Photo from the Vice-Presidential Debate (Photo Credit: AZFamily)
Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota and Senator JD Vance of Ohio faced off in the first and only vice-presidential debate of the election cycle on Tuesday, October 1. Aired on CBS News, the debate was largely cordial and policy-focused as Walz, the Democratic candidate, and Vance, the Republican nominee, responded to questions ranging from foreign policy and immigration to abortion and the economy.
However, there were strong and notable moments from both candidates – Walz attacked Vance for his opposition to reproductive rights and also criticized Vance for refusing to acknowledge that Trump lost the 2020 election – even after Walz directly asked him. Vance, in turn, blamed Vice President Kamala Harris for the current administration’s policies and record, specifically on the economy and immigration.
With a debate like this covering a wide scope of policies and topics, it’s a necessity to fact-check statements from both vice-presidential candidates. Several statements exchanged between Walz and Vance were either misleading, lacked context, exaggerated, or entirely false.
For example, on the topic of climate change, Vance stated, “We are the cleanest economy in the entire world.” This statement, often repeated by former President Donald J. Trump when asked about climate change, is false. According to the Environmental Performance Index, 15 countries have cleaner air than the United States, and 25 countries have cleaner water.
On the topic of abortion, Vance claimed that Walz had signed a law that specifies that a doctor is “under no obligation to provide lifesaving care to a baby who survives a botched late-term abortion.” This statement is false. According to the New York Times, the law requires doctors to report when a “live child” is “born as the result of an abortion” and to provide “all reasonable measures consistent with good medical practice” to care for the infant. Vance also claimed, “I never supported a national ban [on abortion],” but he stated that he “certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally” when running for the Senate in 2022, making his claim during the debate false.
Walz also made false or exaggerated claims. On the topic of abortion, Walz claimed that “Project 2025 is going to have a registry of pregnancies.” This claim is false. According to CNN Politics, Project 2025 does not specifically call for a registry of pregnancies, though it is firmly anti-abortion and calls for existing federal agencies to collect more accurate data on abortion.
Walz also claimed that “Donald Trump hasn’t paid any federal tax in the last 15 years,” which is false. According to USA Today, documents released in 2022 by Democrats reported that Trump paid a total of $1.1 million in federal income taxes during the first three years of his presidency.
Despite some sparring, the vice-presidential debate overall was civil, and both men even agreed with one another on some topics. Neither candidate appeared to do anything to hurt their campaigns or dramatically reshape the race, which is common for vice-presidential debates.
Nevertheless, only the polls will show the true effects of this debate. As of this writing, there are 34 days until election day, and the polls are tight. Every vote counts, so those who are eligible to vote should go out there and cast their vote before November 5!
The Bamboo 
By Madison Dang ’27
Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota and Senator JD Vance of Ohio faced off in the first and only vice-presidential debate of the election cycle on Tuesday, October 1. Aired on CBS News, the debate was largely cordial and policy-focused as Walz, the Democratic candidate, and Vance, the Republican nominee, responded to questions ranging from foreign policy and immigration to abortion and the economy.
However, there were strong and notable moments from both candidates – Walz attacked Vance for his opposition to reproductive rights and also criticized Vance for refusing to acknowledge that Trump lost the 2020 election – even after Walz directly asked him. Vance, in turn, blamed Vice President Kamala Harris for the current administration’s policies and record, specifically on the economy and immigration.
With a debate like this covering a wide scope of policies and topics, it’s a necessity to fact-check statements from both vice-presidential candidates. Several statements exchanged between Walz and Vance were either misleading, lacked context, exaggerated, or entirely false.
For example, on the topic of climate change, Vance stated, “We are the cleanest economy in the entire world.” This statement, often repeated by former President Donald J. Trump when asked about climate change, is false. According to the Environmental Performance Index, 15 countries have cleaner air than the United States, and 25 countries have cleaner water.
On the topic of abortion, Vance claimed that Walz had signed a law that specifies that a doctor is “under no obligation to provide lifesaving care to a baby who survives a botched late-term abortion.” This statement is false. According to the New York Times, the law requires doctors to report when a “live child” is “born as the result of an abortion” and to provide “all reasonable measures consistent with good medical practice” to care for the infant. Vance also claimed, “I never supported a national ban [on abortion],” but he stated that he “certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally” when running for the Senate in 2022, making his claim during the debate false.
Walz also made false or exaggerated claims. On the topic of abortion, Walz claimed that “Project 2025 is going to have a registry of pregnancies.” This claim is false. According to CNN Politics, Project 2025 does not specifically call for a registry of pregnancies, though it is firmly anti-abortion and calls for existing federal agencies to collect more accurate data on abortion.
Walz also claimed that “Donald Trump hasn’t paid any federal tax in the last 15 years,” which is false. According to USA Today, documents released in 2022 by Democrats reported that Trump paid a total of $1.1 million in federal income taxes during the first three years of his presidency.
Despite some sparring, the vice-presidential debate overall was civil, and both men even agreed with one another on some topics. Neither candidate appeared to do anything to hurt their campaigns or dramatically reshape the race, which is common for vice-presidential debates.
Nevertheless, only the polls will show the true effects of this debate. As of this writing, there are 34 days until election day, and the polls are tight. Every vote counts, so those who are eligible to vote should go out there and cast their vote before November 5!
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