I guess that's what you get when you put a guy from Minnesota and a guy from Ohio on a stage together. Rumor has it they even exchanged recipes for a mayo-based salad after.
"I've enjoyed tonight's debate. I think there was a lot of commonality, and I'm sympathetic to misspeaking on things," Walz said to Vance. "Me too," Vance replied with a laugh.
It was a reminder of the old times — when mutual respect was an underlying tone to debates. It feels ever-so-magnified coming on the heels of the near-brawl between Vice President Harris and former President Trump a few weeks ago.
The biggest moment of the night happened 90+ minutes in: For most of the night, Vance focused his message on a broad, centrist audience. And, overall, he did a good job at sidelining the "weird" GOP stereotype that Walz famously coined. That's until he was asked about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Walz turned to Vance and asked him whether Trump lost the 2020 election. "Tim, I'm focused on the future. Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their minds," Vance responded, immediately pivoting to COVID-19. "That's a damning nonanswer," Walz shot back, looking like he had seen a ghost. 📹 Watch the exchange
"Remember, he said that on January the 6th, the protesters ought to protest peacefully," Vance said of Trump's actions that day, glossing over the "Hang Mike Pence" threats and the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol. "And on January the 20th, what happened? Joe Biden became the president. Donald Trump left the White House." The Harris-Walz campaign has already turned that clip into an ad.
This exchange, plus Walz's response on women's reproductive rights, arguably turned what could have been a Vance win into a draw.
Walz seemed nervous: He stumbled at times and didn't seem as comfortable as his competitor on a debate stage. He even referred to himself as a "knucklehead" when admitting that he was not actually present for the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. He should have been ready for that question. But as the night went on, he settled in and got his groove. Remember how Walz had set his expectations low? That strategy worked in his favor.
Vance had his moments, too: He questioned climate change and wouldn't say whether he agrees with Trump that climate change is a "hoax." Vance was also forced to defend his boss over the infamous, debunked claim that Haitian migrants are eating domesticated pets. Immigration has favored Republicans, but this misstep has put Trump and Vance on defense.
What does post debate polling say?: An overnight CBS poll shows that 42 percent think Vance won, 41 percent think Walz won and 17 percent thought it was a tie.
The overall takeaway: Neither candidate did any major damage to their respective tickets.
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