Alert – VP debate live updates: CBS hosts accused of being ‘obnoxious’ and ‘biased’ in Vance-Walz showdown

Donald Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance outperformed his Democratic rival Tim Walz in their one and only debate of the 2024 race, according to DailyMail.com’s exclusive snap poll.

The high-stakes showdown on CBS just 35 days before the general election was a chance for the vice presidential picks to prove their credentials to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

The candidates tangled over abortion, immigration, gun violence and the Middle East and took plenty of opportunities to present each other as extreme or ‘weird’.

They also bigged up their bosses, Trump and Kamala Harris, in the midst of the final campaign sprint in what is shaping up to be one of the closest races in decades.

But it was Vance who left the best impression with viewers, after a strong start against his nervy opponent and despite dodging a question on if Trump lost the 2020 election.

According to the DailyMail.com/J.L Partners poll of 801 likely voters, 50 percent said Vance won the debate compared to just 43 percent who said Walz was the victor.

By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

Pundits and commentators online were not all pleased with the CBS News host’s performance during the debate.

Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan chose to selectively fact-check J.D. Vance and Tim Walz. They even had a fiery exchange with Vance when he tried to explain an immigration process in length and the hosts raised their voices at the Republican to get him to quiet down.

Eventually, Vance’s mic was muted.

‘F you CBS – how dare you,’ conservative show host Megyn Kelly tweeted. ‘Tried to fact check. JD put you in your place. You won’t him fight you and you wont let them debate.’

‘JD Vance called out the moderators for lying to the audience, and CBS immediately muted him. Legacy media is clearly controlled by the Democrats,’ a user on X wrote.

Fox News’s Bret Baier said: ‘And there was some, you know, questions about fact-checking and whether it was fair and balanced across the way,’ and his co-host Brit Hume later responded: ‘The moderators were obnoxious and made it feel like three-on-one on Vance, and Vance was just fine.’

Linsey Davis said about the VP debate that it ‘kind of reminded me of the June 27th debate when Kamala Harris said of Joe Biden it was a slow start, but a strong finish.’

Biden dropped out of the race just a few weeks later after massive backlash for appearing ‘confused and old’ throughout.

Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent in New York

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett suggested Gov. Tim Walz said she was ‘not concerned’ by the vice presidential nominee saying he was ‘friends with school shooters,’ a flub he made during Tuesday night’s VP debate.

‘I did hear that. No, I’m not concerned,’ she told DailyMail.com in the spin room.

She pointed out that public speaking is often a top fear and that Walz was less experienced in debate than his rival, Republican Sen. J.D. Vance.

‘This was a nerve-wracking thing,’ she said. ‘And I mean, when you think about it, especially coming in as the Democratic nominee, we know that there was a complete shift in our ticket after a debate.’

‘That’s a lot of pressure,’ she added.

President Joe Biden bowed out of the 2024 race in July after bombing his debate with Trump in late June.

‘I think the average person knows he didn’t become friend with school shooters,’ Crockett said. ‘Half of them have been killed. But nevertheless, I mean, I know that they know it was a mistake.’

‘And I just don’t think that it’s, it’s a big deal,’ she added.

The ‘school shooters’ gaffe quickly became one of the most viral moments of the vice presidential debate, which took place Tuesday night at the CBS headquarters in New York City.

Sen. J.D. Vance said during the vice presidential debate on Tuesday that Republicans needed to do a better job of talking about abortion, as many women did not feel like they had a choice.

To illustrate his point, he brought up a woman who was ‘very dear’ to him that had an abortion in his community.

Donald Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance and Kamala Harris’ running mate Tim Walz went head-to-head in a high stakes vice presidential debate on Tuesday night just 35 days before the 2024 election.

It was the first time Vance and Walz came face-to-face on the debate stage as some voters have already cast ballots across the country for what could be one of the closest presidential elections in U.S. history.

The debate was hosted by CBS News in New York City and moderated by anchors Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan.

During the showdown, the Ohio senator and Minnesota governor faced tough questions about where they stand on the issues as they could be first in line for the presidency if elected in November.

The debate remained largely civil with the candidates sparring over policy rather than lobbing personal attacks in what is likely to be their only showdown.

