democrats would seek to “implement censorship” if Kamala Harris and Tim Walz win the election in November.
JD Vance claimed repeatedly during the vice presidential debate that Ms Harris represented the true “threat to democracy” rather than Donald Trump.
The Dem machine will absolutely implement censorship if given another four years to do so https://t.co/l4QyMpgDni
The Trump campaign claimed that JD Vance gave the best performance in a vice presidential debate in history, in a statement released minutes after the event ended.
“Senator Vance unequivocally won tonight’s debate in dominating fashion. It was the best debate performance from any Vice-Presidential candidate in history,” said Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, the campaign’s co-chairs.
“Senator Vance spoke the truth, eloquently prosecuted the case against Kamala Harris’ failed record, and effectively held Governor Tim Walz accountable for his lies on behalf of the Harris-Biden Administration.”
It’s taco Tuesday here in Brooklyn, the DJ is blasting Hot in Here by Nelly and the party is in full swing.
Judging by their smiling faces, Tim Walz exceeded the expectations of many of the Democrats at this viewing party in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
“It was a great debate”, says Tiffanie Burt, president of the Vanguard Independent Democratic Association.
She thinks JD Vance had been told to “name drop” Kamala Harris in as many of his answers as possible because she’s “trending” at the moment.
She adds that Mr Walz connected with viewers by bringing up his family, and when Mr Vance did the same it “didn’t seem sincere”.
But, Ms Burt notes that at times Mr Walz did “a little too well at explaining” that his arguments weren’t as punchy as Mr Vance’s.
Nevertheless, she has come away from the debate feeling “more confident” about 5 November.
Retired prosecutor Joe Davis, 59, appears less sure.
“It seemed like it went pretty well for Walz, but I guess this crowd’s a little biased”, he says.
“It was hard to hear – now I need to go home and watch it.”
Tim Walz’s gaffe over becoming “friends” with school shooters could be “the worst line in any 2024 debate”, pollster Frank Luntz has claimed.
“I’ve become friends with school shooters” may be the worst line in any 2024 debate. #VPDebate
Donald Trump claims that the post-debate coverage is ignoring the comment. “Why aren’t the after shows talking about the fact that Walz said, ‘I’m friends with school shooters!’” he wrote on social media.
Donald Trump was full of praise for his running mate following the vice presidential debate.
“JD crushed it!” the Republican presidential candidate wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Walz was a low IQ disaster – very much like Kamala.
Our country would never be able to recover from an administration of these two. Can you imagine them repersenting us with sharp, fierce foreign leaders? I can’t!”
He said in a separate post: “Great job JD – we will make America great again!”
Joe Biden, the US President, claims that the vice presidential debate showed that Tim Walz “has what it takes”.
“Trust me, I know what a good vice president looks like,” Mr Biden, who served as Barack Obama’s vice president for eight years, said. 
“Tonight’s debate made it clear my friend Tim Walz has what it takes.”
Donald Trump has criticised Tim Walz over his apparent gaffe when he claimed to have been “friends” with school shooters.
“Second time he has said, ‘I’ve been friends with school shooters.’ What does he mean by this? Is he insane?” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to Barack Obama, said that Tim Walz left himself exposed by citing “experts” in an answer about the economy.
“Hanging your hat on economic experts is leading with your chin. People are pretty jaundiced about “experts.”Vance didn’t miss that,” he wrote on social media.
Mr Axelrod said in a separate post: “Vance was doing well tonight. And then Walz asked a direct question about the 2020 election, and Vance ran from it like a bat out of hell.”
The Trump-Vance campaign claims that JD Vance won the vice-presidential debate in “dominating fashion”. It said in a statement:
It was the best debate performance from any Vice-Presidential candidate in history.
Senator Vance spoke the truth, eloquently prosecuted the case against Kamala Harris’ failed record, and effectively held Governor Tim Walz accountable for his lies on behalf of the Harris-Biden Administration.
Senator Vance also perfectly articulated the Trump-Vance vision to make America safe again with their plan to launch the largest mass deportation operation in history; to make America strong again with a peace through strength foreign policy agenda; and to make America wealthy again by cutting taxes, unleashing American energy dominance, and ending inflation.
Tonight, Senator Vance proved why President Trump chose him as his running mate. Together, they make the strongest and most dynamic presidential ticket ever, and they are going to win on November 5th.
Frank Luntz, a prominent pollster, has suggested that “Donald Trump needs to speak less and let JD Vance speak more” following the vice presidential debate.
After tonight, Donald Trump needs to speak less and let JD Vance speak more. #VPDebate
He claimed that the Ohio senator’s weakest moments were when he was forced to defend his running mate. “I misjudged JD Vance – he really is a good communicator and a great debater,” he wrote on social media.
“And Tim Walz has given viewers more details about more policies tonight than his running mate has all year.”
According to a focus group that the pollster conducted, 12 of its participants believed that Vance was the victor from the debate, with just two against.
There have been moments of quiet tonight, but the discussion about January 6 and the 2020 election caused an uproar here in Brooklyn.
People shouted “bull—-” and screamed as JD  Vance told Tim Walz it was “rich” to suggest Donald Trump was a threat to democracy when he oversaw the peaceful transition of power on 6 January.
But the loudest outcry of the night came as Mr Walz turned to Mr Vance and asked him directly whether Trump lost the 2020 election.
“I think it’s going very good for Walz”, Henry Butler, vice chair of the King’s County Democratic Party said.
“I think on healthcare, reproductive rights and democracy he knocked it out of the park.
“I think they caught him off guard with the Israel question but in the second half he’s being himself and it’s flowing.”
