LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It was Thanksgiving, but at the big kids' table.
Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz met for their first and only debate, a civil affair that featured discussion over a range of issues and much less acrimony than the presidential debate in September.
Here's seven takeaways from the debate.
1. The candidates actually got along. On issues ranging from housing to the need to deal with gun violence, Vance and Walz actually said they agreed with each other — repeatedly. Although they still maintain stark policy differences on some basic problems, including immigration and abortion rights, the vice presidential candidates were much more chummy than former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris were when they met last month.
2. They did their jobs as understudies. Both Walz and Vance aimed their fire at the top of the ticket more than each other, with Walz starting right out the gate saying a "nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump" had exhibited "fickle" leadership. Vance returned fire, blaming Harris for illegal immigration, which he tied to the cost of housing and the loss of jobs. Promoting their running mates while slamming the other party's standard bearer is one of the key jobs of a vice presidential pick, and both candidates did that on Tuesday.
3. A lot of questions went unanswered. Modern debates can be frustrating affairs, as candidates avoid answering direct, even yes or no questions, and recite talking points instead. This debate was no different; Vance refused to say whether Trump had lost the 2020 election and Walz declined to say whether he'd bless a first strike against Iran by Israel. Walz finally admitted under questioning that he misspoke when he claimed to be in Hong Kong in 1989 at the time of the Tiananmen Square massacre. And Vance admitted that he'd changed his position on abortion, from favoring federal standards restricting the practice during his 2020 Senate election to now allowing states to make their own decisions on the issue.
4. Sharp differences on immigration. Vance defended Trump's call for mass deportation of immigrants in the country illegally, saying America needed to "stop the bleeding." He said the priority should be deporting immigrants who'd committed crimes.
Walz, for his part, criticized Trump for telling Republicans to kill a bipartisan bill that would have addressed border security, saying it was backed by law enforcement, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. But Trump's criticism of the bill was a key reason Republicans defeated the measure.
5. How much is that program in the window? When asked by hosts Norah O'Donnell and Margaret Brennan about the cost of their party's respective plans — both at least $1 trillion — neither candidate specifically said how those plans would be paid for, or whether they would simply increase the already staggering more than $33 trillion national debt. Walz said "we'll ask the wealthiest to pay their fair share," while Vance criticized economic experts who have Ph.D. degrees but "don't have common sense, don't have wisdom."
6. Health care jabs. Vance, in an impromptu question to Walz, got the governor to admit that he favors the individual mandate that requires people to purchase health insurance. But Walz took issue when Vance claimed Trump had "salvaged Obamacare" by noting that the former president had tried repeatedly to repeal the health care plan during his tenure.
7. Democracy at stake. When confronted about the events of Jan. 6, Vance said he and Trump were "focused on the future," while Walz reminded the audience that Trump still refuses to concede the election.
The real threat to democracy, Vance said, was censorship of ideas on social media. But Walz shot back that censorship was banning books, and that the Jan. 6 riot was the first time in American history that a president had tried to overturn an election.
Vance said Trump voluntarily gave up power on Jan. 20, the day Joe Biden was inaugurated president, and pointed to Democrats questioning the results of elections in the past. But unlike Trump, Hillary Clinton conceded her loss to Trump in 2016 and Al Gore ultimately not only conceded to George W. Bush in 2000, but presided over a joint session of Congress that certified Bush as the winner.
Senior Political Reporter Steve Sebelius watched the vice presidential debate with Republican consultant Chuck Muth and Democratic consultant Annette Magnus, and they shared their own thoughts on how the candidates performed.