Here are the big takeaways from the vice presidential debate:

Donald Trump said he won’t do another debate with Kamala Harris.

He claims it’s too late in the election cycle.

Harris accepted an offer from CNN to debate Trump on October 23rd but Trump declined.

‘I beat Biden, I then beat her, and I’m not looking to do it again, too far down the line. Votes are already cast – And I’m leading BIG in the Polls,’ he wrote on Truth Social after the vice presidential debate wrapped.

Tim Walz and wife Gwen stopped by Justino’s Pizzeria in New York City following his appearance in the vice presidential debate.

They picked out a pepperoni pizza, per the pool reporter.

Walz ignored shouted questions from the press.

J.D. Vance stopped by Sean Hannity’s show on Fox after the debate wrapped.

Hannity asked him if thought Tim Walz was nervous.

Vance had a kind response.

‘I didn’t notice. My adrenaline was going so much I was nervous.’

‘I do a lot of these interviews but I was nervous and this was the biggest stage of my life so I didn’t focus much on his demeanour. I just tried to focus on what he was saying, and to be fair to Tim Walz, he had a very tough job – he had to defend the policies of Kamala Harris,’ he added.

‘He did have a tough job,’ Hannity agreed.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

The vice-presidential debate had one moment that neither presidential debate featured: a sweet moment at the end between the candidates and their spouses.

Usha Vance and Gwen Walz took to the stage once their husbands had their final handshake to greet their spouses. Then the two couples chatted with each other: J.D. Vance and Usha shaking hands with Tim Walz and Gwen.

These kinds of cordial moments are usually traditional at the end of political debates.

But Melania Trump was absent from both of Donald Trump’s debates – his first with Joe Biden and his second with Kamala Harris. And while Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff were there to greet their spouses, each time, Trump walked off stage alone.

Sen. J.D. Vance and Gov. Tim Walz came face-to-face for the first time Tuesday night in an eventful debate hosted by CBS News.

The two vice presidential hopefuls sparred over abortion, immigration and the economy.

They also went after each other for differing approaches to foreign policy – as the Middle East is at the brink of all-out war after Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel.

One standout moment occurred when CBS debate moderator Margaret Brennan live fact-checked J.D. Vance, 40, over his comments on Haitian immigrants living in Springfield, Ohio.

That prompted an angry response from Trump’s running mate, who fired back and then had his mic cut, sparking outrage by viewers accusing CBS of ‘bias.’

Walz, 60, also disclosed that his own 17-year-old son witnessed a shooting at a school community center, in a harrowing tale about nationwide gun violence.

It sparked a rare moment of consensus on behalf of both candidates, who agreed schools must be safe havens for American children.

And social media users swooned over Vance’s ‘gorgeous blue’ eyes as he tackled the questions posed by the moderators.

DailyMail.com spoke to several political experts to get their takeaways about who emerged victorious:

Social media marveled at JD Vance’s ‘pretty eyes’ as Google searches for eyeliner exploded during his VP debate against Tim Walz.

The high-stakes showdown between GOP Sen. J.D. Vance and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz comes with just 35 days left until the election and with polls showing it could be one of the closest races in decades.

However, some on X getting a first look at Vance seemed entranced by the Ohio Senator’s eyes.

Even Democrats seemed taken with Vance, one writing: ‘I don’t know much about Vance, but I’m entranced by his icy blue eyes,’ before clarifying she wasn’t voting for him.

Another added: ‘Definitely having a girly moment….but JD Vance has such pretty eyes!!’

Tim Walz was slammed online for a comment he made during the debate about becoming friends with school shooters.

‘I’ve become friends with school shooters,’ Walz said when talking about the school shootings and defending why he changed his mind on gun laws.

Walz’ comment came right after he said he had sat down with the families of victims. It appeared he misspoke, but that did not stop some from seizing on the remark.

‘My daughter was killed in the Parkland school shooting. It’s absolutely abhorrent that Tim Walz has befriended school shooters. Disqualifying,’ wrote Andrew Pollack on X.

Analyzing Tim Walz’s sometimes stuttering debate performance, CNN’s Dana Bash said:

I think he had done too much preparation. He had some many lines he was clearly trying to say.

