(CNN) — The vice presidential debate between Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was something that’s become increasingly rare in modern American politics: Normal.
In an event that is unlikely to change the trajectory of the presidential race, the two VP candidates were cordial with each other, training their attacks instead on the tops of the opposing tickets and focusing largely on policy differences. Vance repeatedly hit Vice President Kamala Harris on border security, while Walz lambasted former President Donald Trump on abortion rights. Vance was the Republican ticket’s younger face and more polite voice.
Unlike Trump, he pronounced Harris’ first name correctly. He referred to his opponent by his title. He didn’t often whine about the moderators — though Trump did so during the debate on Truth Social.
The Ohio senator also largely passed on opportunities to litigate the details of Walz’s own biography. Walz — who was noticeably less comfortable on stage than Vance — settled in after a nervous start. He cast Trump as a liar who ignores experts and rejects truths he finds unfavorable.
“Look, if you’re going to be president, you don’t have all the answers,” he said. “Donald Trump believes he does.” Here are two takeaways from the first and only scheduled vice presidential debate of the 2024 election: During a debate over immigration and border security, Walz invoked Vance’s false claims about Haitian immigrants eating the pets of r.