“Now I believe that we have the most beautiful country in the world,” JD Vance continues. 
“I meet people on the campaign trail who can’t afford food, but have the grace and generosity to ask me how I’m doing and to tell me they’re praying for my family. 
“What that has taught me is that we have the greatest country, the most beautiful country, the most incredible people anywhere in the world, but they’re not going to be able to achieve their full dreams with the broken leadership that we have in Washington. 
“They’re not going to be able to live their American dream if we do the same thing that we’ve been doing for the last three and a half years. 
“We need change. We need a new direction. We need a president done this once before and did it well. Please vote for Donald Trump.”
JD Vance begins his closing statement by talking about family.
“One of the issues we didn’t talk about was energy. And I remember when I was being raised by my grandma, when she didn’t have enough money to turn on the heat some nights, because Ohio gets pretty cold at night, and because money was often very tight,” he says.
“And I believe, as a person who wants to be your next Vice President, that we are a rich and prosperous enough country where every American, whether they’re rich or poor, ought to be able to turn on their heat in the middle of a cold winter night. 
“That’s difficult thanks to Kamala Harris’s energy policies. I believe that whether you’re rich or poor, you ought to be able to afford a nice meal for your family. That’s gotten harder because of Kamala Harris’s policies.”
“The support of the democracy matters. It matters that you’re here,” Tim Walz tells viewers. 
“And I’m as surprised as anybody of this coalition that Kamala Harris has built from Bernie Sanders to Dick Cheney to Taylor Swift and a whole bunch of folks in between there. And they don’t all agree on everything, but they are truly optimistic people.”
He contrasts those who have a “positive view” for the country compared to Donald Trump, who spoke about “American carnage” in his inaugural address.
“We don’t need to be afraid. Franklin Roosevelt was right. All we have to fear is Kamala Harris is bringing us a new way forward. She’s bringing us a politics of joy,” he says.
“She’s bringing real solutions for the middle class and centering you at the heart of that, all the while asking everyone join this movement, make your voices heard. 
“Let’s look for a new day, where everybody gets that opportunity, everybody gets a chance to thrive.”
Tim Walz is the first candidate to deliver his closing address as the debate draws to a close.
There is a second brief break in the debate after the candidates sparred on the question of democracy and exchanged barbs over Donald Trump.
Tim Walz asks JD Vance if Donald Trump lost the 2020 election – something he does not answer outright.
The Ohio senator says: “I’m focused on the future – did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 Covid situation?”
Mr Walz hits back: “That’s a damning non-answer.”
He adds, referring to Trump’s first running mate: “When Mike Pence made that decision to certify that election [in 2020], that’s why Mike Pence isn’t on this stage.”
JD Vance insists that Donald Trump “peacefully” handed over power following the 2020 presidential election.
“If Tim Walz is the next vice president, he’ll have my prayers, he’ll have my best wishes, and he’ll have my help whenever he wants it,” he says, striking a bipartisan tone.
He then claims that Hillary Clinton said the 2016 presidential election, which she lost to Trump, was “stolen by Vladimir Putin”.
Tim Walz hits out at JD Vance over Donald Trump’s claims that he did not lose the 2020 presidential election.
He says: “140 police officers were beaten at the capitol that day, some with the American flag. Several later died. 
“In Minnesota, a group there on the state capital grounds in Saint Paul… said, ‘We’re marching to the governor’s residence and there may be casualties.’ 
“The only person there was my son and his dog who was rushed out crying by State Police.”
JD Vance bringing up his wife Usha as he talks about maternity leave prompts some very strong responses here in Brooklyn.
“No, we don’t want to hear about your wife”, one attendee at the Democrat viewing party shouts from his stool at the front of the room. 
He adds: “We don’t want to hear about her – she got money!”
The debate turns towards the state of democracy in the United States and Donald Trump’s actions following the 2020 presidential election.
JD Vance is asked if he would seek to challenge the 2024 election results.
“I think that we’re focused on the future, we need to figure out how to solve the inflation crisis caused by Kamala Harris’s policies make housing affordable make groceries affordable,” he begins.
Mr Vance continues: “We should fight about those issues debate those issues peacefully in the public square and that’s all I’ve said and that’s all that Donald Trump has said.”
He claims that the real threat to democracy is “the threat of censorship”.
“It’s Kamala Harris saying that, rather than debate and persuade her fellow Americans, she’d like to censor people who engage in misinformation, I think that is a much bigger threat to democracy,” he argues.
JD Vance says that Donald Trump’s economic plan is to reward companies for businesses that operate in the United States while penalising those that move jobs overseas.
“It’s the heart of Donald Trump economic plan, cut taxes for American workers and American families, cut taxes for businesses that are hiring and building companies in the United States,” he says.
Trump will will go after “countries shipping jobs overseas, that’s the heart of the economic proposal,” he continues.
JD Vance calls for a “family care model that makes choice possible”.
“Cultural pressure on young families, and especially young women, I think, makes it really hard for people to choose the family model they want,” he says.
“A lot of young women would like to go back to work immediately. Some would like to spend a little time home with the kids. Some would like to spend longer at home with the kids.”
He claims that support and grant programmes “only go to one kind of childcare model”.
Tim Walz says it is “negotiable” how long employers should be required to pay workers while they are home taking care of their newborn children.
He blames Donald Trump for creating an economy where companies do not have to provide a family medical leave programme.
He claims the Republican is “willing to give those tax breaks to the wealthiest” and “bust those unions up”.
JD Vance’s comments linking illegal immigrants to soaring house prices have sparked an outburst here in Brooklyn.