I think the lack of interviews he has done with local media, with national media, it showed

JD Vance responded to a question about the January 6th riots on Capitol Hill by criticizing Democrats who also complained that Donald Trump stole the election in 2016 with the help of Vladimir Putin because of Russian funded Facebook ads.

Vance then pivoted to a talking point about Kamala Harris supporting the government censorship of free speech on social media.

‘January 6th was not Facebook ads,’ Walz replied, calling his answer ‘revisionist history.’

After Walz asked Vance if Trump lost the 2020 election, Vance began to speak about government censorship again.

‘That is a damning non-answer,’ Walz replied.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

Tim Walz named dropped Taylor Swift in his closing statement of the vice presidential debate.

‘I’m surprised as anybody of this coalition that Kamala Harris has built: from Bernie Sanders to Dick Cheney to Taylor Swift. Many folks in between all of that. They don’t all agree on everything but they are truly optimistic people,’ he said.

His comment was a subtle dig at Vance, who mocked ‘childless cat ladies’ in a 2021 interview that resurfaced during this year’s presidential race.

Singer Taylor Swift, when she endorsed Harris last month, signed her endorsement as a ‘childless cat lady.’

Tim Walz brought up the tragic case of Amber Thurman, a 28-year-old Georgia woman who died seeking abortion related care to challenge the Trump position on a state-by-state approach to abortion restrictions.

The matter is a top issue after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs decision.

‘Georgia has a different viewpoint from Arizona, and the proper way to handle this, as messy as democracy sometimes is, is to let voters make these decisions, let the individual states make their abortion policy,’ said Vance.

Walz in response brought up Thurman, who died at 28 while seeking treatment for complications from abortion medication.

‘She happened to be in Georgia, a restricted state. Because of that, she had to travel a long distance to North Carolina to try and get her care. Amber Thurman died in that journey back and forth,’ Walz said. ‘How can we as a nation say that your life and your rights, as basic as a right to control your own body is determined on geography? There’s a very real chance that Amber Thurman lived in Minnesota, she would be alive today,’ he said.

Then Walz accused Vance of backing a national abortion ban.

J.D. Vance refused to answer whether he believed Donald Trump had the 2020 election stolen from him.

The moderators of the debate had asked him and Tim Walz about the January 6th attack on the Capitol when Walz turned to Vance and asked of Trump: ‘Did he lose the 2020 election?’

‘Tim, I’m focused on the future,’ Vance said. ‘Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 covid situation?’

‘That is a that is a non-answer,’ Walz responded.

Vance shot back: ‘It’s a non-answer for you to not talk about censorship.’

The Republican running mate went on to add: ‘Obviously, Donald Trump and I think that there were problems in 2020. We’ve talked about it. I’m happy to talk about it further. But you guys attack us for not believing in democracy. The most sacred right under the United States democracy is the first amendment.’

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

Donald Trump attacked CBS’ Norah O’Donnell as the vice presidential debate barrelled toward a close on Tuesday night.

‘I thought Norah was fired from CBS for Low Ratings. Why is she still on?,’ he wrote on this Truth Social account.

In July, O’Donnell said she would step down as anchor of CBS Evening News after the November election.

She said she is staying with CBS News to contribute interviews and other stories but her new role has not been fully defined.

Trump has been on a tear about O’Donnell and her debate co-moderator Margaret Brennan.

By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

Donald Trump slammed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for claiming he has made friends with school shooters.

‘Did tampon Tim just say he has ‘become friends with school shooters?’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social app.

‘He isn’t even qualified to be governor, let alone Vice President. Walz and Kamala do not have what it takes!’

Earlier in the evening Walz said: ‘I’ve become friends with school shooters.’

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

Tim Walz defended Obamacare during a back-and-forth with J.D. Vance on healthcare policy.

‘Here’s where being an old guy gives you some history. I was there at the creation of the ACA,’ he said of the Affordable Care Act.

Walz, 60, was a member of Congress in 2010 and voted in favor of the landmark healthcare bill that Barack Obama signed into law.

He claimed that if Donald Trump wins the presidency then people will ‘lose your pre-existing conditions.’

