Reactions roll in for VP debate as critics give Vance a win over Walz

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has made it a point multiple times to remind Americans that he was once an assistant high school football coach since being selected as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate. 

However, during the vice presidential debate Tuesday night, he let everyone in on the details of another sport he engaged in after practice when he worked at Mankato West High School. 

During a segment on gun control policies, Walz claimed that when he worked as a football coach at Mankato West, he kept a shotgun in his car so he could hunt pheasants after practice. 

"I’m of an age where my shotgun was in my car so I could pheasant hunt after football practice," Walz said. 

The statement came when Walz was asked if he would support an assault weapons ban after previously opposing such a measure. Walz, who was previously an NRA ally, said his stance on gun control changed after meeting the parents of Sandy Hook victims and befriending school shooters. 

"Yeah, I sat in that office with those Sandy Hook parents. I’ve become friends with school shooters. I’ve seen it. Look, the NRA, I was NRA guy for a long time. They used to teach gun safety," Walz said. 

Walz's hobby of hunting pheasants is something he has spoken and bragged about in the past. In July, Walz bragged that his pheasant-shooting skills were superior to Vance during an interview on "Anderson Cooper 360."

"That’s what JD Vance’s stick is, talking about guns. I guarantee you he can’t shoot pheasants like I can," Walz said. 

Walz is also one of the main organizers of his state's Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener. He celebrated the 2023 event last October, when he declared himself a life-long pheasant hunter. 

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Jackson Thompson

Ohio Sen. JD Vance’s argument that the U.S. needed to "stop the bleeding" at the border during Tuesday’s debate elicited a mixed response from voters.

"Before we talk about deportations, we have to stop the bleeding," Vance argued during Tuesday’s debate. "We have a historic immigration crisis because Kamala Harris started and said that she wanted to undo all of Donald Trump’s border policies."

According to Fox News debate dials, which measure how Republican, Democrat, and independent voters are responding to particular answers by candidates during the debate, the response by Vance received mixed responses.

While Republican views of Vance’s answers had an immediate positive response, Democratic viewers of the debate went in an opposite direction, the dials showed. Independents, meanwhile, hovered around 50% approval with Vance’s answer.

Voters began to see Vance’s response in a more positive light when he touched on former President Donald Trump’s border policies, arguing that the next administration should return to handling the border similar to how Trump did during his four years in office.

House Speaker Mike Johnson slammed the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate moderators for their "shameless" fact-checking of Sen. JD Vance, calling them out for having anti-conservative bias on "open display."

"It's just shameless," Johnson said during "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday. "Their bias, their disdain for any Republican candidate is just on open display. Everybody can see that… It was three against one and JD still won."

Despite CBS announcing that it would not allow live fact-checking during the debate, moderator Margaret Brennan interjected to correct Vance after he suggested that illegal immigrants are overwhelming resources in Springfield, Ohio.

"Just to clarify for our viewers, Springfield, Ohio does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status, temporary protected status," Brennan said.

When Vance tried to push back on the fact-check, Brennan and her co-moderator Norah O'Donnell attempted to speak over Vance, insisting that they had to move on to the next question.

"The rules were that you guys weren't going to fact-check," Vance reminded them. "And since you are fact-checking me, I think it's important to say what's actually going on."

While explaining the process of obtaining legal status and tying it to a Harris-backed immigration policy, the moderators again spoke over Vance, thanking him for "describing the legal process" before they cut off his microphone as Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz attempted to argue with him.

"Senator, we have so much we have to get to, thank you so much for explaining the legal process," Brennan said before urging O'Donnell again to move on to the next question.

"The audience can't hear you because your mics are cut," she added when Vance continued to respond.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Bailee Hill

One of Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance's biggest debate moments was when he explained his complete reversal of feelings about his running mate.

Vance was asked at the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate on Tuesday how he went from calling Trump potentially "America's Hitler" and an "idiot" to joining the former president's 2024 ticket.

"Sometimes, of course, I've disagreed with the president, but I've also been extremely open about the fact that I was wrong about Donald Trump. I was wrong, first of all, because I believed some of the media stories that turned out to be dishonest fabrications of his record," Vance said Tuesday night. 

He continued, "But most importantly, Donald Trump delivered for the American people rising wages, rising take-home pay, an economy that worked for normal Americans, a secure southern border. A lot of things, frankly, that I didn't think he'd be able to deliver on."

Fox News' Debate Dial audience feedback system showed viewers' approval rates shooting in different directions during Vance's explanation of how he came to be a Trump supporter. 

Republican audience approval surged past 80% and at one point even over 90%, maintaining solid support throughout Vance's statement.

Meanwhile, Democratic viewers expressed discontent – ratings from Democrats fell below 40% and at one point bottomed out near 20%.

Debate Dial data showed independents were more tempered in their reactions to the segment, hovering mostly between 40% and 60% approval.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Timothy Nerozzi

Voters in Fox News Digital's debate dial group had mixed reactions in real time to VP Harris' running mate,  Gov. Tim Walz's argument in favor of abortion during the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate against Sen. JD Vance.

When Walz was asked whether he supports abortion up until the ninth month supported as Minnesota is one of the least restrictive states for abortion, he responded, "That's not what the bill says."

While Republican voters dipped significantly as Walz spoke, independent and Democratic voters stayed mostly in the approval zone.

"What we did is restore Roe v. Wade, we made sure that we put women in charge of their health care," Walz said.

Independents dipped slightly in approval while Democratic voters shot up during his statement. The two eventually evened out and stayed in the approval zone. 

"This is a basic human right," he later said.

The independent voters stayed slightly under the Democratic approval line, as Republicans significantly disapproved.

Republican, Democrat and independent voters reacted differently when Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, stated that he and former President Trump support "clean air, clean water" while responding to a question on the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate stage about climate change, the Fox News Debate Dial showed. 

"Look, a lot of people are justifiably worried about all these crazy weather patterns. I think it's important for us, first of all, to say, Donald Trump and I support clean air, clean water. We want the environment to be cleaner and safer," Vance said.

The Fox News Debate Dial showed support among independents and Democrats dipping downward when Vance made that statement. Support among Republicans remained fairly consistent. 

But support among independent viewers began to rise again when Vance referenced how Democrats bring up carbon emissions when discussing climate change. 

"This idea that carbon emissions drives all of the climate change. Well, let's just say that's true just for the sake of argument. So we're not arguing about weird science. Let's just say that's true," Vance said. "Well, if you believe that, what would you -- would you want to do? The answer is that you'd want to reshore as much American manufacturing as possible, and you'd want to produce as much energy as possible in the United States of America, because we're the cleanest economy in the entire world." 

The dial for independents remained flat as Vance moved into criticizing Kamala Harris on energy policy. Support among Democrats took a dive by contrast. 

"What have Kamala Harris policies actually lead to more energy production in China, more manufacturing overseas, more doing business in some of the dirtiest parts of the entire world," Vance said. "When I say that, I mean the amount of carbon emissions they're doing per unit of economic output. So, if we actually care about getting cleaner air and cleaner water, the best thing to do is to double down and invest in American workers and the American people. And unfortunately, Kamala Harris has done exactly the opposite." 

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Danielle Wallace

A focus group of Republicans, Democrats and independents reacted to former President Trump's running mate Sen. JD Vance's microphone being cut off during the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate on Tuesday night.

Independent and Republican voters disapproved of the interjection, but independent voters dipped significantly when Vance began explaining his stance.

Despite CBS announcing that it would not allow live fact-checking during the debate, moderator Margaret Brennan interjected to correct Vance after he suggested that illegal immigrants are overwhelming public resources in Springfield, Ohio.

"Just to clarify for our viewers, Springfield, Ohio does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status, temporary protected status," Brennan said.

"The rules were that you guys weren't going to fact-check," Vance reminded them. "And since you are fact-checking me, I think it's important to say what's actually going on."

When Walz tried interjecting, independent approval also decreased for a brief moment. 

While explaining the process of obtaining legal status and tying it to a Harris-backed immigration policy, the moderators again spoke over Vance, thanking him for "describing the legal process" before they cut off his microphone as Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz attempted to argue with him.

A focus group of Democrats, independents and Republicans reacted to the moment when Gov. Tim Walz called himself a "knucklehead" for claiming to have been in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Moderators confronted Walz on the claim during the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate Tuesday night. Walz admitted that he only traveled to Asia in August 1989, several months after the April 15 massacre. The focus group found that voters were initially skeptical of Walz's answer, but he eventually recovered.

"Can you explain that discrepancy?" a moderator asked, as the focus group remained neutral.

"Look, I grew up in small rural Nebraska, a town of 400. A town that you rode your bikes with your buddies until the streetlights come on, and I'm proud of that service. I joined the national guard at 17, worked on family farms, and then I used the GI bill to become a teacher. Passionate about it. Young teacher. My first year out, I got the opportunity in the summer of '89 to travel to China--35 years ago, to be able to do that," Walz said.

"I came back home and started a program to take young people there. We would take basketball teams, we would take baseball teams, we would take dancers, and we would go back and forth to China," he added.

The focus group showed support from Republicans, independents and Democrats all going down for Walz during the first portion of his response.

However, Walz recovered among independents and Democrats when he went on to admit that he can be "a knucklehead at times."

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was not asked about several highly talked about news stories in the first and only vice presidential debate on Tuesday, including his military service, which Walz did not strongly invoke either. 

The CBS Vice Presidential Debate in New York City showcased the Republican and Democrat candidates answering questions on a variety of issues, but Walz's military service, which he has faced sharp criticism from Republicans and some veterans for allegedly embellishing, was not asked about.

Walz only briefly mentioned his military service during the debate when he was forced to correct the record on whether he was in China for the Tiananmen Square protests.

At another point in the debate, Walz referred to himself as a "good soldier."

Walz was also not asked during the debate about how many times he has visited China.

In the past, Walz has claimed he went "dozens of times" and once claimed he went "about 30 times." This week, the Harris-Walz campaign walked that back and said the actual number is "closer to 15 times."

Other questions Walz was not asked during the debate include his disputed claims about his wife's IVF treatment and his claim that he carried weapons "in war."

Despite CBS announcing that it would not allow live fact-checking during the debate, moderator Margaret Brennan interjected to correct Vance after he suggested that illegal immigrants are overwhelming resources in Springfield, Ohio.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Andrew Mark Miller

Members of the legacy media appear to agree that Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz underperformed at the CBS News Vice Presidential debate. 