“They ain’t buying no damned homes, they living in shelters”, one viewer shouts. 
Tim Walz says he “comes from a major healthcare state… we understand healthcare”.
“So what I know is under Kamala Harris more people are covered than they have been before,” he says, before training his fire on Donald Trump
“On day one, he tried to sign an executive order to repeal the ACA [Affordable Care Act]. He signed on to a lawsuit to repeal the ACA, but lost at the Supreme Court,” Mr Walz says.
He says Trump’s “concepts of a plan” comment “cracked me up as a fourth grade teacher because my kids would never have given me that”.
JD Vance defends Donald Trump’s claim to have “concepts of a plan” on health insurance.
He says: “You’re not going to propose a 900 page [document] standing on a debate stage it would bore everybody to tears. And it wouldn’t actually mean anything because part of this is the give and take of bipartisan negotiation.”
He claims that Trump’s healthcare reforms “salvaged Obamacare, which was doing disastrously under Donald Trump came along”.
Mr Vance adds that the Republican “worked in a bipartisan way to ensure that Americans had access to affordable care.”
JD Vance doubled down on his comments about illegal migration and housing when pressed by the CBS moderators.
“There’s a federal reserve study that we’re happy to share after the debate. We’ll put it up on social media,” he answers.
Mr Vance continues: “Now, of course, Margaret, that’s not the entire driver of higher housing prices. It’s also a regulatory regime of Kamala Harris.”
Tim Walz is asked about JD Vance’s claim that Kamala Harris’ inability to get a grip on illegal immigration has put pressure on housing.
“Crossings are down, compared to when Donald Trump left office, but it’s again, blaming and not trying to find the solution,” he answers.
It’s a party at the Young Republicans Club. Young Hearts Run Free is blaring from the speakers as people head to the bar to refill their pints of Guinness. 
For the crowd here there is already a clear winner. 
Before the break, the introduction of reproductive rights got the biggest groan of the night. But the feeling here is Vance handled the question well. 
“I think he handled the issue with a lot of compassion and a lot of humanity,” says Jackson Paul, 22.
“Whatever side of the issue you come down on it’s a very serious issue where you have two lives that hang in the balance so I was pleased to see how he was able to handle the issue in a compassionate yet thoughtful way.” 
JD Vance is often described as Donald Trump’s attack dog, but he has been calm and restrained tonight.
The Ohio senator, 40, appears determined not to give Democrats fodder for their claims that he supports an extreme agenda.
More than once, he’s suggested he and Tim Walz may hold similar views on issues.
Just now when the debate turned to gun violence, he expressed his sympathies to Mr Walz after the governor said his son had witnessed a shooting. 
While most people in the crowd here in Brooklyn think Tim Walz is doing well, others aren’t so sure.
“Vance is winning right now”, Marlin Rice says.
“Vance is winning right now, not because of something he’s doing but because of how Walz explains himself.
“Vance is being as simple as possible in his responses. Simple is hitting better than what Walz is doing.”
But, Mr Rice says he’s “not worried” by Mr Walz’s performance. “I expected Vance to win this”, he adds.
Tim Walz says he is a “hunter” but that there needs to be action on gun violence, adding that his 17-year-old child witnessed a shooting at a community centre.
“Kamala Harris, as an attorney general, worked on this issue. She knows that it’s there,” he continues. 
“No one’s trying to scaremonger and say we’re taking we’re taking your guns but I ask all of you out there. Do you want your schools hardened to look like a fort?”
He is asked why he has changed his positions on gun ownership – having been a card-carrying member of the NRA – and refers to his meetings with relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook shooting.
In what may have been a gaffe, the Minnesota governor claimed he had “become friends with school shooters”.
Donald Trump is following along with the debate on Truth Social and writes:
Both young ladies have been extremely biased Anchors!
Margaret Brennan just “fact checked” JD, incorrectly, on “Climate Change.” When is she going to fact check Tampon Tim on all of his false statements? Another repeat with the Fake News being unfair to the Republican Candidate, and trying to get the pathetic Democrat across the finish line. But it doesn’t matter, the Public sees it for what it is – FAKE NEWS!
He added: “Margaret Brennan just lied again about the ILLEGAL MIGRANTS let into our Country by Lyin’ Kamala Harris, and then she cut off JD’s mic to stop him from correcting her!”
The debate has resumed after a short break with a question on gun violence.
“I want to just sort of speak as a father of three beautiful little kids,” JD Vance begins.
“Our oldest is now in second grade, and like our parents, we send our kids to school with such hope and such joy and such pride at their little faces on the first day of school, and we know, unfortunately, that a lot of kids are going to experience this terrible epidemic.”
He says that “we need to do better on this” and blames Kamala Harris for allowing illegal guns to flood into the country via the Mexican border.
“We know that thanks to Kamala Harris’s open border, we’ve seen a massive influx in the number of illegal guns run by the Mexican drug cartel,” Mr Vance says.
“So that number then the amount of illegal guns in our country is higher today than it was three and a half years ago.”
Why is JD Vance being asked about a federal pregnancy monitoring agency?
On the campaign trail Tim Walz has claimed more than once, without evidence, that Donald Trump and JD Vance want to create a new “government entity that will monitor all pregnancies to enforce their abortion bans”.
It appears to be based on a proposal by Project 2025, a blueprint for a second Trump term drafted by the Heritage Foundation.
Project 2025 did propose that the federal government receive detailed data on abortions and miscarriages, but it would be anonymous and the Trump campaign has given no indication that it supports creating a new government entity to monitor pregnancies.
When asked about it tonight, Mr Vance immediately said there were no plans to create such an agency.