‘What they’re saying is if you’re healthy, why should you be paying more? So what they’re going to do is let insurance companies pick who they insure. Because guess what happens? You pay your premium. It’s not much. They figure they’re not going to have to pay out to you. But those of you a little older, gray, got cancer, you’re going to get kicked out of it,’ Walz warned.

Vance said Republicans would keep the protections for pre-existing conditions in place.

‘We currently have laws and regulations in place in place right now that protect people with preexisting conditions. We want to keep those regulations in place, but we also want to make the health insurance marketplace function a little bit better,’ he said.

The Republican ticket has not released a detailed plan of what they would use to replace Obamacare.

Trump, when asked about it in the presidential debate, said: ‘I have concepts of a plan.’

By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

Vice Presidential candidates J.D. Vance and Tim Walz agreed that schools need to be safer for children as school shootings continue to rock the U.S. before the Democrat made a stunning admission.

‘I got a 17-year-old and he witnessed a shooting at a community center playing volleyball,’ Walz said of his son Gus, 17. ‘Those things don’t leave you.’

Vance was shocked by the story and immediately offered his condolences.

‘I didn’t know your 17-year-old witnessed a shooting. I’m sorry about that. Christ have mercy. It is awful,’ the Republican said.

The rare moment of bipartisan agreement came just over an hour into the vice presidential debate.

‘I don’t want my kids to go to school in a school that feels unsafe … we have to increase security in our schools,’ Vance said. ‘I think that Governor Walz and I actually probably agree that we need to do better on this. The question is just how we actually do it.’

‘We have to make the doors lock better. We have to make the doors stronger. We’ve got to make the windows stronger, and of course, we’ve got to increase school resource officers, because the idea that we can magically wave a wand and take guns out of the hands of bad guys, it just doesn’t fit with recent experience. So we’ve got to make our schools safer.’

Tim Walz made an unfortunate gaffe during the debate with J.D. Vance by claiming he has ‘become friends with school shooters’.

Kamala Harris’ running mate was discussing gun violence with his opponent when they began discussing recent shootings in classrooms.

He first said his 17-year-old son Gus had witnessed a shooting at a school volleyball game.

Then he made the slip of the tongue.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

J.D. Vance and Tim Walz sparred for several minutes over abortion policy in their tense vice presidential debate.

Vance, the Republican running mate, criticized Walz for a law he signed as Minnesota governor that he said doesn’t require doctors to give life-giving care to a baby they abort but is viable.

‘That’s not true,’ Walz snapped back. He went on to talk about how restoring abortion rights doesn’t mean a decrease in funding for children.

‘Once a child is born, like in Minnesota, they get meals, they get early childhood education, they get health care so the hiding behind we’re going to do all these other things when you’re not proposing them in your budget. Kamala Harris is proposing them. She’s proposing all those things to make life easier for families,’ he said.

Vance snapped back: ‘I asked a specific question, governor. You gave me a slogan as a response.’

Democrats believe abortion rights is one of their best issues to get their voting base – particularly women – out to vote in November.

Walz mentioned specific women in Texas, Kentucky and Georgia who have gone through personal tragedy as they tried to navigate those state’s abortion laws.

‘This is about health care,’ he said.

Vance seemed to acknowledge Republicans have some work to do on the issue.

‘We’ve got to do so much better a job at earning Americans’ trust back,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump weighed in via his Truth Social platform.

‘EVERYONE KNOWS I WOULD NOT SUPPORT A FEDERAL ABORTION BAN, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, AND WOULD, IN FACT, VETO IT, BECAUSE IT IS UP TO THE STATES TO DECIDE BASED ON THE WILL OF THEIR VOTERS,’ he wrote in all caps.

‘LIKE RONALD REAGAN BEFORE ME, I FULLY SUPPORT THE THREE EXCEPTIONS FOR RAPE, INCEST, AND THE LIFE OF THE MOTHER. I DO NOT SUPPORT THE DEMOCRATS RADICAL POSITION OF LATE TERM ABORTION LIKE, AS AN EXAMPLE, IN THE 7TH, 8TH, OR 9TH MONTH OR, IN CASE THERE IS ANY QUESTION, THE POSSIBILITY OF EXECUTION OF THE BABY AFTER BIRTH. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!,’ he added.

