OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Prominent figures from both major political parties criticized Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for appearing nervous during Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate in New York against Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio).
The vice presidential nominee faced Vance for the first and only time before the November election on CBS News. The debate was moderated by veteran anchors Margaret Brennan and Norah O’Donnell.
From the moment Walz began speaking, social media users began commenting on his demeanor:
Final focus group vote tonight after the #VPDebate: 12-2 in favor of JD Vance pic.twitter.com/LgahO2za7C
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) October 2, 2024
Walz nervous. Unsteady.
JD – absolutely perfect first answer— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) October 2, 2024
I’m getting secondhand anxiety from Walz… topsoil erosion? wtf
Weatherproofing?
— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) October 2, 2024
No wonder him and Kamala get along. They both babble nonsense.
— Ricster 🇺🇲 🦅 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (@RicRicster) October 2, 2024
Who knew Kamala picked “nervous Nancy” as her running mate?
— USA Features Media (@UsaFeatures) October 2, 2024
I’ve never seen a national candidate look as nervous as Tim Walz when he’s not speaking
— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) October 2, 2024
So fidgety. Can’t be still. Feverishly writing, head up and down, side to side. Very distracting. Weird, weird guy.
— jron (@jronnychi) October 2, 2024
Walz is very clearly nervous and having a hard time remembering his prepared remarks
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) October 2, 2024
Walz looks nervous and @JDVance is bringing a very confident energy to this debate so far. I think we’re going to leave this debate even more impressed with Trump’s choice. 🔥
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) October 2, 2024
15 minutes in and its clear that Walz not doing interviews was a big mistake:
He’s nervous and JD is comfortable because he’s been in doing an adversarial interview a day since he was picked
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) October 2, 2024
Left-wing media figures and outlets also panned Walz’s debate performance following the CBS-moderated event Tuesday evening, giving Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate low marks across the board.
CNN’s Abby Phillips, Dana Bash, and Jake Tapper, notably, were all critical of Walz, with each of them alternately opining that he appeared to either lack debate prep or had far too much of it and was not quick enough on his feet to counter Vance’s many jabs at Harris.
At one point during post-debate analysis, Tapper even claimed that Vance is a “much more experienced” debater, a point that Bash said could be attributed to the fact that Walz — and Harris — have not done many media interviews.
“I think there was a clear lack of preparation and execution here,” anchor Abby Phillip said, noting how Vance managed to land some “punches.”
Bash had the opposite take. “I think he had too much preparation. He had so many lines that he was clearly trying to say,” she said. “I think the lack of interviews that he has done with national media, with local media — it showed he needed more.”
Tapper added that “JD Vance is much more experienced with this, at public speaking and defending himself and pivoting,” while host Anderson Cooper concluded that Walz seemed nervous on stage.
BREAKING: CNN admits JD Vance was the “much more experienced” debater. pic.twitter.com/p8bMCo8is7
— Leading Report (@LeadingReport) October 2, 2024
“It kind of reminded me of the June 27 debate, when Kamala Harris that night said of Joe Biden, ‘It was a slow start, but a strong finish,’” ABC News anchor Linsey Davis said regarding Walz’s debate against former President Donald Trump’s running mate. “And that’s how I felt Tim Walz kind of did tonight,” she added, per the New York Post.
Davis, who co-moderated the presidential debate on September 10 between Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump alongside David Muir, suggested that Vance was more “effective” at challenging Harris on Tuesday than Trump had been the previous month.
“I feel like that was really effective,” Davis said of Vance, who noted frequently during the debate that Harris has not pressed for any of the issues and policies she claims to support now.
“You know, to use Tim Walz, his own words, I mean, a lot about this debate tonight was, was weird,” she added. “There were comfortable, cringey moments, but overall, my take on this was that JD Vance needed to come away as that humble, likable guy from ‘Hillbilly Elegy.’ It seemed like he did perhaps get some points in that.”