JD Vance has a strategy for dealing with Tim Walz’s slip-ups in this debate: side eye.
Each time the Minnesota governor makes a mistake, Mr Vance is looking to the camera out of the corner of his eye, as if to mock him. 
Asked how he thinks Tim Walz is doing, one viewer in Brooklyn, who is wearing a Black Lives Matter t shirt, pulled an unconvinced face.
“Walz is a seasoned gentleman… JD Vance has been trained. He’s young and he’s been trained.”
As he slotted back in his place against the wood panelled wall where three Harris-Walz posters have been pinned up, a handful of attendees burst into laughter as Mr Vance again brought up his upbringing in a working class family. 
JD Vance’s answer on abortion was very interesting. He admitted that it had become a toxic issue for Republicans, and tried to reframe the debate around giving women “more options” by improving their economic prospects so they do not feel obliged to terminate their pregnancies. Tim Walz misses the opportunity to point out that banning abortion ─ even at a state level ─ is a removal of choice rather than an addition of choice.
Mr Vance’s answer suggests there has been some serious soul-searching in Republican HQ about this issue, especially after Kamala Harris’s poll gains with female voters. His suggestion that the “messy, divided” US should make its abortion policies at a state level is not picked up by Mr Walz, who instead debates the merits and drawbacks of abortion at a federal level. 
Tim Walz tries to push a wedge between JD Vance and Donald Trump, saying he agreed with much of what the Ohio senator has said about abortion rights.
“His running mate though, does not, and that’s the problem,” he says.
Asked about abortion rights, JD Vance says he wants the Republican party to be “pro-family” and to make “treatment easier for moms to afford babies”.
“I want it to make it easier for young families to afford a home, so they can afford a place to raise that family,” he continues.
“And I think there’s so much that we can do on the public policy front just to give women more options.”
As expected, JD Vance has a well prepared answer to explain his dramatic about-turn on Donald Trump.
“I’ve always been open and sometimes, of course, I’ve disagreed with the President, but I’ve also been extremely open about the fact that I was wrong about Donald Trump,” Mr Vance says.
The Ohio senator goes on to blame the media stories about Trump – claiming they were “turned out to dishonest fabrications of his record”.
Things are getting livelier here in Brooklyn.
Democrat viewers started booing and shouting “shut up” as JD Vance attacked Kamala Harris and the Biden administration’s response to the border crisis.
When Tim Walz referred to his faith in his response, there were several cheers.
One viewer shouted: “Well done.”
But the biggest round of applause of the night came as Mr Walz made a swipe about Donald Trump not paying tax.
Viewers transfixed by the debate clapped their hands and whooped in approval. 
JD Vance has brought up children in almost every single answer tonight. He has mentioned his own children, children used as drug mules, and the children of people stuck on roofs in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.
The historical childlessness of Americans is one of Mr Vance’s favourite subjects, and he has repeatedly talked about the importance of having children and protecting them with government policy. His comment about “childless cat ladies” has become one of the more memorable moments of this campaign, not least after it was picked up by Taylor Swift. 
Vance’s backchat moment has gone down extremely well with the crowd here. 
“He’s even talking back to the moderators – that was great!” says Lorenzo Camilli. “More of that, honestly. Let’s stand our ground and make sure our voices are heard and not stomped all over.”
“The one thing that Joe Biden did is he [continued] tariffs that protected American manufacturing jobs,” JD Vance says, referring to a policy that began under Donald Trump.
“It’s… the most pro-worker part of the Biden administration. It’s the one issue Kamala Harris has run away from Joe Biden’s record.”
JD Vance is asked about his reported characterisation of Donald Trump as “America’s Hitler”.
“I’ve also been extremely open about the fact that I was wrong about Donald Trump. I was wrong,” the Ohio senator says.
“First of all because I believe some of the media stories that turned out to be dishonest fabrications of his record.”
He says the Trump administration “could have been better… if Congress was doing its job” and claims it was “obsessed” with impeaching the Republican.
Tim Walz says he “misspoke” over his repeated claims that he was in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square protests, but adds: “I was in Hong Kong and China during the democracy protest.”
The candidates are asked about their leadership qualities – and Tim Walz is asked about his claim to have been in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square protests.
He starts his answer by talking about his time in the National Guard and as a teacher.
“My community knows who I am, they saw where I was at… I have poured my heart into my community,” he says.
Mr Walz continues: “I’ve tried to do the best I can, but I’m perfect, and I’m a knucklehead at times, but it’s always been about that those same people elected me to Congress, for 12 years.”
There’s a lot of laughter in the media filing centre as Margaret Brennan informs the two candidates the audience can no longer hear their bickering because their mics have been cut.
JD Vance was in the midst of criticising temporary protected status (TPS) – the programme which has granted protections to many of the Haitian migrants living in Springfield, Ohio.
JD Vance attacks Kamala Harris on her economic record, saying: “She’s been the vice president for three and a half years.”
The Republican vice presidential hopeful continues: “She had the opportunity to enact all of these great policies, and what she’s actually done inside is drive the cost of food higher by 25 per cent.
“Drive the cost of housing higher by about 60 per cent open the American Southern border and make middle class life unaffordable for a large number of Americans. 
“If Kamala Harris has such great plans for how to address middle class problems, then she ought to do them now. Not when asking for a promotion.”
The first row of the night between JD Vance and the moderators has just culminated in both candidates’ microphones being muted. Mr Vance objected to being fact checked by one of the moderators, and a squabble broke out over the exact legal status of Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio.
