JD Vance And Tim Walz Start Vice Presidential Debate By Sparring Over Who Is To Blame Over Crisis In The Middle East

Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) and Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) opened the vice presidential debate by sparring over who is responsible for the unfolding crisis in the Middle East.

House after Iranian missiles rained down on Israel, co-moderators Margaret Brennan asked the candidates whether they would support or oppose Israel making a pre-emptive strike on Tehran’s nuclear capabilities.

Walz did not directly answer the question, but used the time to attack Donald Trump‘s fitness for office, saying, “a nearly 80 year old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment.”

“It’s those that were closest to Donald Trump that understand how dangerous he is when the world is this dangerous,” Walz said, noting those who served in his administration who have warned about him, as well as Vance himself.

He blamed Trump for backing out of the Iran nuclear deal.

“Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than the were before because of Donald Trump’s fickle leadership,” Walz said.

Vance, meanwhile, said that Trump ushered in an era of stability, saying that he “recognized that for people to fear the United States, you needed peace through strength.”

“They needed to recognize that if they got out of line, the United States global leadership would put stability and peace back in the world,” he said.

Vance pinned blame on Harris for being part of an administration during a time when Iran ramped up its nuclear program.

The debate took place amid unfolding crises in the Middle East and the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, as networks interspersed their coverage with updates from correspondents in the field.

The candidates did shake hands before the debate began.

This will likely be the only debate between Vance and Walz — and perhaps the last election year face off this cycle. Donald Trump has so far refused another match up with Kamala Harris, who had accepted CNN’s plans for an Oct. 22 presidential debate. Trump and Harris have held just one debate, an ABC News-sponsored event on Sept. 10.

The candidates appeared in a network studio without an audience, with the political press corps watching on monitors in another part of the CBS Broadcast Center complex.

Typically, vice presidential debates have little impact on a presidential race. One of the more memorable moments came in 1988, when Democrat Lloyd Bentsen, Michael Dukakis’ running mate, dressed down Dan Quayle, the GOP nominee running with George H.W. Bush. “Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy,” Bentsen famously said to him. The Republican ticket went on to win in the general election, even though the moment has been forever linked to Quayle’s career.

This cycle, with polls showing the race in a dead heat, the debate could very well matter. Neither Walz or Vance had much of a national profile before they each were chosen as running mates, and pundits were largely left to guess how each would come across during the evening.