"I think there was a clear lack of preparation and execution on Walz's part," CNN anchor Abby Phillip said. 

ABC News' Linsey Davis called out Walz's "uncomfortable, cringey moments," linking his debate performance to President Biden's disastrous showing at the CNN debate.

"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. 

This is an excerpt of an article by Fox News' Joseph Wulfsohn

Former Obama adviser David Axelrod called out Kamala Harris' vice presidential pick Tim Walz for dodging TV interviews, adding that he was "perplexed" as it put Walz at a disadvantage when it comes to the debate. 

The senior political commentator was asked by CNN host Jake Tapper about how Walz suddenly disappeared from television over the course of 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 taken heat for largely avoiding the press. For example, in the 72 days as the official Democratic nominee, she has yet to hold a single official press conference. 

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Hannah Grossman

Ohio GOP Sen. JD Vance admitted to suffering from some nerves during his debate against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday night.

Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity after the match-up, Vance brushed aside criticism of his opponent being visibly on edge, particularly at the beginning of the debate.

He also said Walz had a “tough job” having to represent Vice President Kamala Harris’ policy platform, which Republicans have painted as radically progressive.

“Honestly, I didn't notice it, man. Adrenaline's going so much, I was nervous,” Vance told Hannity when asked about Walz’s demeanor.

“Hell, like, I do a lot of these interviews, Sean, but I was nervous. It's the biggest stage of my life, so I didn't focus so much on his demeanor. I just tried to focus on what he was saying.

"And look, to be fair to Tim Walz, he had a very tough job, and that is to defend the policies of Kamala Harris.”

JD Vance on Hannity

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, cast doubt on President Biden's status as commander in chief in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News following the vice presidential debate on Tuesday night.

"Well, look, I think it's tough, Sean, because we don't have a president that we can actually trust," he said. "I don't even know who the president of the United States is."

"And that's one thing we didn't actually get into [at] the debate that I really wanted to hammer Kamala Harris on is that for three and a half years, America has been saddled with a president of United States who can't do the job."

He added that this is because Vice President Harris "lied and said he was up to the job of president. And of course he wasn't."

Vance debated Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., in their only face-off ahead of the election.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (Getty)

Republican lawmakers and top voices reacted as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance faced-off in New York City.

"Senator JD Vance spitting the cold hard TRUTH on the debate stage," Trump 2024 national press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X.

"Total domination and we are only 20 minutes in.

The debate in New York City on CBS News was Walz and Vance's only debate prior to the monumental election on Nov. 5.

"Tim Walz is as radical as they come on the issue of immigration," Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., wrote on X.

"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."

"Tim Walz's answer on Israel was incomprehensible. Like Kamala--Walz has no idea what he is talking about," Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wrote on X.

"Kamala and Walz would make the chaos in the Middle East worse."

"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. 

GREAT JOB JD — We will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

Former President Trump led Republicans in congratulating Ohio GOP Sen. JD Vance’s performance in Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate.

“GREAT JOB JD — We will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social app.

He told reporters during a campaign event in Wisconsin earlier that he wanted Vance to “have fun” when asked what advice he had for his running mate.

It comes after initial doubts by some within the GOP about whether Vance and Trump would be an appealing ticket to voters in November.

But Republicans are walking away from Vance’s debate against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz with their heads held high, praising Vance for a measured and thoughtful performance.

On the Democratic side, however, allies of Vice President Kamala Harris are lauding Walz for an authentic showing at the debate while accusing Vance of lying on multiple occasions.

At one point, Harris campaign co-chair Rep. Robert Garcia posted an image to X of the Disney character Pinocchio, jokingly referring to the cartoon as Vance. 

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Former Obama advisor David Axelrod is sending tips to Gov. Tim Walz on his suggestion that people should listen to experts on the economy over the former president.

"Tip to Walz: Hanging your hat on economic experts is leading with your chin. People are pretty jaundiced about "experts." Vance didn't miss that," Axelrod said in a post on X during the debate.

Walz said during the vice presidential debate against Sen. JD Vance that people should listen to experts when looking for solutions on key issues.

"You made a question about experts said this, I made a note of this, "economists can't be trusted. Science can't be trusted. National security folks can't be trusted" - Look, if you're going to be president, you don't have all the answers. Donald Trump believes he does. My pro tip of the day is this if you need heart surgery, listen to the people at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, not Donald Trump," Walz said.

Vance hit back at the comment, saying that voters should listen to "common sense wisdom" over "experts."

"You say, trust the experts. But those same experts for 40 years said that if we shipped our manufacturing base off to China, we'd get cheaper goods. They lied about that. They said if we cheap shipped our industrial base off to other countries, to Mexico and elsewhere, it would make the middle class stronger. They were wrong about that. They were wrong about the idea that if we made America less self-reliant, less productive in our own nation, that it would somehow make us better off. And they were wrong about it. And for the first time in a generation, Donald Trump had the wisdom and the courage to say to that bipartisan consensus, we're not doing it anymore," Vance said. "Look so many of the drugs, the pharmaceuticals that we put in the bodies of our children are manufactured by nations that hate us. This has to stop, and we're not going to stop it by listening to experts. We're going to stop it by listening to common sense wisdom, which is what Donald Trump government."

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News, with Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Both Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance promised voters a new direction for the United States in their closing remarks at the vice presidential debate.

"Kamala Harris is bringing us a new way forward," Walz said. "She's bringing us a politics of joy. She's bringing real solutions for the middle class. And she's centering you at the heart of that, all the while asking everyone, join this movement. Make your voices heard."

Vance also gave a message of change to the voters.

"We need change. We need a new direction. We need a president who has already done this once before and did it well. Please vote for Donald Trump. And whether you vote for me or vote for Tim Walz. I just want to say I'm so proud to be doing this and I'm rooting for you."

Both candidates have been seeking to win the race to be seen as the change candidate, a race in which Harris may have a particularly difficult path due to her current role as vice president in the current administration.

POLITICS

Walz forced to correct record on whether he was in China for the Tiananmen Square protests

Democrat vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was forced to answer questions about his controversial travel to China, and misstatements about those trips, during Tuesday night’s debate.

Democrat vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was forced to answer questions about his controversial travel to China, and misstatements about those trips, during Tuesday night’s debate. 

Walz has said he was in Hong Kong during the deadly Tiananmen Square protests in the spring of 1989. But Minnesota Public Radio and other media outlets are now reporting that Walz actually did not travel to China until August of that year. 

CBS News moderator Margaret Brennan asked Walz to explain the discrepancy. 

Walz said that as a "passionate young teacher" he had "the opportunity in the summer of ’89 to travel to China—35 years ago." 

"I came back home and then started a program to take young people there. We would take basketball teams, we would take baseball teams, we would take dancers, and we would go back and forth to China," Walz said, noting the trips were "to try and learn."  

"Look, my community knows who I am. They saw where I was at. I will be the first to tell you I have poured my heart into my community, and I’ve tried to do the best I can, but I’ve not been perfect," Walz continued. 

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman.

"And I’m a knucklehead at times," Walz said. 

JD Vance made a clear connection between the housing and border crises, pinning the issue on Vice President Kamala Harris and her policies.

“Actually, that really drills down on the connection between increased levels of migration, especially illegal immigration and higher housing prices,” Vance said when pressed on whether migrants are part of the problem when it comes to housing.

“That's not the entire driver of higher housing prices: It's also the regulatory regime of Kamala Harris,” Vance said. “Look, we are a country of builders. We're a country of doers.”

“We're a country of explorers, but we increasingly have a federal administration that makes it harder to develop our resources, makes it harder to build things, and wants to throw people in jail for not doing everything exactly as Kamala Harris says they have to do," he added.

Vance insisted that the country needed to stop treating housing as a commodity, which Tim Walz had argued was a core issue for the crisis, but stressed that the nature of housing as a commodity is mad worse by “giving it away to millions upon millions of people who have no legal right to be here.” 

Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz sparred over abortion during the  CBS News Vice Presidential Debate Tuesday evening, with Walz claiming the GOP ticket would impose a federal pregnancy registry.

"Their project 2025 is going to have a registry of pregnancies. It's going to make it more difficult, if not impossible, to get contraception and limit access. If not eliminate access to infertility treatments for so many of you out there listening, me included, infertility treatments are why you have a child that's nobody else's business," Walz said Tuesday evening.

Vance shot back that a Trump-Vance administration would not create a federal registry.

"We've got to do so much better of a job at earning the American People's Trust back on this issue, where they frankly, just don't trust us. And I think that's one of the things that Donald Trump and I are endeavoring to do. I want us as a Republican Party, to be pro-family in the fullest sense of the word. I want us to support fertility treatments," Vance said.

"I want us to make it easier for moms to afford to have babies," he continued.

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks during a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News, with Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance offered his sympathies to his Democratic counterpart Tim Walz when he learned that his son had witnessed a shooting.

The two men had spoken about school shootings and their plans to solve gun violence.

"We have to make the doors locked 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," Vance said.

Walz said the conversation was a good start but had to go further.

"Even though they have a high gun ownership rate in the country, there are reasonable things that we can do to make a difference. It's not infringing on your Second Amendment. And the idea to have some of these weapons out there, it just doesn't make any sense," he said.

As he answered he said that his 17-year-old son "witnessed a shooting at a community center playing volleyball."

"I didn't know that your 17-year-old witnessed a shooting. I'm sorry about that -- Christ, have mercy," Vance said.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, at Discovery World in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)

Former President Donald Trump weighed in on the vice presidential debate, reiterating his opposition to a federal abortion ban and promising to veto one if it came to his desk.

"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 (THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE!). LIKE RONALD REAGAN BEFORE ME, I FULLY SUPPORT THE THREE EXCEPTIONS FOR RAPE, INCEST, AND THE LIFE OF THE MOTHER," he said on Truth Social.

"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!"

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CBS moderators had to seek clarification from a muddled Tim Walz answer after the Minnesota governor failed to give a clear answer on whether he was in Hong Kong during the deadly Tiananmen Square protests.

“I misspoke on this,” Walz eventually said after providing a meandering answer about growing up in Nebraska and winning his seats in congress and as governor.

“My community knows who I am, they saw where I was at, I am the first to pour my heart into my community, I tried to do the best I can, and I’m a knucklehead at times, but it’s always been about that,” Walz said. “Those same people elected me to Congress.”

Walz then recounted his history as a lawmaker before saying he was “there for the people trying to get it right.”

