Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has received faint praise from Democrats following the vice presidential debate between himself and JD Vance.
An instant survey from CNN, said that Vance won the debate, but U.S. polling Nostradamus Allan Lichtman said that Walz was victorious. Walz received criticism from some analysts who believed he was like a “deer in the headlights,” but the Democrats praised his “plain spoken” approach.
CBS hosted the debate last night, with Vance and Walz facing off for the first time. They engaged in a policy-focused and markedly cordial debate, which gave both campaigns the opportunity to gain traction with undecided voters.
The battle came in a chaotic week, as the crisis in the Middle East escalates. In the U.S., Hurricane Helene has wrought devastation to large portions of the Southern eastern U.S., hitting the crucial battleground states of Georgia and North Carolina.
Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen Walz, after his debate with JD Vance on October 1, 2024, in New York City. Walz has received praise from fellow democrats for being “plain spoken.”
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The Cambridge Dictionary defines “plain speaking” as “the act of saying clearly and honestly what you think without trying to be polite.”
Newsweek spoke to Professor Iwan Morgan of University College London in the U.K. about the debate. He said “both candidates performed reasonably well in the debate. Vance was fluent in laying out the policy issues on which the Republicans are campaigning, certainly far more so than Trump has been of late.
“For Walz, the primary objective was to say nothing that might damage the Harris campaign, but also to burnish his credentials as a plain speaking man of the Midwest, arguably the major regional battleground of the campaign. This was why Harris picked him as a running mate.”
Speaking on NewsNation, Senator Mark Kelly said that Walz “did great. I mean, really fantastic. He’s very plain spoken. I think he spoke to the American people in a way that they will understand.”
Senator Amy Klobuchar echoed this on CNN.
“The Tim Walz that you have seen from the very beginning of this presidential campaign when he burst on the national stage is the Tim Walz that you’re going to get,” she said. “It’s someone that you can trust. It’s someone that’s plain spoken. He doesn’t use a lot of fancy words.
“He’s not messing around playing games up there in the debate stage and pretending I’m all with you, with my heart and then supports policies that have nothing to do with what you just said. He is what he is, and I think that’s what’s going to come across to the American people. That’s what came across today.”
Morgan told Newsweek that Walz was “initially nervous and had to come clean that he was not in Hong Kong at the time of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
“By and large, however, he did the job needed of him. His best moment was putting Vance on the spot about whether he thought Trump had won in 2020. There was no knockout blow, but there never is now that candidates are so well briefed in their preparations.”
New Mexico Senator Ben Ray Luján posted on X that: “I served with Governor Walz in the U.S. House. He’s a plainspoken, honest man who knows how to win tough races and work across the aisle to get things done.”
Pennsylvania Representative Malcolm Kenyatta also shared his plain-speaking praise on X. “In every answer Coach @Tim_Walz is speaking directly to folks, in a plain-spoken way, about serious solutions for the future of our families,” he said.
In every answer Coach @Tim_Walz is speaking directly to folks, in a plain spoken way, about serious solutions for the future of our families.
— Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (@malcolmkenyatta) October 2, 2024
He followed up his post, writing that: “JD Vance is talking over the moderators and down to voters.”
Morgan told Newsweek that: “For the relatively unknown Walz it was all about presenting an image as a plain speaking, reasonable and trustworthy guy. He did that. I doubt it will make any real difference to the outcome, however. He probably did not lose the ticket any votes, but I doubt he won many either.”
Newsweek has reached out to the Harris campaign via email for comment.
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