Gov. Tim Walz tried to explain why he lied about being in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square protests in June 1989 by trying to dismiss his comment as the product of being a ‘knucklehead.’

He began by reminding the audience that he was from a small rural town in Nebraska and admitted to being a ‘knucklehead at times’ but finally conceded he ‘mispoke’ about being in the country during the protests.

When asked to clarify his comment, he repeated he was in the country during the ‘summer’ of the protests, even though he did not arrive there until August.

The pro-Democracy protests Tiananmen Square were squashed by the Chinese government in June.

Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent

Vice presidential debate moderator Margaret Brennan fact-checked J.D. Vance, noting during Tuesday night’s debate that the Haitian immigrants living in Springfield, Ohio were in the country legally.

That prompted an angry response from the Republican vice presidential nominee and ended up with both candidates getting their mics cut.

During a back-and-forth on immigration, Vance talked about how the Haitians were overwhelming resources in the Ohio community.

‘Thank you governor, and just to clarify, for our viewers, Springfield, Ohio does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status, temporary protected status,’ Brennan inserted.

After moderators fact-checked former President Donald Trump in a lopsided manner during his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris last month, CBS said there would be no live fact-checking Tuesday night – instead providing audiences with a QR Code where fact-checks would be provided online.

‘Thank you, Margaret. The rules were that you guys weren’t going to fact-check and since you’re fact-checking me, I think it’s important to say what’s actually going on,’ Vance said.

He then pushed that obtaining a particular type of visa was easy under the Biden Administration and migrants could be ‘granted legal status at the wave of a Kamala Harris open border wand.’

‘Thank you, senator, for describing the legal process,’ Brennan curtly responded.

When Vance, and Democratic VP nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, kept speaking on the subject, their mics were cut.

‘Gentlemen the audience can’t hear you because your mics are cut,’ Brennan told them. ‘We have so much we want to get to.’

J.D. Vance said he had seen a heartbreaking photograph from Hurricane Helene.

I saw today a photograph of two grandparents on a roof with a 6-year-old child. It was the last photograph taken of them as the roof collapsed and those innocent people lost their lives. I join Governor Walz that our prayers go out to them.

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

It didn’t take long for Donald Trump rip into what he was seeing live TV. Trump, who spoke earlier for more than an hour at two separate events in Wisconsin, began by going after the moderators, before hurling repeated insults at Tim Walz.

‘Both young ladies have been extremely biased Anchors!’ Trump wrote about Margaret Brennan and Norah O’Donnell.

He cheered J.D. Vance’s defense of his foreign policy leadership. ‘A great defense of me and the Administration of fake charges made by an obviously not very bright Governor,’ wrote Trump throwing out his first insult of the night.

Then he called out Walz for looking down and scribbling, following a shaky first answer. ‘Walz is taking so many notes – Never seen a Candidate take more! He needs the notes to keep his brain intact,’ said Trump.

‘JD is steady and strong, Tampon Tim is sweating bullets, he is nervous and “weird”, Trump said using an insult he uses on the stump.

‘JD is doing GREAT – A different level of Intelligence from Tampon Tim!’ Trump wrote in another.

By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

JD Vance was offered the first questions of the evening regarding the U.S. southern border.

‘You’ve got to reimplement Donald Trump’s border policies, build the wall, reimplement deportations … we’ve got 20, 25 million illegal aliens who are here in the country,’ Vance said.

He also mentioned how minors are used as ‘drug mules’ after the CBS Host Margaret Brennan questioned Vance about it.

The Republican continued to rip Harris’s performance in his response, claiming she neglected to fix problems that began early in Biden’s tenure that led to millions of illegal crossings.

Walz, when pressed, decried Republicans who tanked a bipartisan border bill earlier this year.

The Democrat also laid out how as president Harris could enact new policies, though Vance pointed out she should be advocating such moves while she is now in power.

Gov. Tim Walz used a lot of his time when his opponent was speaking to take notes during the vice presidential debate on Tuesday.