“Many times I will talk a lot, I will get caught up in the rhetoric, but being there, the impact it made, the difference it made in my life, I learned a lot about China,” Walz said.

After he concluded, the moderators asked, “The question was: Can you explain the discrepancy” between his claim to be in Hong Kong versus reports that indicated he visited later that year.

“I was in Hong Kong, in China, during the democracy protest,” he said. 

This combination image shows Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, left, and Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, right, during a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo)

GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance made a reference to the number of interviews he has given to the media amid questions about past disagreements with former President Trump -- and just as Vice President Kamala Harris is facing criticism for her lack of interviews.

"I've always been open and sometimes, of course, I disagree with the President, but I've also been extremely open about the fact that I was wrong about Donald Trump," he said.

"I was wrong first of all because I believe some of the media stories that turned out to be dishonest fabrications of his record. But most importantly, Donald Trump delivered for the American people, rising, wages, rising take home pay, an economy that worked for normal Americans, a secure southern border, a lot of things, frankly, that I didn't think you'd be able to deliver on," he said. "And yeah, when you screw up, when you misspeak, when you get something wrong and you change your mind, you ought to be honest with the American people about."

"it's one of the reasons...why I've done so many interviews, is because I think it's important to actually explain to the American people where I come down the issues and what changed," he said.

A recent Fox News Digital tally found that former President Trump and Vance have sat down for at least 60 interviews since the Harris-Walz ticket was formed, compared to 21 non-scripted interviews for the Democratic presidential ticket thus far.

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JD Vance pushed back on the CBS News moderators during the debate, noting that they said they would not fact-check the candidates.

The moderators attempted to fact-check Vance, saying that many Haitian residents in Springfield, Ohio have legal temporary status. Vance jumped in to "say what's actually going on."

While explaining the process and tying it to a Harris-backed process, the moderators spoke over him, sarcastically thanking him for "describing the legal process" before they cut off his microphone as Tim Walz attempted to argue with him.

"We have so much we have to get to, thank you so much for explaining the legal process," Margaret Brennan said before asking her co-moderator to ask the next question.

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The former president mocked Tim Walz on Truth Social for seeming to rely heavily on his notepad and constantly scribbling notes between answers at the vice presidential debate.

"Walz is taking so many notes - Never seen a Candidate take more! He needs the notes to keep his brain intact," Trump wrote.

Walz looked down at his notepad after virtually every answer he provided early during the debate.

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, left, and Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, arrive for a CBS News vice presidential debate, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The ongoing crisis at the southern border has been a top issue for voters, and has already been a top issue at the vice presidential debate -- with JD Vance saying he has been to the border more than the person he calls the "border czar."

"I've been to the southern border more than our borders czar Kamala Harris has been and it's actually heartbreaking, because the Border Patrol agents, they just want to be empowered to do their job," Vance said.

The claim came amid a back and forth with his Democratic counterpart Tim Walz. Walz slammed former President Trump for not backing a bipartisan border bill.

"As soon as it was getting ready to pass and actually tackle this, Donald Trump said no. told [lawmakers] to vote against it, because it gives him a campaign issue," he said. "What would Donald Trump talk about if we actually did some of these things?"

Vance was asked about the role of Congress in solving the crisis.

"Of course, additional resources would help, but most of this is about the President and the Vice President empowering our law enforcement to say, if you try to come across the border illegally, you've got to stay in Mexico. You've got to go back through proper channels," he said.

Walz also hit Vance over claims he had made about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, saying he had demonized them.

"Look in Springfield Ohio, and in communities all across this country, you've got schools that are overwhelmed, you've got hospitals that are overwhelmed, you've got housing that is totally unaffordable because we brought in millions of illegal immigrants to compete with Americans," Vance said.

Former President Trump on Tuesday night posted live reactions to the vice presidential debate between his running mate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Trump, first, reacted to Walz's note-taking throughout the beginning of the debate.

"Walz is taking so many notes - Never seen a Candidate take more! He needs the notes to keep his brain intact," Trump posted on his Truth Social account.

Trump took several shots at Walz in the first moments of the debate, but praised his vice presidential pick.

"JD is doing GREAT - A different level of Intelligence from Tampon Tim!" Trump posted.

Moments later, Trump added: "JD is steady and strong, Tampon Tim is sweating bullets, he is nervous and 'weird.'”

Trump went on to comment again on Walz's note-taking.

"More notes! Why can’t Walz just remember what he has to say? Low IQ!" Trump posted.

Getty Images

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance said that Democrat arguments regarding climate change are based on "weird science" during Tuesday's debate.

"I think it's important for us, first of all, to say, Donald Trump and I support clean air, clean water. We want the environment to be cleaner and safer. But one of the things that I've noticed, some of our Democratic friends talking a lot about is a concern about carbon emissions. This idea that carbon emissions drives all of the climate change. Well, let's just say that's true just for the sake of argument so we're not arguing about weird science," Vance said in the vice presidential debate against Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.

Vance added that he thinks climate change is a "very important issue."

"If the Democrats, in particular Kamala Harris and her leadership, if they really believe that climate change is serious, what they would be doing is more manufacturing and more energy production in the United States of America," Vance said during the vice presidential debate, hosted by CBS News.

"Clearly, Kamala Harris herself doesn't believe her own rhetoric on this. If she did, she would actually agree with Donald Trump's energy policies now," the Ohio Senator said.

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks during a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News, with Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A visibly shaky Gov. Tim Walz had a tough start to the vice presidential debate, pausing and stumbling over his words as he spoke about the need for "steady leadership" from the White House.

Walz got caught up in his words as he answered a question about the Middle East and attacks on Israel by Iran. As he did so, he aimed his response at former President Donald Trump.

"What's fundamental here is that steady leadership is going to matter. It's clear, and the world saw it on that debate stage a few weeks ago, a nearly 80 year old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment," he said.

There were reports this week that Walz was nervous ahead of the debate against Republican candidate JD Vance.

Former President Trump said that he believes Gov. Tim Walz is "underrated" ahead of the first and likely only vice presidential debate.

"This is your favorite president," Trump said in a video posted to Truth Social. "Governor Walz, I will not say anything bad about him because we're gonna keep it very straight. We're going to see how they do. I think he's actually very underrated, actually, Walz. But it'll be interesting."

Trump, said he will be doing a play by play of the debate, praised his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, as a "tremendous guy."

The former president added that he will be commenting throughout the night to "say good and bad about both."

"We're gonna have some fun," Trump said ahead of Tuesday night's event.

Part of the Harris campaign's strategy ahead of the debate is to raise expectations for JD Vance.

For weeks, they've painted Tim Walz as a regular guy who will be facing off with the Ivy League-trained Vance. What they don't mention is that Walz won six House races and two gubernatorial elections.

The Trump campaign's playing the same game.

"Walz is very good in debates. I want to repeat that. Tim Walz is very good in debates. Really good. He's been a politician for nearly 20 years. He'll be very well-prepared for tomorrow night," Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller told reporters on the eve of the debate.

But Trump seemed to undercut this campaign's argument, charging in an interview with Kellyanne Conway's Fox Nation program "Here's the Deal with Kellyanne" that Vance is "going up against a moron. A total moron, how she picked him is unbelievable."

Former President Donald Trump was asked Tuesday evening what his advice for J.D. Vance ahead of his debate against Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.

Fox News Digital's Julia Johnson asked Trump in Milwaukee, Wis., what his advice would be for his running mate.

"Have fun," Trump said.

"He's a smart guy. He's he's been amazing. He's been a real warrior," Trump said.

"Top student at Yale. He's a very brilliant guy. And so many different ways and, you know, he's a very hard worker. He goes around and he's not afraid of the media. He would stand here and and answer all of your questions. I have a lot of people that wouldn't do that. They don't like doing that. They get shouted at and they don't like being shouted at. But, JD is very much a warrior."

Vance faces off with Walz tonight at 9 p.m.

Former President Trump is ramping up his campaign in the final weeks before Election Day, with his campaign announcing the GOP nominee will spend three days touring Georgia, a state narrowly won by President Biden in 2020, by bus.

Ahead of the first vice presidential debate on Tuesday, Trump's campaign announced the former president will participate in a "Team Trump Bus Tour" around the Peach State.

The tour will begin in Georgia on Friday, and the former president will travel around the state until Sunday.

Trump will hold ten events over the course of the weekend, stopping in Columbus, Macon, Athens, Fayetteville, Lawrenceville, Atlanta, Kennesaw, Rome, Woodstock, and Gainesville.

The swing state bus tour will conclude in Gainesville on Sunday, where Trump will hold a Town Hall event.

The bus tour comes just days after Trump visited the state to tour the damage of Hurricane Helene and meet with residents impacted by the storm.

POLITICS

Trump blames Biden, Harris for Iran's attack on Israel: 'Very close to global catastrophe'

Former President Donald Trump slammed President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris after Iran launched an unprecedented ballistic missiles attack on Israel.

Hours before the vice presidential debate, former President Donald Trump addressed a crowd at his campaign rally in Wisconsin and bashed the Biden administration over Iran's historic attack on Israel. 

"A short time ago, Iran launched 181 ballistic missiles at Israel... I've been talking about World War III for a long time, and I don't want to make predictions because the predictions always come true. We're not going to make [predictions]… but they are very close to global catastrophe," Trump said. "We have a non-existent president and a non-existent vice president who should be in charge, but nobody knows what's going on."

Trump's comments come after Israel said Iran launched 181 ballistic missiles at the country, marking the largest ballistic missile attack in history. 

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the attack was in retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Lebanon, in an Israeli airstrike late last week and the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, according to Fox News Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned in a statement released by Iranian state media that if Israel responds to the missile barrage, "it will face crushing attacks."

Trump accused President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of weak leadership on the world stage.

"That's why Israel was under attack just a little while ago. Because they don't respect our country anymore. The so-called enemy doesn't respect our country any longer," Trump said.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Stepheny Price.

Questions surrounding the accuracy around Gov. Tim Walz's claim of being in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square protests is just one falsehood from his past that has surfaced during his vice presidential campaign, the Associated Press reported.

Walz claimed on several occasions that he was in Hong Kong during the time of the Tiananmen Square massacre. 

However, newly resurfaced local newspaper publications contradict Walz's claim. An April 1989 newspaper article reported that Walz was planning a trip to China that August, while a May 1989 edition of the Alliance Times-Herald shows a picture of Walz touring a Nebraska National Guard store room.

