NEW YORK (AP) — Tim Walls And JD Vance Each on Tuesday pointed to the crises of the day as reasons for voters to choose their running mate, opening their vice presidential debates by addressing growing fears of regional war in the Middle East and a natural disaster that has ravaged the southeastern U.S.
Asked whether he would support a pre-emptive strike on Iran when it fires missiles into Israel, Walls was quick to portray Donald Trump as the most dangerous to the country and the world in a volatile moment.
“The bottom line here is that consistent leadership is critical,” said Walls, the Democratic governor of Minnesota. “The world saw it on that debate stage a few weeks ago, and we don’t need an almost 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about the size of the crowd at this point.”
Vance, in his response, argued that Trump is a threatening figure whose very presence on the international stage is its own deterrent.
“Donald Trump really provided stability,” he said.
The debate, hosted by CBS News in New York, began in a somber tone, reflecting growing domestic and international concerns about safety and security. It gives Vance, a freshman Republican senator from Ohio, and Walls, a two-term Democratic governor of Minnesota, a chance to introduce themselves, make the case for their constituents and attack the opposing ticket.
The two found common ground in Hurricane Helen, which devastated several states and caused massive flooding in North Carolina in particular. Noting the devastation of the storm, Walls spoke about working with governors across the country, saying they shouldn’t let politics get in the way of cooperation.
Vance said, “I’m sure Governor Walls will join me in saying that our hearts go out to those innocent people.”
Tuesday’s fit can have a big impact. Opinion polls show a tight race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Adds extra weight Anything that might sway marginal voters, including the impression left by the vice presidential candidates. It could also be the last debate of the campaign. The Harris and Trump teams disagreed on another meeting.
The role of a presidential running mate is usually to act as an attack dog for the person at the top of the ticket, arguing against the opposing presidential candidate and their surrogates on the platform. Vance and Walls both accepted the role.
Vance’s occasionally confrontational news interviews and appearances on the campaign trail underscored that Why did Trump pick him on the Republican ticket? That’s despite past harsh criticism of the former president, including once calling Trump “America’s Hitler.”
Walls, meanwhile, took on Harris’ campaign by branding Trump and Republicans. Just different,” creating an attack line for Democrats who want to argue that Republicans are disconnected from the American people.
A New AP-NORC survey Walls found himself favored over Vance, which would be an additional challenge for the Republican.
After the Harris-Trump debate, Republicans in it ABC News moderators complain about Trump fact-checkingTuesday’s debate will not include any amendments from the hosts. The onus is on candidates to point out false statements, CBS News said, adding that moderators “facilitate those opportunities.”
Trump said Tuesday evening that his advice to Vance was to “have a lot of fun” and praised his running mate as a “smart guy” and “a real warrior.”
As they campaigned, both Walls and Vance grew their roots in small towns in Central America, broadening the appeal of Harris and Trump, who hail from California and New York, respectively.
Walls, 60, often invokes his past job as a high school football coach, bringing back the “joy” to politics when talking about his campaign with Harris. in the field.”
Walls, a Nebraska native, was a geography teacher before being elected to Congress in 2006. He spent a dozen years there before being elected governor in 2018, winning a second term four years later.
He served 24 years in the Army National Guard before retiring in 2005. His discharge and description of his service drew harsh criticism from Vance, who served in the Marine Corps, including in Iraq.
Vance, 40, became nationally known in 2016 with the publication of his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” which chronicles his childhood in Ohio and his family’s roots in rural Kentucky. The book was often cited as a window into the working-class white voters who supported Trump’s campaign after his 2016 victory. Vance went to Yale Law School before working as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley.
After the publication of his book, he was a prominent critic of Trump before becoming a staunch defender of the former president, particularly on issues such as trade, foreign policy and immigration.
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Price and Megerian report from Washington. Associated Press writers Josh Bogue in Baltimore and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina contributed to this report.