As Vance spoke, Walz grimaced and furrowed his brow as he took notes. From time to time, Vance would look up

with an unblinking grimace on his face as he looked at Vance.

J.D. Vance’s blue eyes are distracting some debate watchers from what he’s actually saying at the vice presidential showdown.

‘I am having a hard time hearing what JD Vance is saying. His dreamy eyes have entranced me. GORGEOUS eyes,’ wrote one X user.

Both Vance and Tim Walz are being shown on camera throughout the debate even as their rival is speaking.

From Rob Crilly, Chief U.S. Political Correspondent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Donald Trump promised Tuesday to turn his return to the site of his attempted assassination into a celebration of the life of firefighter Corey Comperatore, who died after being struck by the gunman’s bullet.

Trump will appear before supporters in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

‘It’s going to be a really big event, and it’s going to be something,’ Trump told reporters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ‘We’ll celebrate the life of Corey.’

Trump spoke for an hour-and-half on Tuesday evening, showing no sign of ceding the limelight to his running mate J.D. Vance as he prepared for his vice-presidential debate.

The former president held forth on the cost of living crisis, school choice and bloodshed in the Middle East.

Gov Tim Walz just accused Trump of demeaning American soldiers by dismissing ‘traumatic brain injuries’ as headaches.

You don’t need to go back to 2020 to check whether or not this is true. Trump said it again this evening, when he was asked about Iran wounding American troops back then.

What does injured mean? Injured means … You mean because they had a headache, because the bombs never hit the fort.

In fact 34 personnel had injuries, and 17 were so severe they were evacuated to Germany for observation and treatment.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent

Former President Donald Trump set the table to accuse vice presidential debate moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan of bias just two minutes into Tuesday’s vice presidential debates.

‘Both young ladies have been extremely biased Anchors!’ he posted to Truth Social before O’Donnell or Brennan even started their questioning.

In the past, Trump has mocked Brennan’s Face the Nation, calling it ‘Deface the Nation.’

‘The CBS no name (host)ess, and other guest, Peter Baker of the Failing New York Times were totally biased, boring and wrong (as usual!),’ the then-president claimed in a 2019 tweet.

O’Donnell and Brennan are moderating the CBS vice presidential debate between Democrat Tim Walz and Republican J.D. Vance.

Sen. JD Vance repeatedly referred to the ‘Kamala Harris administration,’ during the Vice Presidential debate Tuesday night.

During a question about the attacks on Israel from Iran, Vance referred to the ‘Kamala Harris administration.’

At another point, Vance referred to a problem occurring ‘during the administration of Kamala Harris.’

Vance is drawing attention to Harris as the incumbent without focusing as much attention on President Joe Biden.

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

JD Vance issued a defense of his running mate Donald Trump after Tim Walz accused him of ‘fickle leadership.’

‘Diplomacy is not a dirty word,’ Vance said.

‘You yourself just said Iran is as close to a nuclear weapon today as they have ever been, and Governor Walz blamed Donald Trump. Who has been the vice president for the last three and a half years?’ he asked.

‘When Iran and Hamas and their proxies attacked Israel, it was during the administration of Kamala Harris,’ he continued. ‘So Governor Walz can criticize Donald Trump’s tweets, but effective, smart diplomacy and peace through strength is how you bring stability back to a very broken world,’ Vance said.

Vance and Trump have each been trying to hang unpopular Biden administration positions on Harris. Walz himself referred to the ‘Harris administration in his answer on clean energy and climate change.

Vance calls for a ‘robust and aggressive’ federal response to the hurricane.

He also claims the ex-president supports clean air and water but slams democrats over efforts to address climate change.

Walz responded that Trump has called climate change a ‘hoax.’

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

J.D. Vance and Tim Walz took to the debate stage on Tuesday night, shaking hands before taking their spots on stage.

The two vice presidential candidates walked on stage at 8:58 pm.

‘Good to meet you,’ Vance said as they exchanged greetings.

Vance asked if he could shake Walz’s hand on the air again, and Walz agreed.

And so they did once they were introduced by moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan.

The first question was on the Middle East – particularly Iran attacking Israel – and went to Walz.

The Democratic presidential nominee was shaky in his response.

