JD Vance said he does not need to prepare for a debate with Tim Walz because spending time with the American people does that for him.
The Republican and Democratic Vice-Presidential candidates are set to debate with each other in New York, on October 1, moderated by CBS News.
A reporter asked Vance how he was getting ready for the event at a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday.
He answered: “The way I’m doing debate prep is by spending time with these fine people—this is how I do debate prep.
“You get out there, you talk to people, you talk about the issues that matter.
“We don’t need to prepare for a debate with Tim Walz, we need to get out there and talk to the American people, that’s the biggest way that we’re going to prepare for the debate on October 1.”
Vance and Walz agreed to debate around two weeks ago, after CBS News invited them on social media, proposing four possible dates: September 17, September 24, October 1 and October 8.
Walz responded: “See you on October 1, JD.” And the Harris-Walz campaign followed up with the quip: “If he shows up.”
Vance then replied on X, formerly Twitter: “The American people deserve as many debates as possible, which is why President Trump has challenged Kamala to three of them already. Not only do I accept the CBS debate on October 1st, I accept the CNN debate on September 18th as well. I look forward to seeing you at both!”
When CNN asked Vance what rules and terms he and his team had asked for during the debates, he said he “didn’t really require much.”
He said: “We just wanted to make sure that we had an opportunity to do a real exchange of views. That was my only directive, and I told my staff ‘agree to whatever we have to agree to,’ because I think it’s important, again, to be able to stand before the American people and actually ask for their vote, not just pretend it’s going to be given to you.”
JD Vance speaks at a campaign event on Wednesday, in DePere, Wisconsin. Donald Trump’s running mate is set to debate Tim Walz on October 1, and Vance has said his only preparation is talking to the American people.
AP
Vance and Walz will likely clash on the Democratic nominee’s military record, which has come under scrutiny since his Republican counterpart accused him of lying about going to war and “abandoning” his unit.
Last week, a group of 50 veterans from the House and Senate signed an open letter to the Minnesota Governor, telling him he “turned his back on (his) troops.”
Walz, 60, who served with the Minnesota National Guard from 1981 to 2005, has acknowledged that he never saw combat—he left the National Guard at the age of 41 before his unit was mobilized to Iraq, which he did to get into politics, as Newsweek‘s fact-check on Walz’s experience in the military reveals.
While Walz will likely face heat about this, Vance will have to grapple with the multiple controversies he has faced over resurfaced comments about women and abortion, political scientists have said.
Several told Newsweek that the debate could backfire on Vance and the Donald Trump campaign.
Professor Christopher Cooper, of Western Carolina University’s Department of Political Science & Public Affairs, cited the Ohio Senator’s struggling approval ratings.
He told Newsweek: “The vice presidential debate could be a chance to arrest that decline. Of particular interest will be how Vance responds to criticism of his past statements on women.
“As for Walz, most American voters are still getting to know him. His rollout has been received fairly positively—particularly compared with Vance. The question is whether he avoids the decline that befalls most candidates. Of particular interest will be how he responds to recent criticism of his military service.”
Newsweek has contacted Walz and Vance via email, outside of normal working hours, for comment.
