OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The mainstream media appeared to agree that Ohio GOP Sen. J.D. Vance outperformed and clobbered Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday night at the CBS News Vice Presidential debate.
Former President Donald Trump also praised Vance for his dominant performance, writing on his Truth Social platform that Vance “crushed it.”
“JD crushed it! Walz was a Low IQ disaster—very much like Kamala. Our Country would never be able to recover from an Administration of these two. Can you imagine them representing us with sharp, fierce Foreign Leaders? I can’t!” Trump wrote.
Several media critics panned Walz’s “unsteady” debate performance, saying there was a “clear lack of preparation and execution.”
“I think there was a clear lack of preparation and execution on Walz’s part,” CNN anchor Abby Phillip said.
ABC News’ Linsey Davis criticized Walz for his “awkward, cringeworthy moments,” drawing parallels to President Joe Biden’s poor performance at the CNN debate. Biden dropped out of the 2024 race not long after the debate against Trump.
“It kind of reminded me of the June 27 debate when Kamala Harris said that night of Joe Biden ‘It was a slow start but a strong finish.’ And that’s how I felt that Tim Walz kind of did tonight,” Davis said.
“Dems are fortunate presidential debates tend to matter a lot more than VP debates,” Cook Political Report senior editor Dave Wasserman reacted on X.
“Where is the Tim Walz who went viral going after ‘weird’ Republicans? Not showing up on that debate stage so far tonight…” New Yorker staff writer Susan Glasser posted.
“Gov. Walz is not prosecuting the case rather its a nicefest. If you agree with Vance on so much then why should we vote for you?” MSNBC host Symone Sanders Townsend asked the governor. “Sen. Vance is giving revisionist history on Trump’s agenda & what they would do & b/c the moderators are not fact checking…it sounds sane.”
“Walz’s answers are smart and substantive. But I hate to say it, the delivery is a bit off — he’s just not as engaging as he often is. Hoping he gets a little more energetic and less nervous as this goes on,” liberal columnist Jill Filipovic said.
WATCH:
Former Obama advisor David Axelrod criticized Walz for avoiding TV interviews, saying he was “perplexed” by this since it would harm Walz in the discussion.
Jake Tapper of CNN questioned the veteran political analyst about why Walz had abruptly stopped appearing on television during the campaign.
“I’ve been bewildered a little bit by the absence of both the presidential candidate and the vice presidential candidate on television since they became the nominees, because that’s how people get to know you. And they haven’t really spent a lot of time with either of them before now,” Axelrod said.
“He was all over before he became the nominee when he was campaigning for vice president,” he added.
Axelrod concluded that Walz put himself at a disadvantage.
“So I also think that it may be a little bit of a problem for Waltz having not done this. Sitting with [the media] is good prep for debates. It’s good batting practice for these events. Waltz has not been doing it. So I do question that,” he said, “It’s bewildering.”
Harris has faced criticism for avoiding the press, as she has not held a single official press conference in her 72 days as the official Democratic nominee.
WATCH:
Several Republican lawmakers and top voices praised Vance for his strong performance at the VP debate.
“Senator JD Vance spitting the cold hard TRUTH on the debate stage,” Trump 2024 national press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X.
“Tim Walz is as radical as they come on the issue of immigration. As governor of Minnesota, he supported free health care, free college tuition, and driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants. Innocent Americans have been assaulted & murdered because of this border crisis.,” Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., wrote on X.
“Tim Walz’s answer on Israel was incomprehensible. Like Kamala–Walz has no idea what he is talking about. Kamala and Walz would make the chaos in the Middle East worse,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wrote on X.
“Iran rained missiles down on Israel TODAY, 1,350 days into Kamala Harris’ tenure as Vice President, so naturally Tim Walz says it’s Donald Trump’s fault,” Trump campaign senior adviser Tim Murtaugh wrote on X.