He fumbled when talking about Israel’s right to defend itself. And stuttered when trying to incorporate attacks on Donald Trump and Vance in his question.

There were several ‘uhs’ sprinkled in his response and he was choppy as tried to answer the question while attacking his Republican rivals.

By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

Republican Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance posted a last-second update on X before the debate kicked off.

‘I’m handing the keys to my account over to my staff for the next few hours,’ he said of his social media account, confirming he really is the author behind his posts.

‘Tune in … and follow along here for updates!’

He continued: ‘Looking forward to a great debate tonight.’

The Tim Walz motorcade arrived at the debate location around 8:45pm ET.

As he arrived, a group of Trump supporters were waving signs for the ex-president.

Vice President Kamala Harris posts a message of support for her running mate Tim Walz ahead of his debate tonight.

From Rob Crilly, Chief U.S. Political Correspondent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Former President Donald Trump will watch the debate from his private plane tonight as he flies back from Wisconsin, where he held two campaign events.

He was asked whether he had given his running mate any advice for the night.

‘Have fun,’ he said to laughter.

We have, we have a big deal going on, and I said. JD, have a lot of fun. He’s a smart guy. He’s been amazing. He’s been a real warrior, top student at Yale. He was a very brilliant guy in so many different ways. And you know, he’s a very hard worker, he goes around is not afraid of the media. He’d stand here and answer all of your questions. There’s a lot of people won’t do that.

By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

A bipartisan coalition of 12 senators has published a letter calling on congressional leaders to convene the body to vote on Hurricane Helene disaster relief.

The urgent plea comes just before the vice presidential nominees Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, face off in the last planned debate of the election cycle. The plea for relief, along with funding for Israel amid Iran’s recent bombing of the nation, could come up during the VP showdown this evening.

The senators who published the letter came from the states most impacted: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia. Over 160 deaths have been caused by the storm, a total that is expected to rise, the lawmakers wrote.

‘Although the true level of devastation is still unfolding, it is clear that Congress must act to meet the unmet needs in our states and address the scope and scale of destruction experienced by our constituents,’ the letter stated.

‘This may even require Congress to come back in October to ensure we have enough time to enact legislation before the end of this calendar year. Tens of millions of Americans were impacted by Hurricane Helene, and we look forward to working with you to provide relief to those impacted by this horrific storm.’

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is hitting Donald Trump’ running mate J.D. Vance attempting to paint him as an extremist ahead of the vice presidential debate.

The digital ad warns the Ohio senator would be a ‘heartbeat away’ from the Oval Office if Trump wins the White House come November.

The ad starts with Arizona Senator Mark Kelly voicing his concern with Vance and a narrator calling him an extremist before using audio of Vance himself.

‘I certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally,’ Vance states.

It then accuses him of being a threat to democracy for saying he would not have backed certifying the 2020 election results and ties him to the conservative 2025 Project.

‘He’s not just weird, or dangerous. He could be a heartbeat away from the Oval Office,’ the narrator says.

A group of colorful supporters arrived outside the CBS broadcast center in New York City on Tuesday evening ahead of the vice presidential debate.

People gathering outside the building appeared to be supporting either Harris or Trump for president, carrying signs and wearing campaign hats to show their support or opposition to each candidate.

By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

As the Republican and Democratic vice presidential nominees get ready to debate next week, J.D. Vance is making sure he will be familiar with the territory.

The highly-anticipated debate between Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and his Democratic counterpart Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will give voters their first taste of their divergent views.

CBS News will host the showdown Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET in New York City and it is expected to be the only debate between the two potential VPs – and the final debate of this election cycle.

So to prepare effectively for his match-up with the Minnesota governor, Vance has enlisted the help of another major politician from the North Star State who has been meticulously studying Walz.

‘I’ve spent the last month going through all of his debates,’ House Republican Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota told DailyMail.com of his studying Walz in an exclusive interview. ‘If I do my job, J.D. is going to expose him.’

CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan have been tapped to moderate Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate between Democratic nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and Republican nominee, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance.

The newswomen are in charge of two of CBS’ premiere shows – with O’Donnell the anchor of CBS Evening News and Brennan the host of Face the Nation, the network’s long-running Sunday show.