In an article published Tuesday, the day of the first vice presidential debate, the AP highlighted several stories that have been questioned since Walz was tapped as Vice President Harris' running mate, including inaccuracies surrounding his drunk driving arrest and his wife's infertility treatment.

The latest falsehood about his whereabouts during the Tiananmen Square unrest is "part of a broader pattern of inaccuracies that Republicans hope to exploit," the AP reported.

MEDIA

Byron Donalds spars with 'Breakfast Club' hosts over Harris' economic record: 'You sure you want to go there?'

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., blamed Vice President Kamala Harris for causing inflation in the U.S. with her tie-breaking vote to pass the American Rescue Plan Act.

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., accused Vice President Kamala Harris of breaking the economy during a heated exchange on "The Breakfast Club," where he sparred with hosts over her role in handling the current inflation plaguing the U.S.

A discussion on Tuesday's episode of the show devolved into a fiery exchange between the lawmaker and the hosts after he blamed Harris for the failed economic policies of the Biden administration.

"I would argue we're not really thriving right now. This inflation, which by the way was brought to us by Kamala Harris, has really slowed people down from being able to excel," Donalds said.

"By Kamala?" host Charlamagne Tha God replied. "She's vice president. There's still a president."

"Oh Charlamagne," Byron said, reminding listeners that Harris cast the tie-breaking vote on the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act in 2021.

"She broke the tie that started this inflation that has hurt so many people in our country," Donalds said.

Guest-host Angela Rye dismissed Byron's argument as "not true."

"You sure you want to go there?" the Florida Republican shot back, pulling out a pamphlet of "facts" from his suit jacket to back up his claim as Rye tried to speak over him.

Donalds argued that experts anticipated "massive inflation" if the American Rescue Plan was passed."

That's what happened," he said.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Yael Halon.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at Discovery World, Friday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Former President Donald Trump said he is waiting for an apology from CBS News after a previous interview in which he was challenged on his claim that Hunter Biden's laptop belonged to Biden.

"Last time I did an interview with them, if you remember, they challenged on the computer. They said the laptop from Hell was from Russia," Trump told reporters in Milwaukee, Wis.

"And I said it wasn't from Russia, it was from Hunter. And I never got an apology. So I'm sort of waiting. I'd love to do 60 Minutes. I do everything. I mean, I do you right now, right?" he said, referring to questioning from the press. "And you're tougher than 60 Minutes frankly."

"The laptop from Hell was from Hunter. It wasn't from me. So I haven't gotten, if you remember, Leslie Stahl, we got into a little bit of an argument on the camera, talking about that and other things. And you know, they really owed me an apology," he said.

He was referring to a 2020 interview in which Stahl told Trump that the laptop "can't be verified" amid concerns it was Russian disinformation.

His comments came after his campaign denied that it had ever formally accepted an invitation for him to sit for an interview after the outlet claimed he had backed out. 

"60 Minutes is scheduled to air a primetime election special on a Monday edition of the broadcast on Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. This year, both the Harris and Trump campaigns agreed to sit down with 60 Minutes," CBS News said in a statement released Tuesday. "Vice President Harris will speak with correspondent Bill Whitaker. After initially accepting 60 Minutes' request for an interview with Scott Pelley, former President Trump's campaign has decided not to participate. Pelley will address this Monday evening."

But according to Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung, that was "fake news.""60 Minutes begged for an interview, even after they were caught lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop back in 2020," Cheung wrote on X. "There were initial discussions, but nothing was ever scheduled or locked in."

MEDIA

JD Vance mocks MSNBC anchor for fact-checking 'most obvious hyperbole' about his sons' eating habits

MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle tried to fact-check Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance over his comment about how many eggs his sons eat.

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance ridiculed a post from MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle over-analyzing his recent off-the-cuff comment about how many eggs his sons eat.

On Sept. 21, Vance visited a supermarket in Reading, Pennsylvania, to discuss the rising prices of groceries under the Biden-Harris administration.

He was accompanied by his two young sons, Ewan and Vivek, who interrupted his speech to reach for a carton of eggs."Yes, buddy. Want some eggs? Let's talk about eggs. Because these guys actually eat about 14 eggs every single morning. Is that right?" Vance said.

By Sunday, Ruhle caught wind of his comment and posted her own analysis of it.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Lindsay Kornick.

Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Former President Trump and Vice President Harris faced off for the first time in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for a debate moderated by ABC News last month.

The event was technically the second presidential debate of the election but was the first since President Biden ended his campaign and Democrats nominated Harris for president instead. 

A variety of issues were broached during the debate and plenty of shots were taken at one another, but there were several moments that stood out more than others. 

Trump at one point alluded to Harris plagiarizing his policy points so much so that he considered mailing her a MAGA (Make America Great Again) hat.

Trump also claimed that he “probably took a bullet to the head” because of Biden-Harris rhetoric, referring to the first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump has since survived a second assassination attempt before law enforcement thwarted the plot.

Harris said, "Clearly, I am not Joe Biden," after Trump slammed the Biden-Harris administration's economic policy and said, "She is Biden."

She also stood by her administration's Afghanistan withdrawal despite criticism.

Trump, at one point, used a quip similar to one made famous in 2020 by Harris during the vice presidential debate. 

"Wait a minute, I'm talking now if you don't mind. Please," the former president said.

Read the full story from Julia Johnson on the Trump, Harris debate.

CBS News confirmed that Vice President Kamala Harris will sit down for a special “60 Minutes” episode about the election while former President Trump has declined to participate.

The outlet claimed that both candidates had agreed to speak with the TV magazine program for episodes that would air on Oct. 7, but that Trump has changed his mind and will not partake.

However, the Trump campaign denied it had ever agreed to an interview: Campaign spokesman Steven Cheung posted on X that the program had "begged" for an interview, and that initial discussions had taken place, but "nothing was ever scheduled or locked in."

"Fake News," Cheung said. "They also insisted on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented." He also slammed the outlet for "lying about Hunter Biden's laptop back in 2020."

Trump would have spoken with Scott Pelley, who will address the change in programming when the episode airs on Monday.

CBS News has faced accusations of an anti-Trump bias ahead of hosting the vice presidential debate, especially in light of the criticism leveled against ABC News for how its hosts handled September’s presidential debate between Trump and Harris. 

"60 Minutes" stressed that the program has regularly interviewed both parties' candidates in election years "for over half a century."

Fox News Digital's Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Senator Kamala Harris and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence participate in their 2020 vice presidential campaign debate held on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., October 7, 2020. (Reuters)

Then-Vice President Mike Pence and then-Sen. Kamala Harris of California faced off in Salt Lake City, Utah, amid the coronavirus pandemic, in the 2020 election's vice presidential debate.

Due to COVID restrictions amid the worst pandemic to strike the globe in a century, the running mates of then-President Trump and then-former Vice President Biden stood 12 feed apart, with a plexiglass barrier by each candidate.

In a moment that quickly went viral, a fly landed on Pence's head during the debate. Also grabbing plenty of attention - Pence's left eye appeared bloodshot.

Trump and Pence ended up losing the 2020 election to Biden and Harris.

Fast-forward to the 2024 election cycle, and Pence was one of more than a dozen Republicans who unsuccessfully challenged Trump for the Republican presidential nomination. 

Meanwhile, Harris in July succeed Biden atop the Democrats national ticket after the president suspended his campaign following a disastrous debate performance against Trump.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has earned the endorsement of several high profile politicians including former President Barack Obama who publicly backed Walz years before he was named the vice presidential nominee.

Two years before winning the Oval Office in 2008, former President Obama was one of the few high-profile Democrats in the nation to campaign for Tim Walz when he first launched a career in politics. 

Shortly after Walz joined VP Kamala Harris on the presidential ticket, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said that Harris made a “wonderful” choice and dismissed critics who argued that Walz was not a “moderate.”

Walz also earned the endorsement of Alex Soros, son of progressive mega donor George Soros, and the two were seen standing next to each other at a recent event at the younger Soros’ Manhattan penthouse.

"Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will lead America into a brighter future for everyone. Onward!" House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., wrote on X shortly after Walz was announced as the VP pick.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., called the pick "brilliant."

"No one knows more about the job than the sitting Vice President – who has served for a former two-term VP. Tim Walz is about doing the right thing. Whether it’s free school meals or standing up against gun violence – he’s never been intimidated. He’s about honor and decency, and is exactly the right pick in a campaign about daylight vs darkness," Newsom wrote on X. "He’s been an incredible partner as a Governor, and will make an incredible Vice President. Let's go."

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz has largely been silent on the issue of Haitian migrants coming into the United States, but has criticized his Republican counterpart.

Recently, Walz reportedly accused Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance of repeating “vicious, hurtful lies about immigrants.” 

This appears to be in reference to claims by J.D. Vance about the town of Springfield, Ohio and claims that migrants there were eating the pets of citizens who lived there.

Officials have said they have found no credible evidence of such claims in the town.

Walz has broadly been pro-immigration, and has made no suggestion he would differ significantly from the Biden administration’s stance on immigration.

The administration has expanded a number of “lawful pathways” including a parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to allow 30,000 to come into the U.S. each month. That’s in addition to other parole policies and an expanded use of Temporary Protected Status.

​​Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance is focused on campaigning in three of the more crucial swing states – Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

"We’re going to make sure that Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan go red,” the first-term senator from Ohio, who preaches populism, said in a recent Fox News Digital interview in Michigan.

Democrats reliably won all three working-class states in presidential elections for nearly a quarter-century before Trump narrowly carried them in capturing the White House eight years ago.

Vance said he is optimistic the three states are "going to be the red wall in November."

Read more from Paul Steinhauser on Vance’s campaign strategy.

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance has taken a tough stance on border security similar to that of former President Donald Trump.

Vance visited the U.S.-Mexico border in August and pushed for the restoration of policies seen during the Trump administration.

"You just have to re-implement some commonsense policies. You've got to re-implement remain in Mexico. You've got to stop catch and release," he said. "You've got to force these asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while their claims are being adjudicated. And you've got to finish this border wall and re-implement deportations." 

He also criticized the Biden administration.

"It's hard to believe until you see it with your own eyes, just how bad the policies of the Kamala Harris administration have been when it comes to the southern border," Vance said. "They started their administration, Kamala Harris came into office... they stopped deportations on day one. They stopped construction of the border wall. 

