Walz, Vance throw verbal punches in 1st vice presidential debate

By Darren Lyn

HOUSTON, US (AA) - US vice presidential candidates Tim Walz and JD Vance held no punches Tuesday night as they took the stage in New York for their first debate around five weeks before the 2024 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.

"The person closest to them…to Donald Trump…said he's unfit for the highest office. That was Senator Vance," said Walz.

Vance rebutted by clarifying why he flip-flopped his opinion on Trump.

"I was wrong about Donald Trump," he said.

"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 added.

On the Middle East, Walz 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 toward 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.

Vance circled around the topic by attacking Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden for their lax policies that have allowed millions of illegal immigrants into the US, including violent criminals.

On the topic of abortion, Walz criticized the Trump administration for overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, now making it states' decisions to determine if abortions should be legal. He said if Democrats win the election, they will reinstate Roe v. Wade, making it a federal policy to legalize abortion once again.

"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 as a democracy sometimes is, is to let voters make these decisions, let the individual states make their abortion policy."

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