In what may be the most Midwestern vice presidential debate in U.S. history, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator JD Vance squared off on CBS last night.
Mr. Walz and Mr. Vance found some areas of common ground and, at times, seemed a lot alike. The wide-ranging debate covered many of the same topics from the most recent presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump: climate change, immigration, abortion, the economy and the state of democracy.
But the vice presidential debate also covered other topics, like gun violence and the state of the American family, with a degree of civility that was absent from the previous debate. Both candidates came well prepared, though Mr. Walz seemed to have a slower start. Mr. Vance perhaps benefited most from simply being a Republican that is not Mr. Trump.
Both Mr. Walz and Mr. Vance alluded to their faith backgrounds. Mr. Walz mentioned attending midnight Mass at Christmas and cited Matthew 25:40 when discussing immigration. (“I don’t talk about my faith a lot, but [it] talks about, ‘To the least amongst us, you do unto me,’” he said.) Mr. Vance—the third Catholic to run for vice president in the last 16 years—mentioned praying for others, including victims of Hurricane Helene.
Some issues were of particular interest to Catholic voters.
Climate change solutions: American manufacturing, solar panels or both? The moderators asked about climate change early in the debate in connection with Hurricane Helene. Mr. Vance said he and Mr. Trump want “clean water and clean air.” Mr. Vance suggested restoring American manufacturing jobs and increasing American energy production could help “because we’re the cleanest economy in the entire world.” He downplayed the impact carbon emissions have on the environment.
In his response, Mr. Walz noted that Mr. Trump has called climate change a “hoax.” He went on to tout the current administration’s investment in developing green technology. “The largest solar manufacturing plant in North America sits in Minnesota,” he said. While Mr. Vance countered that most solar panels were being made in China, Mr. Walz said continuing to invest in American initiatives could change that.
(For a Catholic perspective on climate change, read America’s coverage of Pope Francis’ “Laudato Si’.”)
Both Republicans and Democrats are far from the church position on immigration.Mr. Vance was quick to criticize the Biden administration for reversing many of Mr. Trump’s immigration restrictions. He also connected immigration to fentanyl, and said Mr. Trump’s mass deportation plan would begin by targeting criminal offenders. The moderators asked Mr. Vance twice if the deportation plan would separate families, as happened during Mr. Trump’s first term, and he sidestepped the question each time. He grossly exaggerated the number of undocumented immigrants who live in the United States to as many as 20 to 25 million. The Office of Homeland Security Statistics estimates there were 11 million in 2022.
Mr. Walz noted a large decrease in opioid-related deaths over the last 12 months. He also repeated a Harris campaign talking point, that she “is the only person in this race who prosecuted transnational gangs for human trafficking and drug interventions.” Like Ms. Harris in the presidential debate, Mr. Walz blamed the failure of a recent bipartisan border enforcement initiative on the influence of Mr. Trump, who asked Republican legislators to oppose it. Many immigration advocates also opposed the bill because it restricted access to asylum.
The connection both candidates made between immigration and fentanyl is regrettable. Those who seek asylum at the southern border are fleeing violence or persecution in their home countries. Many migrants also come to escape poverty. But very few are involved with drug trafficking.
Mr. Vance also blamed undocumented immigrants for the high cost of housing. “You’ve got housing totally unaffordable because we brought in millions of illegal immigrants to compete with Americans for scarce homes,” he said. While the presence of immigrants may be a factor, it is not the leading one. Instead, economists point to a lack of supply. That is, if native-born Americans moved to places where immigrants now work, they would still need to be housed.
(The U.S. bishops have been lobbying for comprehensive immigration reform for decades. To learn more about their efforts, visit the bishops’ Justice for Immigrants website.)
Common ground on abortion is still elusive.Along with immigration and the economy, abortion regularly tops lists of voter concerns. Mr. Walz cited examples of tragic medical outcomes that have followed the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in states that restricted access to abortion. In Texas, Amanda Zaworski nearly died after being denied an abortion. In Kentucky, Hadley Duvall was raped by her stepfather and denied an abortion. Mr. Walz called abortion a “basic human right.”
In his response, Mr. Vance spoke of a woman he knew growing up who had an abortion “who is very dear to me.” The woman was in an abusive relationship and felt the abortion was her only option. Republicans, he said, have to do a “better of a job earning the American people’s trust back on this issue where, frankly, they just don’t trust us.”