"We see the border wall sitting here, ready to be completed behind us. And that can't happen because of Kamala Harris's administration. They reinstated catch and release and they stopped remain in Mexico," he continued. "So all these asylum claimants who come to our border, they can now get released into our country because they're not forced to stay in Mexico while we adjudicate their asylum claims." 

Gov. Tim Walz's claim of being in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square protests is coming under scrutiny after resurfaced newspaper reports contradict his whereabouts during the massacre.

In 1989, hundreds of protesters were killed by the Chinese military, known as the People’s Liberation Army, while protesting in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

“As a young man, I was just going to teach high school in Foshan in Guangdong, and was in Hong Kong in May of ’89,” Walz, then a Minnesota congressman, said of the protests in a 2014 hearing. "And I still remember the train station in Hong Kong.”

Walz claimed again in a 2019 radio interview that he was in Hong Kong the day of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

“I was in Hong Kong on June 4, 1989, when, of course, Tiananmen Square happened. And I was in China after that. It was very strange ‘cause, of course, all outside transmissions were, were blocked – Voice of America – and, of course, there was no, no phones or email or anything. So I was kind of out of touch. It took me a month to know the Berlin Wall had fallen when I was living there,” Walz said.

However, newly resurfaced local newspaper publications contradict Walz's claim. An April 1989 newspaper article reported that Walz was planning a trip to China that August, while a May 1989 edition of the Alliance Times-Herald shows a picture of Walz touring a Nebraska National Guard store room, according to MPR News, who first broke the story.

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz's office and campaign for comment.

Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

In an interview in August, Ohio Sen. JD Vance said he did not agree with Robert F. Kennedy’s remark that he “won’t take sides” on 9/11. 

"I certainly have taken sides in 9/11. I'm the pro-America side," Vance said. "I don't know what RFK said there. But what I do know is that RFK said a lot of very interesting and important things – that the Democratic Party has become too pro-censorship."

Kennedy, in July, had attempted to address conspiracy theories that surround the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

“My take on 9/11: It’s hard to tell what is a conspiracy theory and what isn’t. But conspiracy theories flourish when the government routinely lies to the public. As president, I won’t take sides on 9/11 or any of the other debates,” Kennedy said. “But I can promise that I will open the files and usher in a new era of transparency.” 

Family members of the victims of 9/11 have long been calling on the U.S. government to declassify files they believe could link the attackers to the Saudi government of the time. A CBS report at the time had detailed alleged Saudi involvement through a “casing” scheme. 

“Referring here to the CBS ‘60 Minutes’ segment last Sunday revealing possible Saudi involvement in 9/11, sparking all kinds of speculation on X,” Kennedy later clarified.

Jim Vondruska/Getty Images

Distant cousins of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, created a firestorm online after they posted a photo of themselves wearing t-shirts with big, bold lettering that read, “Walz’s For Trump.” 

The photo showed eight smiling people, purportedly members of Walz’s family, coming out in favor of former President Donald Trump. While Tim Walz’s sister, Sandy Dietrich, said she doesn’t recognize the supposed family members, it was eventually uncovered that they are descendants of Francis Walz, the brother of Tim Walz’s grandfather.

While Walz’s sister came to her brother’s defense, the vice presidential candidate’s other sibling, Jeff Walz, does not appear to be as supportive. “I’m 100% opposed to all his ideology,” Walz’s younger brother declared in a series of social media posts in August. When someone urged the vice presidential candidate’s brother to come out publicly in support of Trump and against his brother, Jeff Walz said he had considered it but ultimately decided to keep his thoughts and opinions private. 

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Gwen Walz, the wife of Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, has adopted her own rallying cry on the campaign trail: “turn the page.”

Walz’s wife was slammed after she used the metaphor at a rally in Wisconsin on Sept. 14, with critics calling her “cringe,” “weird” and saying she was the “living embodiment of Trump Derangement Syndrome.” The rallying cry has also included Gwen Walz asking the audience to join her in pantomiming the act of “turning the page,” which she has quipped looks like saying “Bye, bye, Donald Trump.”

Gwen Walz claimed the rallying cry originated from Harris, who she said made the comment about turning the page during the single presidential debate held in September.

“I kind of liked it when she did this: Turn the page,” Gwen Walz said at the Sept. 14 rally, before coaching the audience on how to make the gesture.

“Can you all turn the page with me?” Gwen Walz asked at a rally with a local Arizona teachers union. “Teachers know how to turn that page, right?” she continued. “When we are all door knocking, we are turning the page! When we are making calls, we are turning the page! When we are recruiting volunteers, we are turning the page!”  

“CONFIRMED,” wrote the Trump campaign on X, formerly Twitter. “Gwen Walz is just as cringe as Tampon Tim.” 

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance shrugged off Taylor Swift as "fundamentally disconnected from the problems of most Americans" after the pop superstar endorsed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris for president.

Swift endorsed Harris immediately after the first presidential debate between the Democratic nominee and Vice President Donald Trump, taking a jab at Vance in her announcement by signing off as "Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady."  

The reference was to a comment made by Vance in 2021 when he declared that the U.S. was effectively being run "by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they wanna make the rest of the country miserable, too." He has since defended the remark as a "joke" that was "willfully misinterpreted" by Democrats.

"We admire Taylor Swift's music, but I don’t think most Americans, whether they like her music, are fans of her or not, are going to be influenced by a billionaire celebrity who I think is fundamentally disconnected from the interests and the problems of most Americans," Vance said Wednesday on "The Story." 

"When grocery prices go up 20%, it hurts most Americans, it doesn't hurt Taylor Swift. When housing prices become unaffordable, it doesn't affect Taylor Swift or any other billionaire," Vance continued. "It does affect middle-class Americans all over our country."

AP/Evan Vucci

Based on recent trends, demographics, and polling data, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are likely to be competitive and potentially swing states in the 2024 election.

Former President Donald Trump is leading Vice President Kamala Harris in Arizona by 5 points in a 50%-45% spread, and he holds a similar 49%-45% lead in Georgia. Harris is closer to the former president in North Carolina, however, where the race sits at 49%-47%, according to a New York Times poll.

In Michigan, Harris is up 3 points over Trump, 48% to 45%, according to a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll of 500 likely voters in the Great Lake State. 

The poll was taken Sept. 16-19, after the first and possibly only debate between Harris and Trump, and after a second assassination attempt against Trump on Sept. 15. It has a 4.4% margin of error. 

In Pennsylvania, polls show Harris and Trump in a deadlock.

In Wisconsin, Harris stands at 48% support among likely voters, with Trump at 45% in an AARP poll conducted Sept 11-14.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.

Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images

Ohio Sen. JD Vance quickly earned the support of many top Republicans after he was announced as the vice presidential pick of former president Donald Trump.

“JD Vance is a young and dynamic individual who is a great communicator, he’s a veteran, he has an amazing personal story, he relates to regular American people all across the country, and I think he will certainly add to the ticket,” GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis told Fox News Digital earlier this year. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called Vance a “great choice” shortly after he was announced as the vice presidential nominee. 

“OHIO’s J.D. Vance is a great American!” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan posted on X the day Vance was announced as the VP pick.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., applauded the decision, saying in a statement that Vance "possesses a profound understanding of the anxieties of working families and has both the lived experience and the policy expertise to help President Trump deliver a government worthy of the people it is supposed to serve."

One of the most famous lines in vice presidential debate history came in 1988, when Democratic Sen. Lloyd Bentsen of Texas, Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis' running mate, faced off against Sen. Dan Quayle of Indiana, Vice President George H.W. Bush's running mate.

Quayle, who was 41-years-old when he debated the 67-year-old Bentsen in Omaha, Nebraska, had faced questions on the campaign trail regarding his age and his ability to lead the nation should something happen to incapacitate the president.

“I have as much experience in the Congress as Jack Kennedy did when he sought the presidency,” Quayle said when asked repeatedly during the debate about his qualifications, as he compared himself to the late President John F. Kennedy, who had a similar length of tenure in Congress before winning the White House in 1960. 

Bentsen, in a line that went down in debate lore, responded, saying “Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.”

Dukakis and Bentson lost the election, but the comment also went on to become a part of political vocabulary, as a way to deflate a rival politician perceived as too full of themselves.

MEDIA

CBS News casts a long shadow of anti-Trump bias ahead of its vice-presidential debate

CBS News' history of liberal bias is coming back to haunt the network ahead of its vice-presidential debate moderated by anchors Norah O'Donnell and Margaret Brennan.

CBS News is the latest network under the spotlight as it prepares to host the vice-presidential debate between Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. 

The debate on Tuesday, being led by outgoing "CBS Evening News" anchor Norah O'Donnell and "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan, will face intense scrutiny, particularly after the fury sparked by ABC News for its partisan handling of the first presidential debate between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. 

The network's past coverage suggests Vance, like Trump, may enter a one-against-three political showdown.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Joseph A. Wulfsohn.

AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Ohio Republican Sen. JD Vance has historically been foursquare against forgiving student loan debt, outside of rare exceptions, his previous remarks show. 

“Forgiving student debt is a massive windfall to the rich, to the college educated, and most of all to the corrupt university administrators of America,” Vance posted on X in 2022. “Republicans must fight this with every ounce of our energy and power.”

Vance did, however, introduce bipartisan legislation in May that would forgive student loan debt for parents of children who become disabled. 

“No parent should be forced to shoulder the burden of FFEL loans while caring for their disabled child,” Vance said in May. 

In another X post in 2022, Vance said due to Democratic policies, “Ohio workers are paying off the loans of Harvard Law students. If this seems unfair and illegal, it's because it is.” 

CBS News, the network moderating the first vice presidential debate of the 2024 cycle, will allow its viewers to participate in live fact checking during the highly anticipated event on Tuesday night.

During the debate, pitting Republican Sen. JD Vance against Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, CBS's telecast will have a QR code on the screen that viewers can scan.

Once scanned, the code will direct the viewer to a CBS News fact checking page who will be updated throughout the event. The QR code will only appear on the CBS News stream.

The purpose is to allow fact checking to take place separate from the debate stage itself, according to CBS.

“The idea is to give people that second-screen experience," Claudia Milne, the senior vice president for standards and practices at CBS News, said of the feature according to the New York Times. “The audience can get the takeaway they need in a responsible and smart way.”

MEDIA

Usha Vance reveals how she deals with negative press coverage of her husband

Sen. JD Vance's wife, Usha Vance, spoke to Fox News about how she deals with negative press coverage of her husband after Donald Trump chose him as his running mate.