The debate over migrants “eating cats and dogs” in Springfield was a major moment in the previous debate, but Mr Vance did not repeat that claim tonight. Instead, he said that Americans had had their lives ruined by illegal migration, ignoring the row about pets. That may prove a sensible move. 
There is an air of confidence building at the gathering of the New York Young Republican Club in a Manhattan bar.
There was a certain amount of nervousness before the debate began. Walz’s debating skills were unknown, and some worried Vance could come across too aggressive. Those concerns seem to have been immediately allayed.
“Vance is very well spoken,” says one onlooker, grinning. “He’s confident, he’s poised, he’s articulate.”
One man is coping with his nerves by pacing up and down the length of the bar holding a Trump Vance sign above his head and clutching a copy of Vance’s book, Hillbilly Elegy. 
You’d assume most of the crowd here have already read it, but perhaps someone might like to borrow it at the end of the night.
There is near silence in the packed Bed-Wyne bar in Brooklyn as the two vice-presidential candidates debate in the CBS studio across the river in New York.
JD Vance and Tim Walz are being projected on the wall where a DJ was blasting music moments ago. 
There has been an occasional head-shake from some Democrats during Mr Vance’s remakes, while Mr Walz has provoked several outbursts of laughter. 
Sebastian Bush, 30, the vice president of communications of the Vanguard Independent Democratic Association, said Mr Walz is “holding up well.”
He said: “He’s focused on answering the question, not responding to Mr Vance pushing his political agenda.” 
Tim Walz came into his own during that answer on immigration, which is one of Kamala Harris’s weakest areas. He spent the majority of his answer sidestepping the statistics on illegal border crossings, and talking about how a bipartisan border bill was blocked by Donald Trump. But there was no answer to the question itself, on the separation of parents and children.
Tim Walz accuses Donald Trump of dehumanising “other human beings”, referring to his claims that Haitian migrants were eating dogs and cats in Springfield, Ohio.
“In Springfield… the governor had to send state law enforcement to escort kindergartners to school,” he says.
JD Vance hits out at Kamala Harris for supposedly undoing 94 executive actions taken by Donald Trump “that opened the border”.
Tim Walz blames Donald Trump for derailing a border security bill earlier this year.
“Donald Trump had four years, he had four years to do this. And he promised you America how easy it would be… less than two per cent of that wall got built,” the Minnesota governor says.
He hits out at the Republican candidate for “dehumanising people”, adding: “At one point, Senator Vance said it was so unworkable to be laughable.”
The spin has already started. By my count, both campaigns have sent out three “rapid response” emails each to reporters since the debate began, in an attempt to shape the media narrative. The subject line of one email from the Trump campaign is simply: “Timothy Walz is a radical left LUNATIC”. Classy.
JD Vance looks far more assured and relaxed on stage tonight than his opponent.
Tim Walz has repeatedly tripped over his words and looks nervous.
He appeared to mix up Iran and Israel more than once in his opening answer, and has paused repeatedly mid-sentence suggesting he had lost his train of thought.  
The debate turns to immigration and JD Vance blames Kamala Harris for illegal immigration.
“We have an historic immigration crisis because Kamala Harris… said that she wanted to undo all of Donald Trump’s border policies,” Mr Vance says.
“That has opened the floodgates. And what it’s meant is that a lot of fentanyl is coming into our country.”
He calls for the deportation of “criminal migrants”
“Then I think you make it harder for illegal aliens to undercut the wages of American workers,” the Ohio senator continues. “A lot of people will go home if they can’t work for less than minimum wage in the country.”
JD Vance has just made a very deliberate reference to Appalaccia. His appeal as a running mate for Trump was that he could appeal to working class voters who would not traditionally vote for a Republican candidate. His answer called for more domestic manufacturing, linking the issue to climate change by arguing that American-produced goods are greener than foreign imports.
Tim Walz is having a bit of an issue answering questions directly ─ instead talking around the issues and attacking Donald Trump. He referred to the climate change policies of the Biden administration, but missed an opportunity to talk about the investment in green production announced by Kamala Harris in an economic speech last week.
It’s worth noting that the debate so far has been very respectful. Both candidates are acknowledging areas of agreement between them and referring to each other as “Senator” and “Governor”. It feels much calmer than the Harris-Trump debate last month.
JD Vance claims that Kamala Harris is not “serious” about climate change because she does not support returning manufacturing jobs to the US.
“If they really believe that climate change is serious, what we’re doing is more manufacturing and more energy production in the United States of America,” he says.
“Clearly, Kamala Harris herself doesn’t believe her own rhetoric.”
Of climate change, Tim Walz says: “Donald Trump called it a hoax.” He notes that the Republican candidate joked that it would mean “more beachfront property to be able to invest in”.
He says the US needs to create green jobs across the country while reducing its carbon footprint.
JD Vance calls Hurricane Helene an “unbelievable” tragedy and calls for a “robust” federal response.
“You asked about climate change,” he says, turning to the question posed by moderators.
“I think this is a very important issue. Look, a lot of people are justifiably worried about all these crazy weather patterns… Donald Trump and I support clean air, clean water.
“We want the environment to be clean and safer, but things that I’ve noticed, some of our Democratic friends talking a lot about is… carbon emissions.”
He argues that doubling down and investing in American workers and returning manufacturing to the US will help the environment.
Tim Walz seems nervous tonight, pausing and slipping up a couple of times in his first answer.
The first question is about a subject he has little experience in. As a state governor, he has never dealt directly with foreign policy. He has also been accused of falsifying his military record in the National Guard, and apologised for suggesting he had been deployed abroad in conflict. His answer on the Middle East was peppered with attacks on Donald Trump, but did not answer the question about a preemptive strike on Iran by Israel.
