Takeaways from the Vance-Walz US vice-presidential debate

US Senator JD Vance, Republican Donald Trump's pick as his vice-presidential running mate, squared off against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who Democrat Kamala Harris tapped to be her No. 2, in a nationally televised debate on Tuesday.

The debate is likely the final one of the 2024 presidential campaign, potentially giving it some extra weight ahead of the November 5 election.

Here are some takeaways from the event in New York:

The brawl that wasn't

The debate was expected to be an ugly one.

Vance's advisers said the senator was going to tear into Walz for misrepresenting his military record and letting Minneapolis burn during riots in 2020. Walz was going to paint Vance as a spineless sycophant who changed his core beliefs to please Trump.

Instead, the candidates engaged in mostly cordial exchanges, a surprising change in tone after the contentious showdown between Harris and Trump just three weeks ago.

The two men frequently conceded that the other made good points. They thanked each other repeatedly.

"Whether you vote for me or vote for Tim Walz, I just want to say I'm so proud to be doing this," Vance said.

After the debate ended, they embraced, shaking hands and slapping each other on the back.

The lack of many heated moments means the debate will likely be quickly forgotten with five weeks to go until the election, suffering the fate of most vice-presidential debates.

Trump, however, couldn't let the amiable vibe last. Immediately after the debate, he posted on social media that "Walz was a Low IQ Disaster — Very much like Kamala."

MAGA smoothie

The Vance on stage was the one the Trump campaign had in mind when Trump selected him as his No. 2 in July.

The idea then was that the 40-year-old first-term senator and best-selling author of Hillbilly Elegy could serve as an articulate and rational voice for Trump’s Make American Great Again movement as well as perhaps one day become a generational torchbearer.

But instead Vance had a rocky roll-out on the campaign trail, becoming the target of online scorn and mockery while most often serving as Trump’s attack dog. The headlines were mostly negative, and his approval ratings suffered.

On Tuesday, Vance largely kept his message positive, while taking every opportunity to advocate for Trump.

He spoke about making the American dream “attainable once again". He deftly answered a question on climate change by making an argument for increased US energy production. He detailed the basis for Trump’s aggressive protectionist trade policies, saying the experts were “wrong” that increased foreign trade would boost the US middle class.

In doing so, Vance seemed to be succeeding at a vice-presidential running mate's primary task: Making the candidate at the top of the ticket more palatable to the viewers at home — no easy job when it comes to Trump.

It was clear as the evening progressed, that was the goal of the Trump campaign in this debate, not trying to smear Walz. As one strategist said before the debate, people don't vote for the vice presidential nominee.

Drawing some blood

To the extent the debate grew heated at all, it was at the very end, when most Americans likely had switched away from the face-off or gone to sleep.

Walz demanded that Vance agree to abide by the results of the election and commit to a peaceful transfer of power. And he asked Vance whether Trump lost the 2020 election.

"Tim, I'm focused on the future," Vance replied.

"That is a damning non-answer," Walz shot back.

Walz noted that Vance was only on the stage because Trump cut ties with his former vice-president, Mike Pence, for certifying the results of the last election.

Vance did not answer the question about whether Trump, who continues to falsely claim the 2020 election was marred by widespread fraud, lost four years ago. The exchange served as a reminder of one of Trump's biggest vulnerabilities heading into the election, one that the Harris campaign will continue to highlight in the coming weeks.

Bob and weave at the opening bell

The first question of the debate related to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, asking both men if they would support a preemptive strike by Israel on Iran to disrupt the development of the latter's nuclear programme.

Neither candidate was eager to answer.

A visibly nervous Walz dodged the question, pivoting to a critique of Trump's record during his four years in office.

"What's fundamental here is that steady leadership is going to matter," Walz said. "It's clear, and the world saw it on that debate stage a few weeks ago, a nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment."

Vance dove into a description of his personal biography before eventually circling back to the question.

Vance said a second Trump administration would support Israel's decision on the matter. But not before he offered an extended defense of Trump's foreign policy, characterising his time in office as extraordinarily peaceful.

The 'Harris administration'

Joe Biden has been president of the US for almost four years, but you would never have known that listening to Vance. And that was by design.

“I was wrong about Donald Trump,” Vance said, adding Trump “delivered for the American people” on a lot of things “that I didn’t think he’d be able to deliver on.”

• World