Vance, Walz face off over immigration, abortion in vice presidential debate

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, met on the debate stage for the first and only vice presidential debate before the November general elections. Walz and Vance put on a different display than the one between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris last month. The pair showed what appeared to be a level of cordiality and respectful disagreement toward one another during the crossfire. After the debate, the opponents shook hands, introduced their spouses, and held a brief, friendly discussion.

While vice presidents have less say than the president in the policy priorities of an administration, the way they frame issues can help shape party expectations and tone for years—especially if they end up becoming a presidential candidate in the future.

Here’s what the two vice presidential candidates had to say on the nation’s most pressing issues.

Immigration

Immigration remains a top issue for voters as migration surges strain local resources across the country. In his Sept. 10 debate with Harris, Trump called attention to the challenges of migration in communities such as Springfield, Ohio, which is coping with an influx of Haitian migrants. Trump and Vance repeated rumors that the Haitians were eating people’s pets. On Tuesday, Vance only referenced Springfield as a town whose resources are overwhelmed by the sharp rise in migrants entering the country under the Biden administration.

Harris has approached immigration by promising to “secure the border,” a traditionally Republican talking point.

Vance returned to the issue of immigration throughout the debate, noting specifically how the rise in migrants strains local resources. He alleged that migrants contribute to the housing shortage and undercut American jobs, and suggested implementing mass deportations with a focus on migrants with criminal records. He also noted the heightened dangers Americans face from an open southern border because of gangs smuggling drugs and guns. He added, “I’ve been to the southern border more than our border czar,” referencing Harris.

Walz blamed fentanyl entering from the southern border for fueling the opioid crisis and pointed to Harris’ experience prosecuting transnational gangs while serving as California’s attorney general. He also accused Republicans of vilifying migrants and alleged that Trump intentionally derailed a bipartisan immigration bill earlier this year to preserve the immigration crisis as an election year talking point. When someone doesn't want to solve a problem, they demonize it, he said. Walz further called for dignity and respect for migrants, citing Matthew 25:40 as a Biblical mandate.

The economy

The economy remains the top priority for voters with as many as 81 percent of respondents telling the Pew Research Center last month it is a “very important” issue for them. Since 2022, the Federal Reserve has increased interest rates to try to slow inflation, but last month, it signaled a switch in its priorities as it cut rates for the first time in four years.

Vance noted that the inflation spike and the housing crisis came under Harris’ leadership. Harris had the chance to enact economic policies, but instead, she’s driven up the cost of food and housing and made middle-class life unaffordable, he said. Vance proposed bringing businesses and production back to the United States to quell rising inflation. He also proposed lowering the cost of energy with domestic fossil fuel production to kickstart the domino effect of lowering production prices. America needs to return to common sense economic principles, he said.

Walz emphasized building up the middle class to strengthen the economy, beginning with ending the housing crisis. He described Harris’ plan to build millions of new houses and help prospective homeowners cover a down payment. People with stable housing have stable jobs, he said. Walz also emphasized the importance of getting small businesses off the ground and assured voters that most tax cuts would go to middle-class families. Walz described himself as a union man who didn’t want to ship business overseas but said outsourcing is necessary to have fair trade partners. The governor erroneously claimed that the largest trade deficit took place under the Trump administration.

Abortion

Democrats are tightly focusing their pro-abortion message this campaign season, with Harris promising to make Roe v. Wade the law of the land. Trump has disappointed many conservatives by adopting a states-first approach while pledging to veto federal pro-life protections if they reach his desk.

The topic of abortion brought a heated back-and-forth exchange between the candidates, with Vance questioning Walz on signing an abortion law that he said fails to require doctors to perform lifesaving measures on babies who survive botched abortions. That’s not how the law was written, Walz responded, giving no further explanation into how he thought Vance misrepresented the statute.

Vance insisted that the GOP needs to regain voters’ trust on the issue of abortion and be pro-family in the fullest sense of the word. He advocated for more affordable fertility treatments, more family support measures from the government, and to allow state citizens to decide their own abortion laws. He also insisted that he never supported a national, federal ban on abortion.

For his part, Walz focused heavily on pregnancy complications within states that legally protect babies from abortion. He gave several examples when arguing for abortion and abortion-adjacent procedures, including a Kentucky child who became pregnant after she was raped by a family member and a Texas woman who developed sepsis, a life-threatening pregnancy complication. He also argued that states should not decide their own abortion laws, citing doctors who refuse to perform procedures on pregnant women during medical emergencies out of legal concerns.

Jan. 6 and Trump’s cases

The debate comes as special prosecutor Jack Smith informed the U.S. District Court of Washington, D.C., that he would submit new evidence in Trump’s ongoing election interference case that accuses him of having purposefully called on his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The calculus of the case changed this past June when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that presidents have absolute immunity from prosecution on matters related to their official duties.

When asked about Trump’s objections to the validity of the 2020 election, Vance admitted he believed there were “issues” with the votes. He further insisted that Trump encouraged supporters to march peacefully to the Capitol, adding his personal belief that issues should be debated peacefully and publicly. He also said that Democrats contested previous elections without issue, noting that Hillary Clinton blamed Russian interference for her 2016 loss. Vance shifted attention to censorship and billed it as a threat to democracy. The government and Big Tech censoring speech online propagates even deeper political divides and sharply contrasts with the age-old American concept of free speech, Vance argued.

Walz insisted that Jan. 6 was a serious threat to democracy and should not be overlooked. When the election is over, candidates need to shake hands and agree that the winner is the winner, he added. Trump’s 34-count felony conviction never came up during the debate.

Conflicts abroad

The debate comes just one day after Israel announced ongoing ground incursions into Lebanon’s territory, targeting Hezbollah, a militant group backed by Iran. In response, Iran fired roughly 200 missiles at Israel on Tuesday, hours before the debate. Also, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to Washington D.C., last week, pitching an endgame to the war in Ukraine to the White House and congressional leadership.

Discussion around Israel’s conflicts with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran began and ended with the first question of the night.

Vance insisted that the United States should support Israel in whatever defense measures it sees fit to take. He also emphasized the importance of the United States exercising peace through strength in Middle Eastern affairs, describing Trump as a strong leader. 

Walz described Israel’s ability to defend itself and free the hostages as fundamental, adding that bringing an end to the Gaza humanitarian crisis is also essential. It’s essential for the United States to have steady leadership in the Middle East, and Harris provides that steady leadership, he said.