A month before the US election, Harris and Trump are roughly on a par. The duel between their running mate candidates, Vance and Walz, is therefore eagerly awaited in the evening. The Republicans in particular are under pressure.
Two men who couldn’t be more different – on the one hand, the very left-wing Tim Walz: Governor of Minnesota, friendly family man, former teacher, football coach, veteran and man of the people.
On the other side, the arch-conservative Trump loyalist JD Vance, sharp-tongued senator from Ohio, businessman, elite university graduate and best-selling author of “Hillbilly Elegy.” In it he talks about his youth in poverty in the Appalachians.
Candidates shoot at each other
Both candidates zeroed in on each other in the run-up to the TV duel. Walz uncovers the 180-degree turn in Vance’s biography: among other things, that Vance was a self-declared Trump critic just a few years ago and that he now belongs to the financial elite.
Like all normal people in the Midwest, Vance studied at the elite Yale University, Walz said ironically during a campaign appearance. Vance’s career was paid for by billionaires from Silicon Valley. And then he wrote a bestseller in which he denigrated his community – the working class. That’s not common in the Midwest.
And: He couldn’t wait to face Vance in the debate.
Discussion about Walz’s military service
The Republican, in turn, attacked Walz for his alleged false statements about his military past. In an interview on Fox News television, he accused him of lying. Vance – himself a veteran – said: “Tim Walz said we shouldn’t allow weapons in the US that he used in the war. I’m wondering, Tim Walz, when were you in the war? What weapon did you use and in which one War? When you left your unit before it went into Iraq.”
In fact, Walz was never sent to a combat zone during his 24 years in the military. However, in 2018, Walz claimed that he had carried weapons for a war mission. A slip of the tongue, as he later said. Sometimes he doesn’t take grammar very seriously.
A hit for Vance. He would be ashamed, he said, if he had lied about his military service like Walz did.
Inflation, abortion and migration as topics
It would be surprising if this topic didn’t come up again during the TV duel. In addition, the focus will be on the usual election campaign topics: the high cost of living, abortion and illegal immigration. Both men have opposing views on almost every issue.
The pressure on Vance is comparatively greater because he is behind Walz in the polls in terms of popularity. Potential voters in the Midwest view Walz as more honest and trustworthy.
In fact, Vance had recently gotten himself into trouble with provocative statements. He referred to childless women as “cat women,” which angered many non-mothers. And he was the first to start the rumor about Haitian migrants allegedly eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.
Important duel – especially for Trump
Historically, a vice presidential debate has never decided an election. This time, however, things could be different, historian Douglas Brinkley said on MSNBC television: This could be the most important vice presidential debate in US history. It could be Trump’s last chance if Vance could somehow score and gain a small advantage.
If either candidate can win over just a few more undecided voters, it could actually make a difference in this election.