Sen. JD Vance's wife, Usha Vance, revealed how she deals with negative press coverage of her and the Vance family after her husband was chosen as Donald Trump's running mate during an exclusive interview with "Fox & Friends." 

"That can be hard. And, you know, sometimes I don't see it all, and sometimes I do see it and I look at and think, well, this is not the JD I know, this is not accurate. And other times it might span discussions or thoughts about what we should do next or how we should live. But I think we've been doing this now for a little while, and I've gotten kind of accustomed to it and grown a bit of a thick skin to it. And so I just try to not let it affect the way that I live," Vance told Fox News' Ainsley Earhardt in an interview airing Monday.

Trump chose the Ohio senator as his running mate in last month. Vance has been subjected to an intense drumbeat of negative coverage in the weeks since and has a negative net favorability rating.

Vance also said she's gotten a lot of good advice from their friends about how to deal with the press. 

"One really good piece of advice that someone gave me is just not to read the news that much, and it's not burying your head in the sand or anything like that. It's just JD is out there. He's talking about all sorts of things. He's thinking all sorts of things and I just think he deserves to have someone in his life who hears it straight from him and doesn't just hear what other people are saying about him all the time. And so I think that really helps," she said. 

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Hanna Panreck.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at Dane Manufacturing, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Waunakee, Wis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Former President Donald Trump, in a speech in Wisconsin on Tuesday, accused President Biden and Vice President Harris of taking the U.S. to the brink of World War 3, amid new attacks in the Middle East.

"So now war, or the threat of war, is raging everywhere, and the two incompetent people running our country, or I don't actually think they're even running it, are leading us to the brink of World War 3, " Trump said.

He spoke hours after Iran launched dozens of missiles against Israel on Tuesday, a barrage of strikes it says are in response to the deaths of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.

"This is what the policies of weakness and appeasement have brought to the world. And as I've been saying for a long time, you know, terrible things can happen when you have incompetent leadership. Really bad things can happen," he said.

He also accused the Biden administration of "flooding" Iran with cash.

"They had no money left. They had no money for Hamas. They had no money for Hezbollah, the people they're fighting now, they would have been willing to make any deal. You could have made any deal, but Kamala flooded them with American cash," he said.

JD Vance’s former rival Tim Ryan has labeled the senator a “scared little boy behind the beard” ahead of Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate.

“To me, he's just a scared little boy behind the beard, and he wants everyone else to be as scared as he is,” Ryan said during an interview with Slate’s “What Next” podcast, which released Tuesday ahead of the debate.

Ryan served as the U.S. representative for Ohio from 2003 to 2023, at which point he had run for the Senate. He lost to Vance after former President Trump endorsed him.

Ryan claimed during the interview that the upcoming debate would prove an “interesting contrast” between the candidates.

“I think Tim Walz is a good contrast to JD Vance. There's an authenticity there. There's a real ness there. There's a likeability there,” Ryan said.

When the host noted that Walz seemed “happier” than Vance, Ryan agreed and quipped that it was a “low bar” for Walz to clear. 

Dustin Franz for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has signed several controversial bills that have drawn the ire of conservatives during his tenure as the state’s top executive.

Walz was one of the first governors to sign into law a bill making Minnesota a "sanctuary state" for children seeking transgender surgical procedures and hormone prescriptions. This laid the groundwork for several of his more progressive LGBTQ policies. 

Walz also signed the "Protect Reproductive Options Act" into state law in January 2023. The legislation codified a Minnesota resident’s right to an abortion, or any other form of "reproductive health care," without any restriction or regulation from local government.

Walz also signed a law that grants driver's licenses to illegal immigrants in 2023.

"When you look at the political agenda and the policies they passed, he is not what's good for Minnesota,” Minnesota GOP State Sen. Mark Koran told Fox News Digital earlier this year. 

“He's not good for the country. He's already agreed to throw out the Constitution. Our basic system of governance and even though the vice president doesn't have a significant defined role, he's already agreed to be complicit with the most radical agenda that is anti-American, anti-hardworking legal U.S. citizen, and that's what we can't have in the White House."

MEDIA

Walz's debate performance expectations lowered ahead of showdown with Vance: 'Still largely untested'

Some Democratic allies of Gov. Tim Walz are worried about his Tuesday debate against Sen. JD Vance, suggesting that the Minnesota governor has not been tested.

Some Democratic allies of Gov. Tim Walz are concerned about how he will fare in the vice presidential debate between him and Sen. JD Vance, worrying that the Minnesota governor remains untested.

"We’ve never seen him on the national scale before," a Minnesota Democrat told Politico. The outlet reported that Vance hasn't been tested in a scenario like a debate, where he will face direct questioning and attacks from the other side. 

Walz and Vance are set to clash on Tuesday during the first vice presidential debate, which will be moderated by CBS News' Norah O'Donnell and Margaret Brennan. 

"He can be very: ‘That’s it I’m done,’" a Minnesota state lawmaker told the outlet. Politico reported that Walz shuts down conversations and gets defensive when he's asked to discuss "missteps" in private, and it noted Walz was "still largely untested and has never faced the intense, direct questioning that Vance is sure to launch."

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance is irked that a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Biden-Harris border crisis and its impact on American families on Tuesday was largely ignored by the mainstream media. 

Many major news outlets ignored testimony from victims of crimes stemming from illegal immigration, including the mother of Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl found strangled to death in Texas in June by two Venezuelan illegal immigrants, according to authorities.

"Kamala Harris' open border policies have taken countless American lives. The liberal media is doing all they can to cover it up, even ignoring the heartbreaking testimony of angel mothers who have lost their children at the hands of illegal immigrants. It's disgusting," Vance told Fox News Digital. 

The name "Nungaray" and the hearing itself were not mentioned on CNN or MSNBC from Tuesday’s hearing through Friday afternoon, according to a search of transcripts using Grabien. 

A search of The New York Times archives doesn’t reveal any coverage of the hearing, either. A search of CNN and MSNBC websites also shows no coverage.

CNN, MSNBC and the Times did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Brian Flood and Stephen Sorace.

POLITICS

Experts preview Vance-Walz debate, say usually 'forgettable' VP bout 'might be different' this time

The VP debate next Tuesday between Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz will generate some passing buzz but likely won't directly influence the race, experts agree.

Next week's highly anticipated vice presidential debate between Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, while sure to generate buzz, is unlikely to make much difference in pushing undecided voters toward either presidential candidate, former President Trump or Vice President Harris, insiders agree.

Even so, experts who spoke to Fox News Digital did say there could be some indirect impact that can't be completely discounted in a very close race.

"The VP debate is usually pretty [low-profile], they usually don't get as much attention as the presidential debates," Christopher Devine, author of "Do Running Mates Matter?: The Influence of Vice Presidential Candidates in Presidential Elections," told Fox News Digital in an interview.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Jamie Joseph.

The Democratic National Committee projects images critical of former President Trump on Trump Tower in New York City, on Sept. 30, 2024, on the eve of the vice presidential debate. (Democratic National Committee) SPONSORED by UserWay.org Make Your Website Accessible with UserWay As a website owner, worldwide regulations require you to make your site accessible or prepare for dire consequences (fines, lawsuits, both). The bad news: you can’t ignore this one. The good news: UserWay has your back. UserWay is the leading web accessibility provider, proven and trusted by... Learn more

The Democratic National Committee projected images on Trump Tower in New York City on Monday evening, on the eve of the vice presidential debate between former President Trump's running mate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate.

The images being projected by the DNC - which were shared first with Fox News Digital - include an eight-year old critical comment of Trump that Vance wrote on social media.

"Vance on Trump: ‘What an idiot’" read the projection, which was a portion of a direct quote from Vance's 2016 social media post.

Vance was a one-time Trump critic when the former president first won the White House. But Vance became a major supporter, and after winning election to the Senate in 2022 with Trump's support, has become a top Senate ally of the former president and his America First agenda.

Another projection charges that "Trump is a chicken," as the DNC continues its attacks on the former president – launched recently on mobile and stationary billboards – for saying he won't debate Harris a second time. 

Trump has said that it's too late for another debate because early in-person and absentee voting is already underway in a growing number of states across the country. 

A third projection from the DNC being illuminated on Trump Tower says "Project 2025 HQ."

Project 2025 is a political initiative published by the well-known Heritage Foundation, a top DC-based conservative think-tank. While some of the authors who worked on the initiative - which includes some controversial planks - are veterans of the Trump administration, the former president and his campaign have pushed back vehemently against repeated attempts by Democrats to link him to Project 2025.

Another projection from the DNC is less controversial. It merely says "Go Coach Walz!"

Walz was a longtime high school teacher and coach in Nebraska and then Minnesota before entering politics.

POLITICS

Power outage doesn't slow down Vance's prep for Tuesday's VP debate with Walz

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance didn't let a power outage derail his preparations for Tuesday's debate with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic Party's running mate.

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance didn't let a power outage derail his preparations for Tuesday's debate with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic Party's running mate.

A source familiar with the senator's debate prep tells Fox News Digital that over the last month, former President Trump's running mate took part in a series of murder board sessions with his team.

For those not familiar with the term, a murder board is a group of people who ask tough questions and have candid discussions to help someone prepare for a difficult examination or test, or in Vance's case, a vice presidential debate.

According to the source, Vance conducted a mock debate over the past week, with Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the House majority whip, playing the role of Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate. Former Trump administration Treasury Department assistant secretary Monica Crowley played the role of one of the moderators from CBS News, which is hosting the debate in New York City.

Halfway through the mock debate, the power went out, as a strong storm slammed through the vicinity of Cincinnati, Ohio, where Vance lives and where the prep session was held. But according to the source, who shared the details first with Fox News, Vance and the team continued on, using lanterns for lighting and cellphones for timers.

This is an excerpt of an article from Fox News' Paul Steinhauser

Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will face off in a vice presidential debate Tuesday evening, with Fox News airing special programming across its key platforms, including the Fox News Channel and Fox News Digital. 

Vance and Walz will travel to New York City for their first and only scheduled debate of the election cycle. The debate will be held at 9 p.m. EST. The debate will be moderated by "CBS Evening News" anchor Norah O'Donnell and "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan. 

The Fox News Channel, FOX Business Network, Fox News Digital, Fox News Audio and Fox Nation will air special programming of the debate. 

