A debate between the running mates placed between cordiality and divergences

Photo: Angela Weiss Agence France-Presse From the CBS studios in New York, J.D. Vance (left) and Tim Walz (right) took part in a meeting that was notable for the civility of the tone of the two candidates and the divergence of the political programs presented during the evening.

Fabien Deglise

Published yesterday at 3:23 PM Updated at 12:06 AM

• United States

Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz lashed out at his Republican opponent, J.D. Vance, during Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate for “making up stories” a few weeks ago about Haitian immigrants eating their neighbors’ pets in the small town of Springfield, Ohio. A decision that was driven more by self-promotion than by a search for solutions, according to Kamala Harris’ running mate, and that ultimately “stigmatized a lot of people living here legally,” he said.

“The Republican governor [of Ohio] said that wasn’t true,” Walz said, in the only face-off of the campaign between the vice presidential hopefuls. “There are consequences to this… and the consequences in Springfield were that the governor had to send in law enforcement to escort children going to preschool.”

Read also

• Does the anger of Haitians in Florida threaten Donald Trump?
• Do you know the candidates for the American vice-presidency?
• Analysis | A less secondary debate between running mates than usual

From the CBS studios in New York, the two men took part in a 90-minute meeting that was distinguished by the civility of the tone of the two candidates and by the divergence of the political programs presented during the evening. The duel, without much asperity, also confirmed the role of the running mates who, placed in a televised debate situation, must above all protect and defend the presidential candidates in the race.

This is what J.D. Vance did, who, on the subject of abortion, a subject that fuels the Democratic campaign, defended the former president by presenting him as a candidate striving to be “pro-family, in the literal sense,” supporting fertility treatments and wanting women to be able to have children, he said. The young senator from Ohio also attacked Kamala Harris’ running mate by denouncing his party’s “radical pro-abortion” positions, a position implemented by Walz as governor of Minnesota, J.D. Vance accused. After the overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision by the Supreme Court in 2022, Tim Walz’s state decided to protect the right to abortion on its territory.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

Tim Walz, for his part, defended the Democratic candidate's record and program on immigration issues, but also on the economy, themes on which the Republicans have applied constant pressure since the beginning of the election campaign. For the Democratic vice-presidential candidate, the Biden-Harris administration has placed the highest number of Americans under health coverage, after Donald Trump's four years in power led to a weakening of the social measures taken by his predecessor, Barack Obama.

“Coach Walz,” as Harris regularly calls him — a reference to his years as a high school sports coach where he was a geography teacher — also touted the coalition the Democrat is building for the November election. His endorsements range from Bernie Sanders, the center-left independent from Vermont, to Dick Cheney, a Republican who served under George W. Bush, with “a whole bunch of other people in between” who believe that “defending democracy is important,” the Democrat said.

It was on this theme that Tim Walz managed to unsettle his opponent by asking him whether he believed that Donald Trump’s refusal to concede defeat in 2020 represented a threat to American democracy. The Republican preferred not to answer, saying he was “looking to the future,” and shifted the subject to Kamala Harris, whom he accused of silencing citizens on social media. “Kamala Harris is practicing censorship on an industrial scale,” he said.

Then, when asked about the January 6 riots against the Capitol, the Ohio senator finally “congratulated” Donald Trump for peacefully leaving the White House, 14 days later, on January 20.

Towards another Trump-Harris face-off ?

The impact of the vice presidential debate on the final days of the campaign may be difficult to gauge in a political climate that is deeply divided and where the two camps remain neck and neck heading into the election, said Tim Lynch, a political scientist at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. “Supporters of each side are certainly going to judge the performance of their candidate favorably, regardless of the style adopted,” he said. People who are not politically engaged—those most likely to be influenced—are much less likely to watch a debate, especially a running mate debate.”

After Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate, is another face-off between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris still possible before Election Day? ? On Monday, the billionaire’s former adviser Kellyanne Conway said the populist hadn’t “totally said no” to the prospect after speaking to her earlier this week. “I hope he does,” she said on Fox News.

Two weeks ago, Donald Trump flatly rejected the idea of ​​another televised debate with Kamala Harris, after receiving a fabrication from CNN for a meeting set for October 23, a date he considered too late.

Yet, in 2020, Donald Trump had his final debate with Joe Biden on October 22, and on October 19 against Hillary Clinton, in 2016. The Democrats launched an advertising campaign last week in which he accuses Donald Trump of being a “sissy” because of his refusal to debate with his political opponent.