Tuesday, October 1st—Ohio Senator JD Vance and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz debated in this election cycle’s first and last vice presidential debate hosted by CBS in the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City. Millions of Americans across the United States tuned in to their preferred news network to watch the debate, where Vance and Walz went head to head, answering a range of questions sprawling across various topics. These topics included immigration, abortion rights, and the current Israeli conflict in the Middle East.
Vance stated that the Republican party needed to gain more trust with voters on abortion rights, and believed that the decision on any abortion bans or restrictions should be determined on an individual state level. Walz believed in a very different approach in which abortion rights would be guaranteed to all women, regardless of any state determination. As for immigration, Vance claimed that illegal immigration was a huge problem in America and promised a crackdown on those illegally entering the country, while Walz believed in a similar, but different stance—strongly reinforcing his opinion that “illegal” immigrants were not the root of America’s problems, but like Vance, Walz still believed in increased border security. During the debate, both candidates remained relatively civil—except for a moment when both Vance and Walz had their mics muted after a dispute in which both participants spoke out of turn during a heated discussion regarding former President Trump’s proposal of mass deportation.
This debate marked an opportunity for candidates to introduce themselves—in fact, before answering the first question, Vance took the opportunity to talk about his childhood life before politics—as many Americans were not incredibly familiar with the vice presidential picks of Democratic and Republican presidential tickets. While they disagreed on many issues, both candidates were respectful toward one another during the debate. Each acknowledged when their opponent was right and expressed different—as well as similar—views on crucial issues that have been on the minds of Americans across the country. Given that the recent vice presidential debate was able to give undecided voters a new perspective on the policies and viewpoints of both the Harris/Walz and Trump/Vance presidential campaigns, there could be a considerable shift in the ultimate outcome of the upcoming presidential election.The election is right around the corner, and every eligible American gets to participate in the democratic process.