Fox News will begin broadcasting special coverage at 8 p.m. Tuesday, kicking off with debate preview analysis from "Jesse Watters Primetime" until 8:20, when the Fox News Channel will then air "FOX News Democracy 2024," which will be hosted by Bret Baier, Martha MacCallum, Jesse Watters and Laura Ingraham. 

Fox News' Sean Hannity will also join the coverage live from the debate's spin room. Congressional correspondent Aishah Hasnie and senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich will also report live from the spin room. 

The Fox News Channel will present "FOX News Democracy 2024: CBS Vice Presidential Debate" between 9 and 11 p.m. Tuesday, which is a simulcast of CBS’s vice presidential debate. 

The debate will last 90 minutes and wrap up at 10:30 p.m. It will include two four-minute commercial breaks, and campaign staff will not be permitted to interact with their respective candidates during the breaks, per debate rules. 

Scott Eisen

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has signaled his support for student loan debt forgiveness, though he has not been as vocal on the topic as his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Walz, a former public school teacher, signed into law a student debt forgiveness program for nurses and healthcare workers last year as governor. The program pays eligible health workers 15% of the average loan debt in their specific field, if they fulfill a two-year contract in a certain area or teach. 

In September, Walz campaigned near the Michigan State University campus, where he focused on student loan debt and climate change.

"When I went to school, you could work a minimum wage job in the summer and pay an entire year’s tuition at the University Minnesota," Walz said.

AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, has blamed the housing crisis on Vice President Kamala Harris, claiming on the campaign trail, "Kamala Harris let in 20 million illegal aliens to compete with Americans for scarce homes.”

He tied the issue of housing to the issue of illegal immigration, pointing to the strain being placed on the housing market by the influx of migrants.

Former President Donald Trump and Vance have vowed to begin mass deportations of illegal immigrants if elected, which could take many of the migrants competing in the housing market out of the equation. 

Further, the Trump-Vance ticket has suggested opening up federal lands for the creation of new housing. 

“Regulation costs 30% of a new home, and we will open up portions of federal land for large-scale housing construction,” Trump told attendees at an event this month at the ​​the Economic Club of New York. “These zones will be ultra-low tax and ultra-low regulations — one of the great small business job creation programs.”

(Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

The Harris-Walz campaign recently laid out a plan to cover $25,000 down payments on homes for hundreds of thousands of people, in addition to boosting housing production across local governments.

Some of the Democrats' proposals have essentially been expansions of current policies in the Biden-Harris administration. This has led critics to slam the ideas as potentially fueling further housing price increases.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz signed a housing bill as governor of Minnesota, directing $1 billion to be spent on various projects. The measure included $200 million to assist with down payments, $200 million for housing infrastructure, $95 million for workforce housing, and a permanent fund to address additional housing needs in Minnesota. Much of the billion-dollar spending law was geared towards the creation of affordable housing.

At the time, Walz said, “As one of the most basic human needs, housing provides a foundation for safety, stability and economic growth."

Ryan Collerd/AFP via Getty Images)

Sen. JD Vance has called for several tax breaks for working Americans, including offering his support to former President Donald Trump’s idea to end taxes on overtime wages.

"When you work over time in this country, beyond 40 hours, you get time-and-a-half," the Ohio Republican said during an appearance on “Face the Nation” last week. “And the President's saying, 'if you're one of those select hard workers that's really busting your rear end to try to make good in Kamala Harris' economy, then you should get a tax cut.'"

Vance has also supported raising the childcare tax credit to $5,000, a large boost from its current $2,000.

"I'd love to see a child tax credit that's $5,000 per child," the GOP vice presidential nominee said on a different appearance on “Face the Nation” in August. "President Trump has been on the record for a long time supporting a bigger child tax credit, and I think you want it to apply to all American families."

Gov. Tim Walz has been an “outlier” on tax reform in recent years, with Minnesota being one of only a few states to raise taxes.

Twenty-eight states have cut taxes in some form at least once since 2021, but Minnesota under Walz became one of the rare states to raise taxes, including imposing a surtax on long-term capital gain income and other investments, according to an analysis by the Tax Foundation.

The Democratic vice presidential nominee has also signed a new law that will partially phase out standardized and itemized deductions for the state’s high earners and signed another law that expanded the scope of the corporate income tax, allowing the state to capture more international business income.

“These tax increases came against the backdrop of a $17.6 billion budget surplus, suggesting that they were driven less by perceived revenue needs than by their contribution to greater tax progressivity,” the analysis reads.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

VP Kamala Harris tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a staunch proponent of abortion access, to drive home her platform’s promise of expanding access to abortion in every state.

Walz expanded abortion access during his administration by signing into law a bill that cemented abortion access following the groundbreaking Dobbs ruling in 2022 that overturned Roe v. Wade.

Walz also passed a shield law to prevent abortion providers and patients from legal backlash in states with more restrictive abortion laws.

Minnesota’s abortion laws have no gestational limit on when an abortion procedure can be done, meaning an abortion is permitted up until birth. 

As such, Jeff Evans, CEO of the conservative Minnesota Family Council, called the Harris-Walz campaign ticket as “the most radical on abortion ... in American history,” according to an Axios report.

Walz also supports access to IVF treatment, noting how he and his wife had struggled with infertility for years, he said. 

Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

Former President Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, is an advocate for pro-life policies, but agrees with the 2022 Dobbs decision reversing Roe v. Wade and leaving the issue up to the states.

The Ohio Republican says he would oppose a federal abortion plan — although in 2022 he said he wanted abortion ‘to be illegal nationally’ — and said if elected, President Donald Trump would veto any proposed national ban.

The Republican Party’s 2024 platform mentions abortion just once, a significant change from previous years’ platforms, and reads in full:

"We proudly stand for families and Life. We believe that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person can be denied Life or Liberty without Due Process, and that the States are, therefore, free to pass Laws protecting those Rights. After 51 years, because of us, that power has been given to the States and to a vote of the People. We will oppose Late Term Abortion, while supporting mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care, access to Birth Control, and IVF (fertility treatments).”

Detroit Free Press/Adam Vander Kooy / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz pursued a number of liberal policies in Minnesota on immigration.

Walz controversially signed legislation granting drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. Also during Walz’s time as governor, Democrats passed measures to make illegal immigrants eligible for a tuition-free college program and also expanded access to the state’s MinnesotaCare to include those in the country illegally. In 2018, he appeared to voice support for "sanctuary policies."

"My position on Minnesota becoming a sanctuary state boils down to who has the responsibility for enforcing immigration laws," he told CBS News in 2018. 

"Here's what I believe: Congress has given federal agencies the authority to enforce immigration laws in Minnesota, and I support their doing so. Congress has not given local law enforcement that same authority. The role of law enforcement is to enforce state and local laws, not federal immigration laws, and I strongly believe that they should not do so."

Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley spoke to Fox News Digital about Tuesday night's vice presidential debate on CBS and said Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, is "absolutely prepared." 

"What's on the line is an opportunity for JD Vance to talk directly to the American voters in every single battleground state, frankly, in every state around the country, and deliver the message," Whatley said. 

"We want to talk about the issues that really matter to them. Talk about whether America is going to be strong or going to be weak. Are we going to have a strong economy? Are we going to have a strong southern border? Are we going to have a strong standing in the world? That really is what this election comes down to." 

Whatley observed that Vance is well-prepared for the debate, noting how the Republican candidate for vice president has done multiple press interviews and visited with voters. 

"Look, there's not been an election in our lifetime that's going to be so consequential as this. At every single level. And we're ready for the moment," said Whatley. 

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Republican presidential nominee J.D. Vance has echoed the stance of the Trump administration and the Trump campaign on the question of immigration.

In addition to his hawkish stance on the southern border, Vance has embraced the positions of limiting immigration programs, including Biden-era parole programs.

The Biden administration used a number of protections to bring in hundreds of thousands of migrants using humanitarian parole.

Conservatives, including Vance, say those programs are illegal. Vance recently commented on how the media refers to some migrants as being here “legally.”

"And what they mean is that Kamala Harris used two separate programs, mass parole and Temporary Protected Status. She used two programs to wave a wand and to say, we're not going to deport those people here," he said. "Well, if Kamala Harris waves the wand illegally and says these people are now here legally, I'm still going to call them an illegal alien. An illegal action from Kamala Harris does not make any alien legal. That is not how this works. "

Tim Walz has echoed Kamala Harris on Israel, namely that “Israel has the right to defend itself, and the atrocities of Oct. 7 are unacceptable, but Palestinian civilians being caught in this … has got to end.” 

“We can’t allow what’s happened in Gaza to happen,” he said in September during a radio interview. “The Palestinian people have every right to life and liberty themselves.”

Walz has condemned Hamas as “a brutal terrorist organization” and voted in support of Israel multiple times while a member of Congress, including a condemnation of the U.N. resolution that declared Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal. 

He also told the Jewish Community Relations Council earlier this year that “failure to recognize the state of Israel is taking away that self-determination. So it is antisemitic.” 

Walz, however, has supported those protesting American support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, claiming they are doing so for “all the right reasons.” 

Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee and The Associated Press contributed to this update.

Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images

Ohio Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, has followed in former President Trump’s footsteps when discussing Israel and Hamas, taking a strong stance in favor of the Jewish state and insisting upon the total annihilation of Hamas for the good of the region. 

“Our goal in the Middle East should be to allow the Israelis to get to some good place with the Saudi Arabians and other Gulf Arab states,” Vance told CNN in May. “There is no way that we can do that unless the Israelis finish the job with Hamas.”

“We want the Israelis and the Sunnis to police their own region of the world,” Vance said in a speech to the Quincy Institute that same month, according to The Hill.

Vance views Israel as a critical piece of U.S. interest and policy in the Middle East, saying during his Quincy Institute speech that “the idea that there is ever going to be an American foreign policy that doesn’t care a lot about that slice of the world is preposterous.”

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All eyes are on Russia’s war in Ukraine as the conflict persists with no end in sight, U.S. aid continues – though not at a rate Kyiv needs to win – and American voters remain divided on what future aid should look like. 

GOP vice president nominee JD Vance continues to turn heads in his opposition to U.S. aid and in a September interview said Donald Trump would establish a “peaceful settlement” by giving Moscow the land it has illegally seized.

He called on Kyiv to give up plans to join NATO – a proposal that critics say would be a win for Putin.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy rejected the plan, calling Vance “too radical” and warning he should not be taken seriously.

