Usually, it must be said, the debates between the vice candidates are not too interesting, having a limited impact. This year, however, given the peculiarities of the ongoing electoral campaign, there was a fair amount of anticipation for the comparison between JD Vance And Tim Walz. A duel which, held last night in New York on CBS, was ultimately won by running mate Of Donald Trump.
To confirm the good performance of Vance it was first of all the instant poll by CBS itself, according to which the senator from Ohio would have won the victory with 42% of the votes against the 41% obtained by his rival (and compared to 17%, according to which it would have basically been a draw). For his part, the Washington Post put together a focus group of 22 voters from swing states: 14 of them attributed the victory to Vanceeight a.m Waltz.
However, beyond these very first hot polls, the Republican candidate’s better performance emerged from various passages of the debate. Vance he appeared particularly concentrated, avoiding the digressions which, on the other hand, he had indulged in Donald Trump during the duel with Kamala Harris last month. The senator from Ohio attacked the Democratic candidate head-on, criticizing her failures in over three years of activity as vice president of the United States, hitting hard especially on inflation, illegal immigration and foreign policy. The effectiveness of Vance it also emerged when he found himself facing topics that were potentially slippery for him: from accusing Haitians of eating cats in Springfield to abortion, passing through the raid on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Waltzfor his part, has undoubtedly held his own against his opponent on more than one occasion: he has therefore not incurred one debacle. However, the governor of Minnesota suffered two problems, which prevented him from winning or at least drawing. First, he found himself in trouble on Iran, immigration and inflation, due to the fact that the Harris he has been vice president in office for over three years. He therefore, yes, attacked head-on Trump And Vance but it also has had an uphill battle in defending the results of the Democratic candidate. Secondly, he had a moment of great embarrassment when the moderators asked him to account for the fact that various newspapers had blatantly denied him when he said he had been in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square massacre. Waltz he replied that he had “expressed himself badly”. “I tried to do my best, but I wasn’t perfect. And sometimes I’m an idiot,” he said. This is a statement that the Republicans will predictably make again to hit the Dem ticket.
In short, perhaps it won’t have a dramatic impact on the electoral race. However the performance of Vance it might help Trump to gain ground in key states, starting with those of Rust Belt: not surprisingly, the Ohio senator has thundered against the relocation of manufacturing production to China and defended energy autonomy policies. From this point of view, Waltz instead he made the mistake of criticizing the trade war started at the time by Trump with Beijing: a line that has historically been appreciated by large sectors of the blue-collar workers of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Let us always remember that, beyond television dynamics, presidential duels are won by those who know how to speak most effectively to crucial segments of the American electorate. Especially this year, the working world of Rust Belt will prove decisive. And last night he wasn’t in tune with that world Tim Walz.
