by Daniel J. Flynn
A smiling J.D. Vance shaking hands with a somber Tim Walz at the beginning of last night’s vice presidential debate was a preview of the feelings on both sides at the end of the 90-minute discussion.
Not only did Vance outshine Walz, but he also established himself as the only truly great debater among the four Republican and Democratic candidates. On Tuesday night, he defeated Walz, Margaret Brennan and Norah O’Donnell in another three-Liberal to one Conservative handicap match.
Asked to open a debate on whether he would support an Israeli pre-emptive strike against Iran, Walz dodged the question, and the Republican vice presidential candidate said America should side with its ally.
“Kamala Harris is not running as a novice in politics,” the Ohio native recalled in one of his more striking moments. “She is the incumbent vice president. If she wants to implement all these policies to make housing more affordable, I encourage her to employ the office Americans have already given her and not sit idly by, campaign and do nothing while Americans believe the American dream of home ownership is the house is completely inaccessible. “
Asked about lying about being in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square riots, Walz replied, “I grew up in small, rural Nebraska,” before mentioning riding a bike and supporting legislation that benefits veterans. The lack of an answer forced Brennan to ask the question again. “I was wrong about that,” he replied, before muddying the waters again: “I was in Hong Kong and China during the democracy protests.”
The Democratic vice presidential candidate strangely mentioned “women who had miscarriages” as a consequence of abortion restrictions. “I made friends with school shooters,” he said incorrectly during a discussion about gun control. When asked if he supported abortion in the ninth month of pregnancy, the Minnesotan responded it doesn’t follow fashion: “That’s not what the law says.” Several times, a shaky Walz spoke in a staccato style, suggesting he rely on rote lines. Occasionally he would pause awkwardly (e.g., “I am… co-chair of the Board of Governors”). The interruptions were never more uncomfortable than when he was trying to explain how to get out of the Tiananmen Square lie.
Moderators highlighted gun violence, global warming, health care, the child care crisis, abortion and Jan. 6 – issues generally positive for Democrats – and put inflation on the back burner. The polls forced moderators to ask a question about immigration, an issue that leans heavily toward Republicans, but they characteristically swung it toward Democrats by phrasing the question to emphasize that the federal government is separating immigrant families. Neither O’Donnell nor Brennan asked about crime, a curious omission considering Walz’s reign in Minnesota, when violent riots resulted in massive property destruction and the death of two people in the Twin Cities area.
Walz shined brightest in his final, rehearsed statement, pointing to a coalition that included Bernie Sanders, Dick Cheney and Taylor Swift supporting the optimism and opportunity of Kamala Harris’s candidacy. Vance shot back: “He has been vice president for three and a half years. Day one was 1,400 days ago, and her policies have made these problems worse.”
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Daniel J. Flynn, senior editor of The American Spectator, is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution for the 2024–2025 academic year. His books include Cult City: Harvey Milk, Jim Jones, and 10 Days That Shook San Francisco (ISI Books, 2018), Blue Collar Intellectuals: When the Enlightened and the Everyman Elevated America (ISI Books, 2011), A Conservative History of the American Left (Crown Forum, 2008) and Intellectual Morons: How Ideology Makes Smart People Get Stupid Ideas (Crown Forum, 2004). In 2025, he publishes his magnum opus, “The Man Who Invented Conservatism: The Incredible Life of Frank S. Meyer.” He divides his time between the Massachusetts town and his Vermont cabin.