JD Vance’s reply was more fluid, but he spent much of his answer with a long introduction, thanking the network and the viewers. He also pointed out that many of those watching at home will not know much about either man. He said that a preemptive strike is up to Israel, not the US.
We’re just a few minutes in and Tim Walz has already brought up JD Vance’s past comments about Donald Trump.
It suggests it will be a theme of the evening.  
JD Vance does not immediately answer the question and instead introduces himself to the audience.
He says: “Donald Trump actually delivered stability in the world, and he did it by establishing effective deterrence. 
“People were afraid of stepping out of line. Iran, which launched this attack, has received over $100 billion and unfrozen assets thanks to the Kamala Harris administration.
The Ohio senator continues: “Donald Trump recognised that for people to fear the United States, you need peace through strength.”
On the question of a pre-emptive strike, he answers: “It is up to Israel, what they think they need to do to keep their country safe and we should support our allies, wherever they are, when they’re fighting the bad guys.”
Tim Walz is asked if he would support or oppose a pre-emptive strike by Israel on Iran.
“Israel’s ability to be able to defend itself is absolutely fundamental,” he says, before attacking Donald Trump on his inability provide “steady leadership”. 
“An 80 year old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment,” he answers – although Trump is currently 78 years old.
“His chief of staff, John Kelly, said that he was the most flawed human being he’d ever met. Both of his secretaries of defence, and his National Security Advisor, said he should be nowhere near the White House.”
Moderators are asking the first question of the debate on regional instability the Middle East.
Tim Walz will be introduced first tonight, as the candidate from the incumbent party.
He is standing at the lectern on the right side of viewers’ screens and appeared on stage first.
He was busy scribbling on the sheets of paper provided at the podium when JD Vance appeared on stage.
He glanced up but the pair haven’t formally greeted each other yet.
The vice presidential debate has officially begun. The CBS anchors are introducing the candidates and explaining the rules before Tim Walz and JD Vance start debating.
Tim Walz and JD Vance have made their way onto the stage in advance of the debate.
The Democrats in Brooklyn are getting amped up for the debate by singing McFadden & Whitehead’s Ain’t No Stopping Us Now. 
The bar’s four wooden benches in are packed with members of the Vanguard Independent Democratic Association – many of whome spent the weekend canvassing in Pennsylvania.
Tiffanie Burt, the group’s president, said she thinks Tim Walz is going to “crush” the debate.
The community projects manager, 36, who is originally from Cincinatti, told The Telegraph: “I’m from Ohio, so I know JD Vance.
“A lot of things he says aren’t true.
“I think what Coach Walz is going to do is give us pure facts.”
There is some concern among the crowd gathered in an Irish bar in midtown Manhattan that JD Vance might lose his temper tonight.
“I hope Vance doesn’t attack Tim Walz,” says Elizabeth Ruh. “I don’t think that would be a good look. I hope he shows Walz respect. I’m sure he will.”
Before Ruh, 31, joined the New York Young Republican Club in 2021, she felt she was “on an island” alone in the city. “I had no one to talk to about my beliefs and about really anything. Finding the club was amazing.”
There are some established ground rules for tonight’s debate, which both candidates have approved in advance.
Coach, I got your back tonight!Tonight, America will see the strong, principled, and effective leader I’ve known for years—and the contrast you and Kamala provide against the other team. pic.twitter.com/7ojASvwkjw
Tim Walz has arrived at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York.
His motorcade passed a gaggle of protesters on the Manhattan streets around the debate venue. 
Tim Walz will not be resting on his laurels after the debate. With just weeks to go until election day, both campaigns are setting a furious pace, and the vice presidential hopeful will be heading off to campaign in Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
There is now just under a quarter of an hour until Tim Walz and JD Vance walk onto the vice presidential debate stage.
Just a decade ago, in deep-blue California, Usha Vance was a registered Democrat.
This week, the Yale Law School graduate has been deep in preparation-mode, coaching her Republican husband JD Vance ahead of his vice-presidential debate against Tim Walz.
It will be one of the highest-profile political clashes of the election campaign.
“Neither JD nor I expected to find ourselves in this position,” she said, with a hint of understatement, when she addressed the Republican National Convention (RNC) this year.
Read the full article here.
Political debates are often as much about the narrative around the two candidates’ competence as they are about what’s said on stage.
That’s because which candidate is perceived to have ‘won’ or ‘lost’ is shaped by how well each is expected to perform, so there’s been a fair amount of media spin by both campaigns in the last few days.
The Harris campaign has been leaning into Tim Walz’s everyman persona: casting him as someone who is more comfortable fixing cars than pontificating on stage or glad-handing in Washington while highlighting JD Vance’s Ivy League education.
The Trump campaign has attempted to raise expectations for Mr Walz while tempering expectations for Mr Vance by pointing out that the Minnesota governor is no political novice.
“Tim Walz is very good in debates,” top Trump aide Jason Miller said in a briefing with reporters. “He’ll be very well prepared.”
Donald Trump apparently didn’t get the memo on his campaign’s messaging strategy, calling Mr Walz a “total moron” in a recent interview on Fox News.
A group of six women in their sixties and seventies have arrived at Bed-Vyne, a small bar in Brooklyn, armed with ice creams.
A DJ is blaring music and punters around them are drinking wine from plastic cups as they wait for the debate to begin.
Several of the women, who are all from the local area, are wearing blue Harris-Walz T-shirts.
Asked how she thinks Tim Walz will perform tonight, retired city council worker Wallisha Phillips, 76, says: “My man gonna do what he’s supposed to do.” 
