Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator JD Vance presented a united front during the vice-presidential debate held at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City on Tuesday. Both candidates frequently expressed mutual agreement on a wide range of topics, including accelerating the asylum claim process, bringing jobs back to the United States, addressing gun violence, and not blaming immigrants for rising housing prices.
Throughout the 90-minute debate, the two candidates echoed each other’s sentiments more than two dozen times, indicating a significant level of concurrence on various key issues. For instance, Vance remarked, “It is a disgrace, Tim, and I actually think I agree with you,” in reference to the pressures large influxes of migrants place on some communities. He added, “I think you want to solve this problem, but I don’t think that Kamala Harris does.”
Additionally, Vance agreed with Walz on the tragic case of Amber Thurman, a Georgia woman who died after being unable to access legal abortion care, saying, “First of all, governor, I agree with you, Amber Thurman should still be alive, and there are a lot of people who should still be alive, and I certainly wish that she was.”
On the issue of gun violence, Vance stated, “And of course, our hearts go out to the families that are affected by this terrible stuff, and we do have to do better. And I think that Governor Walz and I actually probably agree that we need to do better on this. The question is just, how do we actually do it?”
Regarding school shootings, Walz indicated his belief that Vance shares his abhorrence for such tragedies, saying, “I 100% believe that Senator Vance hates it when these kids — it’s abhorrent and it breaks your heart. I agree with that. But that’s not far enough when we know there are things that work.” Vance appreciated Walz’s mention of Finland, noting, “I appreciate what Tim said, actually, about Finland, because I do think it illustrates some of the frankly weird differences between our own country’s gun violence problem [and others].”
Towards the night’s conclusion, Walz reflected on the debate’s tone, saying, “Well, I’ve enjoyed tonight’s debate and I think there was a lot of commonality here. I’m sympathetic to misspeaking on things, and I think I might have with the senator.” Vance responded with a chuckle, adding, “Me too, man.”
There were notable moments of shared humanity between the two, contrasting sharply with the heated exchanges of previous presidential debates. When Walz discussed his teenage son witnessing a shooting at a community center, Vance responded with sympathy, stating, “I didn’t know that your 17-year-old witnessed a shooting, and I’m sorry about that and I hope he’s doing OK.”
The debate also saw the two candidates shake hands at both the beginning and end, joined onstage by their wives. Off-camera gestures included Walz patting Vance on the arm and Vance reciprocating with a pat on Walz’s back, signaling a rare display of bipartisan camaraderie.