Zelenskyy said Vance would set a dangerous precedent and would be “responsible for potentially starting a global war.”

The proposal is unpopular with security experts, European allies and among some in the GOP.

DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Following the decision by Kamala Harris to name Tim Walz as her running mate, headlines across Ukraine have reflected a more hopeful tone as Kyiv looks to maintain support in its war against Russia.

Headlines proclaiming “Good news for Ukraine” circulated in Ukrainian media and NATO allies signaled a sigh of relief behind closed doors.

As governor of Minnesota Walz has strongly backed Kyiv by meeting with Ukrainian dignitaries, blocking state agencies from doing business with Russia, and naming March 6, 2022 Ukrainian Solidarity Day in Minnesota.

Walz has called Russia’s invasion an “attack on democracy” and Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova in August praised Walz as a “reliable friend of our country."

Republican vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) speaks to supporters during a campaign event at the Northwestern Michigan Fair grounds on September 25, 2024 in Traverse City, Michigan. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

JD Vance sparked controversy with claims about Haitian migrants, including claims that migrants in a town in Ohio have been eating pets. 

Vance fueled viral claims that migrants from Haiti in Springfield, Ohio are eating animals – claims that were also fueled by former President Donald Trump. Officials say they have found no evidence of that happening.

"I trust my constituents more than I do the American media that has shown no interest in what's happened in Springfield until we started sharing cat memes on the Internet, which is disgraceful that the American media ignored this town," Vance told NBC "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker. 

He has also said that he will continue to call migrants from Haiti illegal immigrants.

"The media loves to say that the Haitian migrants — hundreds of thousands of them, by the way, 20,000 in Springfield, but hundreds of thousands of them all across the country — they are here legally."

"And what they mean is that Kamala Harris used two separate programs, mass parole and Temporary Protected Status. She used two programs to wave a wand and to say, we're not going to deport those people here," he said. "Well, if Kamala Harris waves the wand illegally and says these people are now here legally, I'm still going to call them an illegal alien. An illegal action from Kamala Harris does not make any alien legal. That is not how this works. "

Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

Democratic vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told rally goers in Pennsylvania last month, “We can't afford four more years of this,” despite his ticket-mate being in the White House since 2021.

During his speech in Bethlehem, Walz was discussing gun violence when he became distracted by an audience member who appeared to need water. Walz, the running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris, strayed from his speech to call attention to the rally goer. 

"I'll bring her home here quick, folks: Look, Kamala Harris made it clear these guys want to instill fear," Walz said at the rally. "They want to tell you that [you should] just get over it, it's a fact of life. This is the way it is."

"[Harris] simply has said it doesn't have to be this way," he added. "It doesn't have to be this way. We can't afford four more years of this."

Although Walz may have been referring to gun violence or Trump's rhetoric when he cited "four more years of this,” the ambiguity of his statement led conservative commentators to roast the Minnesota governor on social media for what appeared to be a criticism of the Biden administration.

Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

“Hillbilly Elegy” is Ohio Sen. JD Vance's 2016 memoir that Netflix later made into a movie starring Glenn Close and directed by Ron Howard.

In the book and film, Vance describes growing up in Ohio after his mother's family moved from Appalachian Kentucky after World War II.

Vance writes about a turbulent childhood marked by his mother’s addiction and instability. His grandmother, played by Close in the film, was his guiding force at times -- and despite these challenges, a young Vance later went on to graduate high school, join the Marine Corps, and even attend The Ohio State University and earn a degree from Yale Law School.

The story also delves into other cultural and socioeconomic issues facing the white working class who live in the Appalachian community along the Rust Belt region, such as occasional instances of people lacking work ethic and hope for overcoming hardships at home.  

Getty Images

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is well-known as having made a living as a high school teacher before hitting the national political scene as a member of the House of Representatives.

Walz was born in Nebraska to a public school administrator and community activist, according to a congressional biography still online from his days in Washington.

He spent a year teaching in China through a program led by Harvard University before returning to his home state of Nebraska for a classroom job there.

After getting married to his wife Gwen, Walz moved to Minnesota where he taught and coached high school football at Mankato West High School. He’s since used the former title to add to his “Midwest everyman” brand, with even Vice President Kamala Harris referring to him as “Coach Walz.”

Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard , though the details of his deployment and other facts of his service have since been scrutinized for being misleading.

Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz delivers keynote remarks at the Human Rights Campaign annual national dinner in Washington, DC, on September 7, 2024. (Photo by Allison Bailey / AFP)

Vice President Kamala Harris liked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's biography, his record of winning tough races, and his progressive record as governor of a swing state. 

And equally important, despite having any real relationship with Walz prior to naming him as her running mate on the Democratic Party's 2024 ticket last month, she appeared to quickly click with him.

Walz, a son of the Midwest, was a longtime teacher and coach and served a quarter-century in the Army National Guard, before entering politics. A Democrat in a red congressional district, he had a history of reaching across the aisle to get things accomplished, 

Having the plainspoken and energetic Walz on the national ticket not only helps Harris in Minnesota - a reliably blue state in presidential elections that the Trump campaign has flirted with trying to flip - it also benefits the vice president in two crucial Midwestern battlegrounds - neighboring Wisconsin and nearby Michigan.

In naming Walz as her running mate, Harris emphasized that "one of the things that stood out to me about Tim is how his convictions on fighting for middle class families run deep." 

"It’s personal," she added. "He grew up in a small town in Nebraska, spending summers working on his family’s farm. His father died of cancer when he was 19, and his family relied on Social Security survivor benefit checks to make ends meet. At 17, he enlisted in the National Guard, serving for 24 years. He used his GI Bill benefits to go to college, and become a teacher." 

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Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance had a national profile even before being elected to Congress, having written the hit book, “Hillbilly Elegy : A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” based on his childhood in rural America.

The book was famously turned into a feature film directed by Ron Howard and starring Amy Adams, Glenn Close, and others.

Vance served in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years and was deployed to Iraq, after which he enrolled in Ohio State University using funds granted in the GI bill. After graduating with his bachelor’s degree, Vance enrolled in Yale Law School where he met his wife, Usha.

He briefly worked for Sen. John Cornyn, R–Texas, and clerked for a federal judge after graduating. 

After clerking and law school, Vance quickly made his way up the corporate ladder. He lived in San Francisco for a period of time and made a living as a venture capitalist. One of his most notable roles there was as a principal for Peter Thiel’s firm, Mithril Capital.

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With an eye toward the future of a Republican Party dominated by Donald Trump and his legions of MAGA supporters, the 78-year-old former president in July named now 40-year-old Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate on the GOP's national ticket.

The former president decided to share the Republican Party ticket with one of his top supporters in the Senate and a one-time Trump critic who has transformed into a leading America First disciple.

Vance grew up in a working-class family in a small city in southwestern Ohio. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from high school, and served in the Iraq War.

Vance, a former venture capitalist and the author of the bestselling memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy," before running for elective office, hails from Ohio, a one-time battleground state the former president comfortably carried in the 2016 and 2020 elections. 

But the first-term lawmaker - who was elected to the Senate just two years ago - is on a mission to boost the GOP ticket among working class voters, especially across the Rust Belt, who otherwise might support the Democratic Party ticket.

Trump, in naming Vance, said the senator would be “strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond.”

During the vetting process for the GOP vice presidential nominee, Vance had a major ally in Donald Trump Jr. The former president's eldest son and popular surrogate in the MAGA world is a close friend of Vance.

The Empire State has been a liberal bastion for the last few decades: It has voted Democratic in the last nine presidential elections, six of which were by margins over 20%.

Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump by 23% in 2020, but Republicans in the House picked up three seats that were previously held by Democrats. 

The state is largely more red than the overwhelmingly more Democratic City of New York. Its congressional delegation has 26 members, 10 of which are Republicans. The State Assembly is made up of 102 Democrats and 48 Republicans, while the state Senate has 42 Democrats and 21 Republicans. New York’s last Republican governor was George Pataki, who served from 1995 to 2006. 

In November, New York is set to have six competitive House races, as Republicans fight to hold onto its razor-thin margin in the lower chamber. Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is up for reelection in November, a race she is largely expected to win. 

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The vice presidential candidates agreed to debate in the fall. Originally, sites including Easton, Pa., among others, were considered for a location for the debate. Ultimately, according to an Aug. 14 statement by CBS News, that particular network chose New York City as the site of the debate.

“CBS News invited both vice presidential candidates to participate in a debate in New York City. We provided the campaigns with four dates as options: Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1 and Oct. 8,”  a spokesperson for the network said in a statement.

“We look forward to their responses and providing voters with an opportunity to hear directly from the vice presidential candidates,” the statement concluded.

New York City is also considered the media capital of the U.S. With that in mind, New York City would be a realistic choice for the location for a major broadcast network to conduct a presidential debate. CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN and Fox News all have headquarters in Manhattan.

With a second face-to-face showdown between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump unlikely - and with a margin-of-error race with five weeks until Election Day in November - there's a lot on the line in the vice presidential debate.

While debates between the running mates are the undercard of a White House race and have rarely moved the need much in the past, when Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democrats' nominee, face-off on Tuesday, there will be heightened stakes.

Any major knockout blow - or agonizing misstep - could turn what's traditionally seen as a second-tier event into an impactful showdown.

"Given that we're only likely to have one head-to-head matchup between the principal candidates and this is the last meet up between the two tickets directly before the election, it heightens the importance and significance of this debate," longtime Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams, a veteran of multiple presidential campaigns, told Fox News.

Most political pundits said that Harris bested Trump last month in their first and likely only debate. And flash polls of debate watchers agreed. 

So a strong showing by Vance in Tuesday's vice presidential debate could give Trump a boost. 

Fox News

The Oct. 1, 2024 vice presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz will be aired on CBS and CBS News at 9 p.m. ET in New York City. You can catch the live broadcast on CBS and stream it on platforms where CBS News 24/7 and Paramount+ are available.

In New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, the debate will air on channel 2. In the Philadelphia area, it will air on channel 3.

Check your local listings for the CBS affiliate in your area.

The debate will also be available for simulcast across Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox News Digital, Fox News Audio and FOX Nation. Fox News Digital will have up to the minute coverage of the debate available at FoxNews.com.

Follow along as well on Fox News Channel for breaking coverage of the debate, including pre- and post-coverage featuring your favorite Fox News Channel personalities like Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino, Bill Hemmer, Martha MacCallum, Bret Baier and Brit Hume.