Tim Waltz and JD Vance Vice Presidential Debate | CBS News
The United States Vice Presidential Debate happened on Tuesday, Oct. 1 between JD Vance and Tim Walz. This is set to be the last debate for both campaigns before the election in November. They debated about many topics throughout the night, ranging from foreign policy to abortion. Here is everything a college student needs to know.
Abortion
The topic of Abortion was brought up throughout the night. With Tim Walz being a staunch believer of reproductive rights, while JD Vance is not.
Tim Walz’s main point on the argument is that it is far more dangerous to not allow abortions. He told the story of a woman who went to North Carolina after not being allowed to get an abortion in her home state, despite her life being at risk. She died during the trip.
Other news reports of the debate, like The New York Times, go into detail on the stories of these women who suffered under abortion bans.
Vance claimed that his stance on abortions had changed, following the people of Ohio voting for the right to abortion. He claims that it is important to earn back America's trust and to let them decide if they want abortion.
“What I take from that as a Republican who proudly wants to protect innocent life in this country,” Vance explained. “My party, we have got to do [a better job] at earning the American people’s trust back on this issue. Where they frankly just don’t trust us.”
This moment left Wright State University students who were monitoring the debate confused.
“I want to believe him,” chemistry major Gabriel Adams said. “But at the same time, the actual actions of his party [and the] things they say at rallies just do not add up. You can tell me that you want me to trust Donald Trump. But how am I supposed to based on his actions?”
With abortion being a hot button issue, voters will just have to wait and see whether or not each party is able to make good on their campaign promises.
Immigration
Another controversial issue for the debate was immigration. With Trump and Vance’s bold claims from the town Springfield Ohio, voters were on the edge of their seats, waiting for what was to come of this point.
It got very tense for a moment, with the moderators and Vance going head to head over fact checking, which led to his microphone being muted. This left certain residents of the town feeling anger, as they feel Vance claimed no responsibility.
“He and Trump made things ten times worse,” concerned citizen Olivia King said. “The fact that he is still arguing is pathetic. He is showing that he doesn’t actually care about Springfield citizens because if he did he’d at least say he’s sorry for causing the media circus.”
The topic of the Middle East was also discussed, but neither candidate could answer what they would do about it.
Takeaways
All in all, this debate was weirdly polite. This surprised students, as the presidential debate had been so explosive. Both men agreed with each other on many issues throughout the night.
Some students were even disappointed the debate was so calm, like marketing major Hannah Layton.
“It was honestly kind of boring. I thought that there was going to be more arguing, but they were honestly kind of chill,” Layton said.
Election Day is Nov. 5th and polls will open at 6:30 a.m. and be closed by 7:30 p.m.
