UPDATE - US' Walz, Vance throw verbal punches in 1st and only vice presidential debate

ADDS MORE DETAILS; REVISES HEADLINE, LEDE

By Darren Lyn

HOUSTON, United States (AA) - Vice presidential candidates Tim Walz and JD Vance traded verbal jabs Tuesday night as they took to the stage in New York for their first and only debate, just five weeks before the Nov. 5 US presidential election.

Walz, the Democratic nominee, charged right out of the gate at Vance, the Republican nominee, by using Vance's own past criticism of his presidential running mate, including saying that Donald Trump could be "America's Hitler."

"The person closest to them … to Donald Trump … said he's unfit for the highest office, that was Senator Vance," said Walz. Vance is a senator for the Midwestern state of Ohio

Vance rebutted by trying to explain why he flip-flopped his opinion on Trump.

"Sometimes, of course, I disagree with the (former) president, but I've also been extremely open about the fact that I was wrong about Donald Trump," said Vance.

"I was wrong, first of all, because I believed some of the media stories that turned out to be dishonest fabrications of his record," he claimed.

"Donald Trump delivered for the American people, rising wages, rising take-home pay, an economy that worked for normal Americans, a secure southern border, a lot of things, frankly, that I didn't think he'd be able to deliver on," he argued.

On the Middle East, Walz, governor of the Midwestern state of Minnesota, said the US needs to have a presence there but did not directly answer if he would support a preemptive strike by Israel on Iran after Iran launched missiles at Israel on Tuesday.

Vance deferred and said that it was the Israeli government's decision, but added: "We should support our allies wherever they are when they’re fighting the bad guys."

Walz criticized Trump's immigration policies, pointing out that the former president successfully killed a bipartisan border deal in the Senate, but he actually praised Vance for wanting to find a border policy that is more effective.

"I believe Senator Vance wants to solve this, but by standing with Donald Trump and not working together to find a solution, it becomes a talking point," said Walz.

Vance circled around the topic by accusing Harris and Biden of having lax policies that allowed millions of illegal immigrants into the US, including violent criminals.

"I actually think I agree with you," Vance told Walz. "I think you want to solve this problem, but I don’t think that Kamala Harris does," he added, referring to Vice President Harris, Walz’s running mate for president.

- Honoring the outcomes of elections

On the topic of abortion, Walz criticized the Trump administration for appointing the Supreme Court judges who overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 high court ruling legalizing abortion, thus making it states' decisions to determine if abortions should be legal. He said if Democrats win the election, they would pass a federal law restoring the Roe ruling, which made abortion legal nationwide.

"The fact of the matter is, how can we as a nation say that your life and your rights as basic as the right to control your body is determined by geography?" said Walz.

Vance responded: "The proper way to handle this as messy a democracy sometimes is to let voters make these decisions, let the individual states make their abortion policy."

Gun control was another volatile topic. Walz, an avid hunter and gun control supporter, advocated for a ban on assault-style rifles used in school shootings, as well as stricter gun control laws in order to prevent these senseless killings.

"I think there's a capacity to find solutions on this that work," said Walz. "Protect Second Amendment, protect our children. That's our priority," he added, citing the clause of the US Constitution mentioning the “right to keep and bear arms,” along with “a well regulated Militia.”

Vance ascribed the problem to violence in “big cities,” even though Walz said that most gun deaths in his home state of Minnesota happen as a result of suicides in rural areas.

"(It) is the terrible gun violence problem in a lot of our big cities," said Vance. "And that is why we have to empower law enforcement to arrest the bad guys, put them away, and take gun offenders off the streets."

The cliffhanger question of the debate was when Walz asked Vance point-blank the question that many Americans have been wanting to hear answered, namely "if Trump lost the 2020 election," something the former president has repeatedly denied since he lost his reelection bid to President Joe Biden. But Vance did not answer the question, instead dodging it by throwing a question back at Walz about internet censorship over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Walz took the opportunity to send a clear message to the American people about his views on honoring and accepting the electoral process versus Trump's denialism.

"What I'm concerned about is, where is the firewall with Donald Trump? Where is the firewall if he knows he could do anything, including taking an election?" said Walz. "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 going to honor Donald Trump."

Despite their differences, both candidates were mostly civil and respectful to each other during the debate, which was aired live by CBS News.