According to viewers, J. D. Vance won his debate with Tim Walz, but just barely.
In a CBS post-debate poll, 42% said Vance won, 41% said Walz won, and 17% called it a tie. CNN’s poll was equally close: Vance 51%, Walz 49%, with no tie option. (See Vox story here.) In a USA Today poll the next day, most Democrats thought Walz won, and most Republicans thought Vance won (see story here).
A GOP strategist has an interesting take on what happened in the debate: “he was on a personal rehabilitation campaign aimed at 2028,” putting his own ambitions ahead of Trump’s, which left upset some Trump supporters (see story here). The 2028 GOP nomination will be up for grabs regardless of whether Trump wins or loses the 2024 election.
For Walz, holding his own against Vance was a victory, as he’s not a polished debater like the Yale law grad is. To me, he looked authentic alongside Vance’s slickness. But the real problem with Vance’s performance is that he unloaded a pack of lies.
Vox says Vance “said many misleading or totally untrue things,” and ticked off some of them: That Trump “saved Obamacare,” that “immigrants caused the US housing crisis,” and that Trump “was merely peacefully discussing ‘problems’ with the 2020 election.”
Vance conceded the public doesn’t trust Republicans on abortion, then talked about “earning their trust. That’s a new tune for him; in the recent past, he’s advocated a nationwide ban on abortions, and prosecuting anyone sending abortion pills through the mail.
NBC News called Vance’s attempt to blame high heating costs on the Biden administration “mostly false,” his claim that housing costs have risen 60% “an exaggeration,” and also flagged his claims about immigrant crime, Iranian assets, and Minnesota’s abortion law (see story here).
In short, Vance lied his way through the debate. And Republicans are angry that the moderators fact-checked his lies (see story here). (A poster on HorsesAss.Org caustically commented, “Imagine if republicans [sic] got as mad about school shootings as they do about fact checking.”)
For example, when Vance referred to Springfield, Ohio’s Haitians as “illegal immigrants,” and a moderator reminded the audience the Haitians have “legal status,” Vance snapped, “the rules were that you were not going to fact check me.” Which proves liars don’t like being called liars.
Media pundits agree the debate’s defining moment was Vance’s refusal to say Trump lost the 2020 election. The reason is obvious: He can’t. Trump won’t allow it. Which reveals Vance for what he actually is: Trump’s vassal.