In a room filled with fully paid up Republicans, there is a certain amount of trepidation ahead of this debate. JD Vance makes some people here nervous. “I’m really not a fan of Vance,” says Sean McCrossen.
He is sporting a Make America Great Again cap and is a die-hard Trump fan, but he has his concerns about the former president’s running mate.
“Of course I’m not a fan of Walz, but Vance is kind of a weirdo,” says Rossen, 19. “He is – they’re right.  I love Donald Trump, but I don’t like JD Vance.” 
There are a few phrases on my debate bingo card tonight.
In the blue corner, expect references in the theme of the one-word attack Mr Walz made viral: “weird”.
From the alleged pet-eating going on in Springfield, in Mr Vance’s home state of Ohio, to the Republican’s attacks on “childless cat ladies”, Mr Walz is likely to highlight his opponent’s controversial comments to paint him as weird and extreme.
In the red corner, expect discussion of Mr Walz’s military record and “Tampon Tim” – a reference to legislation the Minnesota governor signed allowing for free tampons on boys’ bathrooms.
I’m deep in the bowels of the CBS Broadcast Center in Manhattan, the venue for tonight’s debate.
I’ve spotted a few familiar faces roaming the corridors and in the media spin room. Cheering for Tim Walz is Democratic Party chair Jaime Harrison and Arizona senator Mark Kelly.
Mr Harrison has been busy defending Mr Walz and Kamala Harris against claims they have been shirking the media on the campaign trail.
“The Vice President sat with three journalists from the National Association of Black Journalists, she has sat with multiple TV folks as well. It’s just not about the national media,” he told reporters. “Everybody gets their news in different ways,” he said, suggesting the Harris campaign was simply attempting to reach people through different platforms.
Representing the Trump campaign is Alabama senator Katie Britt and Florida congressman Byron Donalds, who have been focusing heavily on the Biden-Harris administration’s current conflict in the Middle East.
They’ll be joined later by Donald Trump Jnr, senior Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller and Arkansas senator Tom Cotton.
An Irish bar in midtown Manhattan is filling up with members of the city’s Young Republican Club ahead of tonight’s debate.
The location is under wraps to avoid any unwanted visitors – being young and Republican in New York City makes you something of an anomaly.
“You’re definitely in the minority,” says one member of the century-old society, who asked not to be named.
“Although, over time things are changing. I think people are getting sick of things like the migrant crisis, homelessness increasing, violence.”
A 28-year-old born and bred New Yorker, he is particularly keen to hear what the vice presidential candidates have to say on Israel.
“I’m curious to see what [Walz] going to say about that since the left is so pro Hamas,” he says.  
“I definitely think JD will be much better than Walz. I think he has actual positions on policy –  Walz doesn’t have much.” 
The Trump campaign’s playbook at these debates is generally to suggest that the broadcasters interviewing them are biased towards the Democrats, arguing that if they win then they have triumphed against the odds, and if they lose they have been unfairly maligned.
Trump’s row with CBS this evening serves only to remind viewers that he distrusts the “MSM” and that JD Vance will not be given a fair hearing by the moderators. Lara Trump’s interview, just now on NBC News, suggests they will do the same tonight. She said that Mr Vance will challenge Tim Walz, even if the moderators won’t.
I saw Mr Vance speak recently in Arizona, where he complained about the presence of the media, prompting an audience of supporters to jeer over questions he was being asked. He has consistently complained about his treatment at the hands of reporters, and tonight is likely to be no different.
Everyone is gearing up for tonight’s set-piece debate at a Democrat watch party in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, tonight.
Marlin Rice doesn’t think either vice presidential candidate can do much to elevate their campaign – but they could tank it.
Mr Rice, the chair of political and social action for the Vanguard Independent Democratic Association, told The Telegraph: “I don’t think the VPs can do anything to necessarily catapult their candidate to success, but they can absolutely do something to create the leverage that will cause a downfall of a candidate.”
He’s confident Tim Walz be able to hold his own, but he is concerned he hasn’t seen much “substance” from the Democratic running mate.
He added: “JD Vance is like a thorn, thorns can prick you if you’re not careful. It’s going to be interesting.”
While tonight’s debate might be entertaining for the rest of the country, the two vice presidential candidates are trying to win over a vanishingly small number of undecided voters in seven key swing states that will decide this election.
Polling for The Telegraph by Redfield and Wilton Strategies shows that Tim Walz is the more popular of the two men, with a net average approval rating of 11.2 per cent across Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia. He is especially popular in Michigan, with a rating of 16 per cent, and Georgia, with 15 per cent.
JD Vance has an average rating of minus 4.5 per cent, scoring highest also in Georgia, with two per cent. His lowest score is in Arizona, with a score of minus nine per cent.
Net approval ratings are calculated by subtracting the percentage of voters who disapprove of a candidate from the percentage of voters who approve of them.
JD Vance once labelled himself a “never Trump guy”, called the Republican president “America’s Hitler” and his brand of populism “cultural heroin”.
Tonight, he’s attempting to convince voters that Trump is the best option to be leader of the free world, and that his “MAGA” agenda offers the country the best route to success.
No doubt Tim Walz will be pointing out Mr Vance’s inconsistencies on his new boss to those watching at home.
And Mr Vance will likely have a carefully crafted response to explain his conversion to Trumpism.
JD Vance is “very quiet” and “reflective” in private despite his “sharp edge” on the campaign trail, the Ohio senator’s mentor has told The Telegraph.
James Orr, an associate professor of religion at Cambridge University, met Mr Vance after the publication of his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, in 2016.