A Trump-Vance administration would to “be pro-family in the fullest sense,” Mr. Vance said, which would include supporting fertility treatments, making childbirth more affordable and backing homeownership for young families. Abortion, he said, should remain a state issue because “we have a big country and it’s diverse.”
In his followup, Mr. Walz spoke of Amber Thurman, who died in Georgia from complications after taking abortion drugs she obtained by traveling to a clinic in North Carolina. Mr. Walz attributed her death to Georgia’s restrictive abortion laws. (At least one Georgia-based doctor has questioned the claim, which is based on a ProPublica report.) “There’s a very real chance, had Amber Thurman lived in Minnesota, she would be alive today,” Mr. Walz said.
During the exchange, Mr. Vance pressed Mr. Walz to explain a Minnesota abortion law he signed last year. The law removed a doctor’s requirement to provide life-saving care to a baby born alive after a failed late-term abortion, instead requiring only “comfort care.” Mr. Walz said only that the law was being misread. (As previously noted in America, Mr. Walz also removed state funding from crisis pregnancy centers.)
(For a Catholic take on abortion, read America’s recent editorial on the anniversary of the Dobbs decision.)
How can the federal government help families? The moderators asked the candidates how long employers should be required to pay workers who are home caring for their newborns. Neither Mr. Walz nor Mr. Vance offered a specific number of days, but both agreed more could be done to help young families, including help with child care.
“A federal program of paid family medical leave and help with this will enhance our workforce, enhance our families, and make it easier to have the children that you want,” Mr. Walz said.
Mr. Vance expressed hope that Republicans and Democrats could find a solution. He advocated for child care options that include church-based programs.
(For more on the family, read America’s coverage of Pope Francis’ “Amoris Laetitia.”)
How two Midwestern dads would handle mass shootings at schools.The two candidates offered significantly different approaches to curbing school gun violence. Mr. Vance claimed gun violence is connected to illegal immigration, a theme he returned to throughout the night. He said schools need more security, and said he does not believe gun restrictions are part of the solution.
“The idea that we can magically wave a wand and take guns out of the hands of bad guys, it just doesn’t fit with recent experience,” Mr. Vance said.
In his response, Mr. Walz said the issue hit close to home because his son had witnessed a shooting at his community center. “Those things don’t leave you,” he said. (Mr. Vance, a father himself, responded to Mr. Walz’s son’s experience with sympathy. “Christ have mercy,” he said. “That is awful.”)
“We understand that the Second Amendment is there, but our first responsibility is to our kids to figure this out,” Mr. Walz said. He cited red flag laws and background checks in Minnesota, and noted Finland as an example of a country where citizens own guns responsibly.
(For more on gun violence, the editors of America plead to repeal the Second Amendment from 2013.)
Mr. Vance downplayed Jan. 6 while Mr. Walz emphasized it. After the moderators brought up Americans’ concern for democracy, Mr. Vance said he and Mr. Trump are “focused on the future.”
“Look, what President Trump has said is that there were problems in 2020,” he said. “And my own belief is that we should fight about those issues, debate those issues peacefully in the public square. And that’s all I’ve said. And that’s all that Donald Trump has said.”
Instead of responding to the question about Jan. 6 and the events that led to it, Mr. Vance said the real threat to democracy is censorship, an apparent reference to the Biden administration urging social media sites to remove content the government considers to be misinformation. “We don’t have to agree on every issue, but we’re united behind a basic American, First Amendment principle that we ought to debate our differences,” he said. “We ought to try to persuade our fellow Americans.”
Mr. Walz was troubled by Mr. Vance’s response. Mr. Walz asked Mr. Vance directly whether Mr. Trump had lost the 2020 election, and Mr. Vance refused to answer.
“That’s a damning non answer,” Mr. Walz said. “He lost this election, and he said he didn’t,” he said, adding that “140 police officers were beaten at the Capitol that day, some with the American flag. Several later died.”
“So, America, I think you’ve got a really clear choice on this election of who’s going to honor that democracy and who’s honoring Donald Trump,” Mr. Walz said after applauding former vice president Mike Pence for his actions in certifying Mr. Biden’s election win.
(For more on Jan. 6, read America editorial advocating for Mr. Trump’s impeachment, conviction and removal from office for his role in the events.)
Beyond their policy positions, Mr. Walz and Mr. Vance demonstrated that politicians who disagree with each other can still be polite about it. That alone made the vice presidential debate worth viewing.
