BY EMERSON LAYNE

Missed the vice presidential debate between Walz and Vance? Don’t worry, I wouldn’t blame you. Here’s a recap!

On Tuesday, October 1st at the CBS Broadcast Center, vice president Democratic pick Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Republican pick Sen. J.D Vance went down on the debate stage. The event was moderated by Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan and lasted roughly 90 minutes. With pressure on all sides on the VP picks, how did they stack up on the debate stage?  

During the debate, both vice president candidates were fairly confident in their delivery and messaging. Both Vance and Walz made it clear on what their views are, Vance self-describing as “pro-family” and Walz referencing his time in his community by outlining where their values stem from and how it influences their future policies. On the surface, both Vance and Walz were honest with the audience in what they stated. But, looking deeper into the facts of the debaters, subtle clues show how they frame the opposing sides and themselves. 

Let’s start with Vance, since it was the most prominent with him. Multiple times during the debate, Vance lied or misled in his statements. First, Vance claimed that Trump during 2020, gave over his power peacefully to Biden on January 20th. This is intentionally misleading, since during January 6th of that year, pro-Trump protesters stormed the capital in protest that Trump lost the election. The January 6th committee also proved that Trump encouraged the protesters so he could stay in power. Second, Vance claimed that Harris hasn’t invested in clean air or water. The Biden administration had $370 billion available for climate policy, so saying Harris hasn’t invested in any clean air or water is completely false. Third, Vance claimed that Trump could have ended Obamacare but decided not to. In 2017, Trump posted on social media that he wanted to “let Obamacare fail”. Noted by some people during Trump’s term, the Trump administration made multiple moves that could have been interpreted as Trump wanting to end insurance marketplaces, for example, the Trump administration ending subsidies to insurers. Fourth, Vance claimed that illegal immigrants were causing housing to become unaffordable. Though immigration is a factor in the increase of housing demand, factors like housing shortages and the decrease of housing being built were larger and more prominent factors in increased housing demand. 

For Walz, he takes a different approach; reality. First, Walz claimed that during 2020 Iranian missiles fell near U.S troops, causing signs of traumatic brain injury, Trump wrote it off as headaches. In 2020, Iranian missiles were launched near U.S troops and shortly after the troops were screened for traumatic brain injury. Later on that year, Trump claimed it was headaches and non-serious injuries in relation to the missile strikes. But, the Pentagon said there were incidents of traumatic brain injury relating to the missile strikes. Second, Walz claimed that Trump called climate change a hoax. Walz was correct, since on multiple occasions Trump has called climate change a hoax and overall not taking the issue seriously by stating there would be “more waterfront property”. It is also important to note that in a 2020 speech at Ohio State University, Vance stated that “We, of course, have a climate problem in our society”, showing a clear disagreement between Trump and Vance on an important issue. The only major thing that Walz technically lied about during the debate was his downplaying of his false past comments of him being at Tiananmen Square on June 4th, 1989. Multiple radio shows and reports place Walz in Nebraska.  

Both Vance and Walz were fierce debaters and were respectful to one another before and after the debate. Though, it’s key to fact check each of the debaters, either by personal research or by reading news articles by others. Both debaters were confident, but, in plain sight, lies and misleading statements were made. It’s essential to know the facts, especially in a high stakes election like this.