“He’s extremely consistent, but he’s got that sharp edge – which is frankly needed these days in presidential politics and when stakes are as high as they are,” he said.
“But there’s definitely a gap between that and how he is in private, where he’s very mild, very self-effacing, not somebody who makes much of himself at all, very reflective, very quiet – an intellectual.”
Read the full profile from Anne McElvoy here.
With JD Vance expected to focus on the economy in the vice presidential debate this evening, the Republican’s attacks could strike a chord with ordinary Americans.
Joe Biden’s presidency has left households spending $2,500 more on groceries a year amid soaring inflation. Ollie Corfe writes:
Life in America is more expensive than ever.
“Food, rent, gas, back-to-school clothes, prescription medications. After all that, for many families, there’s not much left at the end of the month.”
That’s not a Republican attack line on the Biden administration’s handling of the cost of living crisis – that’s Democratic nominee Kamala Harris on the stump back in August, promising to turn things around.
You can read the full article here.
JD Vance is likely to focus on the economy, immigration and Donald Trump’s record in the Middle East in tonight’s debate, according to Lara Trump.
The former president’s daughter-in-law, who is also a co-chair of the Republican National Committee, told NBC News that Mr Vance would press Mr Walz on the economy “quite a bit” during the debate.
“If you look at things like the economy, immigration ─ those are the top two issues for the American people,” she said. “I suspect that you are going to hear Tim Walz pressed quite a bit on that, if not by the moderator, certainly by JD Vance.”
She added: “Look at what’s going on in the Middle East right now. We have the Abraham Accords, a peace agreement signed in the Middle East with Donald J Trump in the White House. I’m sure you’ll hear that tonight from JD Vance.”
The Trump campaign is embroiled in a row with CBS, the host of tonight’s debate, over a separate interview with the former president as Tim Walz and JD Vance prepare to face off in New York.
CBS said that Donald Trump had agreed to participate in a pre-election interview on its 60 Minutes show next week, but pulled out.
“After initially accepting 60 Minutes’ request for an interview with Scott Pelley, former President Trump’s campaign has decided not to participate,” it said in a statement.
But Trump’s spokesman, Steven Cheung, said the claim was “fake news,” adding: “60 Minutes begged for an interview, even after they were caught lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop back in 2020. There were initial discussions, but nothing was ever scheduled or locked in. They also insisted on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented.”
He later added that 60 Minutes was “a relic of the past” and “liberal, biased propaganda”.
60 Minutes is a relic of the past, unable to keep up with the times and changing media environment, instead turning into liberal, biased propaganda.Nobody ever says, “Oh, did you see what happened on 60 Minutes?”Instead, people usually ask, “60 Minutes is still on?”
Tim Walz has some unlikely cheerleaders tonight.
In our new ad “Mr. Walz”, Carly tells how she was a student bullied for her Christian faith until her teacher saw it happening. Tim Walz not only stopped the bullying, he took the time to affirm her Christian identity – an experience that inspired her to become a TX public… pic.twitter.com/9Wqt4jyu7Z
The group “Evangelicals for Harris” has released an advert to coincide with the debate highlighting the Minnesota governor’s steps to stand up against anti-Christian bullying as a high school teacher.
The advert will go out nationally but will be aired intensively in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona.
Democrats are reportedly nervous about how Tim Walz, a self-professed “bad debater”, will fare in his only televised head-to-head with vice-presidential rival JD Vance on Tuesday night.
The Minnesota governor is understood to be worried about letting down Kamala Harris with a poor performance and making her regret selecting him as her running mate for the 2024 campaign.
While he has had a lengthy career in politics, the 60-year-old is far less accustomed to the national spotlight than Mr Vance, 40, who frequently appears on TV and honed his debating skills during his Ivy League education.
Mr Walz is said to have confessed to being a poor debater during the vetting process to be selected as the Democratic vice-presidential candidate. He also revealed that he had never used a teleprompter.
Read the full article from Rozina Sabur, our deputy US editor, here.
Tim Walz has been accused of lying about being in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, in an unwelcome development for the Democrat ahead of tonight’s debate.
The Minnesota governor and vice-presidential candidate has repeatedly claimed that he was teaching in the territory when the Chinese government crushed pro-democracy demonstrations, killing hundreds in the process.
However, Minnesota Public Radio News has placed Mr Walz in Nebraska at the time of the massacre, citing local news reports from the time.
It comes after the Democrat admitted he “misspoke” when he claimed to have carried weapons “in war”, when he was never on active service in a combat zone.
Gregg Peppin, a Minnesota-based Republican strategist, urged JD Vance to raise Mr Walz’s “phoney” Tiananmen Square claims when they debate this evening.
When Joe Biden and others called Donald Trump an “existential threat to democracy”, Tim Walz chose a different term.
Trump may be that and more, the 60-year-old governor of Minnesota told interviewers, but wasn’t he also simply plain “weird”?
“I see Donald Trump talking about the wonderful Hannibal Lecter or whatever weird thing he is on tonight … That is weird behaviour. I don’t think you call it anything else,” Mr Walz told CNN.
Mr Walz’s Midwestern charms and his ability to talk about issues with everyday language received lots of attention, not least from Kamala Harris as she whittled down her list of potential running mates, and on Tuesday named him as her pick.
Read the full article from Andrew Buncombe here.
The vice presidential debate will begin at 9pm ET, and will be broadcast on CBS News and other networks simultaneously. It is scheduled to last for 90 minutes.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the vice presidential debate. We’ll be bringing you the latest updates as Tim Walz faces off against JD Vance in what will be one of the highest-profile events of the election campaign.