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Walz-Vance debate updates: VP candidates tangle on abortion, immigration and Jan. 6

PHOTO: Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz participate in the Vice Presidential debate in New York City, October 1, 2024.
1:57
Matt Rourke/AP
Key moments from the Walz-Vance vice presidential debate
By Alexandra Hutzler, Ivan Pereira, Meredith Deliso, Brittany Gaddy, Tal Axelrod
Last Updated: October 2, 2024, 3:54 AM

Vice presidential candidates Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance squared off for the first and only time this election season.

Unlike the last two presidential debates, the candidates appeared to be more cordial. However, both running mates criticized the presidential candidates on a host of issues including gun violence, reproductive rights, immigration and climate change.

Walz appeared to have nerves in the opening of debate, but went on the attack as the night went on. Vance took aim at Harris and her policies and pushed Trump's policies.

Key Headlines

  • Harris campaign says Walz won the debate
  • Biden, Trump react to debate
  • Candidates shake hand again
  • Vance attacks Harris in closing statement
  • Walz gives closing pitch
Here's how the news is developing:

Oct 02, 2024 3:54 AM

After VP debate, Trump reiterates he doesn't want another debate

After the vice-presidential debate ended, and as Harris’ campaign continues to call for another debate between Harris and Trump, the former president is reiterating that he’s not interested in doing another debate.

"I beat Biden, I then beat her, and I’m not looking to do it again, too far down the line. Votes are already cast," Trump said in the post.

-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa, Soo Rin Kim and Kelsey Walsh


Oct 02, 2024 3:40 AM

Vance says debate was chance to argue against 'caricature' of Trump

Following the debate, Vance told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he wanted to defend Trump against the “caricature" of the former president.

"One of the things I tried to do, Sean, obviously, is criticize Kamala Harris' record, but also remind the American people that Donald Trump is not the caricature that Kamala Harris and the media have made him out to be, that he was an incredibly effective president for four years in office, and he actually solved problems," Vance said.

Asked if he thought Walz looked nervous, Vance said he was nervous himself.

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

-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa


Oct 02, 2024 3:30 AM

Harris campaign says Walz won the debate

Jen O’Malley Dillon, the campaign chair for Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign released a statement claiming that Walz won the debate.

"He spoke passionately about the Vice President’s vision for a new way forward for the country. And in what was the most critical moment of the entire debate, which came in its final exchange, he stood up for our Constitution, while JD Vance admitted he’d put Trump ahead of the country," she said.

"The Governor showed once again that he will be an experienced governing partner on day one for Vice President Harris as they work together to deliver for working families," she added.



Oct 02, 2024 3:23 AM

Walz grabs a slice of pizza after the debate

Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen Walz were seen grabbing some food at a local pizzeria near CBS Studios following the debate.

Earlier in the day, the governor went for a jog in Central Park.

“I think it was a good debate, the public got to see a contrast, and I think the ending sums it up -- the democracy issue’s important," he said after several shouted questions from press about his debate performance.

Walz then did not answer two shouted questions about his answer during the debate about befriending school shooters. He also ignored a question about whether he was in Hong Kong for the Tiananmen Square massacre.

He did, however, mumble an answer about whether he would expand upon his faith.

“We’re Lutherans, we don’t talk about it,” he laughed to Gwen.

-Isabella Murray

PHOTO: Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen Walz visit Justino's Pizzeria after his debate with Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, October 1, 2024 in New York City.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen Walz visit Justino's Pizzeria after his debate with Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, October 1, 2024 in New York City.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Oct 02, 2024 2:22 AM

Claim: Walz: 'Their Project 2025 is going to have a registry of pregnancies.'

Fact Check: Needs context

Walz has falsely claimed that Project 2025 will require pregnant women to register with a new federal agency designed to monitor their pregnancies. While the Project 2025 policy proposal is firmly against abortion, it does not call for monitoring pregnancies. It does, however, call for states to track abortions more meticulously than current CDC rules mandate, or else face punishment like cuts to federal funding.

Vance and Trump have also both said that Project 2025 is not associated with their campaign.

It’s worth noting, however, that Trump told Time Magazine in April that states could decide to start monitoring pregnancies as a way to track illegal abortions, saying that overturning Roe vs. Wade returned those decisions to the states.

“I think they might do that. Again, you'll have to speak to the individual states. Look, Roe v. Wade was all about bringing it back to the states,” he told Time.

More broadly on the subject of abortion, Project 2025 does call for an end to the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, a widely used abortion medication, and calls for a revival of a 150-year-old law that bans the shipment of abortion related equipment and medicine from being sent via the U.S. Postal Service, which would make it much more difficult for women who are taking the drug legally to access the care.

PHOTO: Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Governor Tim Walz gestures as he speaks during a debate with Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance in New York City, Oct. 1, 2024.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Governor Tim Walz gestures as he speaks during a debate with Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance in New York City, Oct. 1, 2024.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

In August, Trump signaled he was open to revoking mifepristone access during a press conference in Mar-A-Lago, when he responded to a reporter's question about whether he would direct the FDA to ban the drug. “You could do things that … would supplement. Absolutely. And those things are pretty open and humane,” Trump said, while also emphasizing at that conference that he wanted to “give everybody a vote” on the issue.

When asked to clarify those remarks, Trump’s campaign pointed to the former President’s belief that abortion laws should be left to the states. The former President has also said he would not sign a federal abortion ban into law.

—Justin Fishel


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