Ohio Senator J.D. Vance and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz participated in a debate on CBS on Oct. 1. Their opinions on several topics are detailed below.
The Middle East:
Tim Walz started the debate talking about the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and how Trump would not be a good leader saying, “A nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment.” This led to discussion about Trump’s leadership, weapons and Israel’s relationship with Iran.
Donald Trump established stability in the Middle East via effective deterrence, or the use of threats to dissuade the Middle East, specifically Iran, from attacking. Vance supports a preemptive strike by Israel against Iran.
Hurricane Helene:
Walz stated that “Donald Trump called (climate change) a hoax,” which is something he has posted on social media before. However, Vance argued against that saying the Democratic leadership isn’t much better. Walz went on to state that he had served “as co-chair of the council of governors as we work together on these emergency managements. Governors know no partisanship.”
Vance supports a “robust and aggressive” federal response to aid those affected by Hurricane Helene and help them rebuild afterwards. Trump and Vance both support clean air and water, and for the environment to be cleaner and safer. However, he also states that he supports more investments into natural gas production, which will increase carbon emissions.
Vance argues that investing in American manufacturing will reduce the amount of carbon emissions per unit of economic output, while Harris would rather invest in Chinese manufacturing. This statement is false. The Biden administration made the largest amount of funding, ever, available for domestic manufacturing.
Immigration/Mexican Border:
Walz argued the Biden-Harris administration is hard on crime and has raised funding for the border and would have gotten a new border deal if Trump had not pushed senators to kill the deal. Walz also criticized the points made by Vance where he had stated the Harris campaign “let in fentanyl into our communities at record levels.” Walz argues against that, stating that in “the last twelve months saw the largest decrease in opioid deaths in our nation’s history.”
Vance states that he and Trump will work to undo Harris’ 94 executive orders that pertain to the border and illegal citizens. He states that a consequence of Harris’ lax policies is the transportation of fentanyl into the country at record levels. Vance supports the reimplementation of Trump’s policies: building the wall and resuming mass deportations.
Economics:
Walz stated that the Harris campaign was devoted to stopping the American housing crisis through a down payment assistance program. In addition to trying to quell the housing crisis, Walz stated one of their main goals was to lower the cost of insulin and other lifesaving prescriptions for Americans. Walz went on to critique Trump’s tax cuts for the upper class, which lead to an 8 trillion dollar increase in the national debt. Under the Harris campaign, Walz stated that “the rich will be made to pay their fair share.”
Vance supports Trump’s policies that delivered higher take-home pay and 1.5 percent inflation. He is also in support of increasing American manufacturing and “making more of our own stuff.”
The Penn Wharton Budget Model has estimated Trump’s economic policies will increase the national debt by over $5 trillion in the next decade. In response, Vance says to trust wisdom and common sense instead of the expert economists that “attack Trump’s economic plan.”
Personal Qualifications:
Walz spoke about his experience in congress where he acted as “one of the most bipartisan people.” In addition to that, he spoke about passing bills that supported farmers and veteran benefits.
Vance says he was “wrong about Trump” after stating that Trump is “unfit for the nation’s highest office” and “America’s Hitler” in 2016. He argues that Congress spent far too much time debating Trump’s impeachment and not enough time governing.
Reproductive Rights:
Walz spoke about how the Harris campaign supported the rights of women and believes that they have the right to choose their reproductive healthcare without interference from the government. He spoke about how he was proud that his home-state of Minnesota restored Roe-v-Wade and stated “This is about health care. In Minnesota, we are ranked first in health care for a reason. We trust women. We trust doctors.”
Vance says that they will not create a federal pregnancy monitoring agency. He states that he and Trump are “pro-family.” They support fertility treatments as well as making childcare more affordable, with flexible family leave plans. They are also in support of abortion rights being controlled by individual states.
Gun Violence:
Walz spoke about how his seventeen-year-old son witnessed a shooting at his community center. He said that he himself was a gun owner, and believed in the fundamental rights of the second amendment but believed there has to be exceptions on who is allowed to own firearms. Walz stated that Minnesota has already enacted enhanced red-flag laws, enhanced background checks and was starting to collect data on their gun violence statistics in comparison to other states.
Vance opposes red-flag gun laws and legislation that bans certain models of semi-automatic rifles. In cases of school shootings, Vance states that schools must increase the security of their buildings by making their windows and doors stronger.
Housing Crisis:
Walz spoke about the importance of housing in creating generational wealth and how people with stable housing are more likely to have stable jobs. He stated the Harris campaign had plans to help reduce Americans’ mortgages and down payments to help stabilize the housing market.
Vance states that a large problem with housing in the US is the number of illegal immigrants entering the country. He also argues that lowering energy prices via oil drilling will lower the cost of housing. Vance wants to use unoccupied federal land to build more homes for Americans.
Healthcare:
Walz spoke about his experience as governor where he oversaw the creation of the ACA. Walz stated that his state was “home of the Mayo Clinic, home to Medical Alley, 3M, Medtronic, all of those.” He went on to state “We understand healthcare. It’s why we’re ranked first on affordability and accessibility and quality of health care.” With Harris as president, Walz assures that more Americans will be covered by health insurance and spoke about how during Trump’s presidency he repealed Obamacare and tried to overrule the ACA.
Vance is in support of pricing transparency and state regulations on the insurance coverage of both chronically and non-chronically ill patients. Trump and Vance want to keep the current regulations in place that protect people with preexisting conditions but help the “health insurance marketplace function a little better.”