For O’Donnell, 50, the debate moderator gig is a swan song of sorts, as she will exit Evening News after the November election and take on a new position at the network.

As the U.S. prepared to sit down and watch the CBS Vice Presidential Debate between J.D. Vance and Tim Walz, many questioned the 9 p.m. ET start time.

‘Why is the VP debate so damn late? START time 9pm? Seriously?’ one X user commented.

Another complained that the ‘American ppl have to work tomorrow’.

The presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump also began at 9 p.m. ET, and ran for over 90 minutes.

The showdown between Vance and Walz will run for the same length of time after they take the stage in New York.

Donald Trump said he will go on CBS 60 Minutes only on the condition that he get an apology from the network.

He confirmed the spat when asked about the cancellation while taking questions in Milwaukee. ‘After initially accepting 60 Minutes’ request for an interview with Scott Pelley, former President Trump’s campaign has decided not to participate,’ the network said.

Trump referenced his contentious 2020 sit-down with CBS’ Leslie Stahl.

‘First I want to get an apology,’ said Trump. ‘They said the laptop from hell was from Russia. I said it wasn’t from Russia, it was from Hunter [Biden],’ Trump said.

The interview, paired with one with Kamala Harris, was set to air in a Monday night special.

‘They really owed me an apology,’ Trump said.

President Biden says he has Tim Walz’ back as Kamala Harris’ running mate prepares to take the debate stage tonight.

‘Coach, I got your back tonight!’ Biden posted on X with a picture of the Minnesota governor.

‘Tonight, America will see the strong, principled, and effective leader I’ve known for years—and the contrast you and Kamala provide against the other team,’ he continued.

Former President Donald Trump isn’t ready to grab the popcorn for the vice presidential debate just yet. He took questions on Israel and Ukraine after speaking for nearly an hour in Milwaukee Tuesday evening.

Earlier, he spoke for more than an hour in Waunakee.

He said Iran’s attack on Israel was caused by a ‘lack of respect’ for the U.S. And he claimed if he were still in office Iran would have built economic ties with Israel. ‘I think everybody including Iran would have been in the Abraham Accords,’ Trump said.

In a striking moment at the Democratic National Convention in August, sixteen former members of Mankato West High School’s football team took the stage in a tribute to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

After all, Vice President Kamala Harris told the roaring crowd, he was their ‘coach’.

Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar went even further, declaring: ‘In Minnesota, we trust a coach who turned a team that was 0-27 into state champions.’

Americans watching might have been left with the distinct impression that Walz was the man behind the team’s underdog triumph.

But not so.

In fact, the head coach of the all-conquering side known as the ‘Scarlets’ was a man named Rick Sutton.

Walz, a social studies teacher by day, was simply one of several assistant coaches under Sutton, working primarily with the defensive players.

For his part, Sutton has expressed no ill will for Walz getting the credit on the national stage. But he also has left no doubt as to who was really in charge.

‘Tim was really great at selling his point of view and then accepting a different direction,’ Sutton said in August. ‘But at some point, somebody has to make that decision, and that’s going to be the head coach.’

Read more from DailyMail.com's Nick Allen:

Republican J.D. Vance and Democrat Tim Walz will meet Tuesday in their only vice presidential debate of the 2024 election, and both have a point to prove: That they are not completely weird.

Walz may have deployed the term first to write off the entire Republican ticket, but a J.L. Partners/DailyMail.com poll of voters shows he has work to do too.

When 1000 likely voters were asked earlier this month who was the most weird of the two candidates, some 40 percent picked Sen. Vance, 40.

More than a third, 35 percent, nominated Walz, the 60-year-old governor of Minnesota.

But in an election that will go down to the wire, decided by the tiniest of margins, there are signs that there is everything to play for when the two running mates take the stage in New York on Tuesday evening.

Tonight marks the one and only debate between vice presidential hopefuls – Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance.

The two men will square off at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York.

The debate will be moderated by CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell and Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan.

The conversation could get colorful as it was Vance who first claimed that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating the residents’ pets.

Former President Donald Trump produced the most viral moment during last month’s debate in Philadelphia against Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, when he brought up the Springfield pet conspiracy theory.