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

Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on October 1, 2024

(NEW YORK) — The vice-presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance could prove to be a major factor in the presidential election — given how close the race is and its potential impact with undecided voters.

The 90-minute CBS News showdown starts at 9 p.m. ET in New York City. ABC News Digital will live blog throughout the day and evening, pre-debate coverage will air at 8 p.m. on the ABC network and stream on ABC News Live — followed by the debate itself and post-debate analysis.

Here’s how the news is developing:

Walz gives closing pitch

Walz said he was “proud” of the coalition Harris has been able to build since becoming the nominee, from Sen. Bernie Sanders to Taylor Swift.

“And they believe in a truly optimistic future for this country,” he said.

Walz said Harris is giving people a “new way forward” while Vance would only stand for Trump’s agenda.

Vance says Democrats have protested the results of elections

Vance said it’s “really rich” for Democratic leaders to say Trump is a unique threat to democracy, saying Democrats protested the results of 2016 election.

“Hillary Clinton, in 2016, said that Donald Trump had the election stolen by Vladimir Putin because the Russians bought, like, $500,000 worth of Facebook ads,” he said. “If we want to say that we need to respect the results of the election, I’m on board. But if we want to say, as Tim Walz is saying, that this is just a problem that Republicans have had, I don’t buy that.”

In response, Walz said, “Jan. 6 was not Facebook ads.”

Walz brings up Pence’s actions on Jan 6 to rebuke Trump

As Walz continued to criticize Vance for not condemning the Jan. 6 attacks and refusing to say if he would accept the 2024 election, he brought up Vance’s predecessor, former Vice President Mike Pence.

“When Mike Pence made that decision to certify that election, that’s why Mike Pence isn’t on this stage,” Walz said.

“What I’m concerned about is where is the firewall with Donald Trump? Where is the firewall if he knows, he could do anything, including taking an election, and his vice president’s not going to stand to it. That’s what we’re asking you, America.”

Claim: Walz’s son was at scene of a shooting

Fact Check: Needs context

Speaking on the gun violence epidemic Gov. Tim Walz said tonight his son witnessed a serious shooting.

“Look, I got a 17-year-old, and he witnessed a shooting at a community center playing volleyball,” Walz said during the debate.

Walz has referenced the incident before, but it’s unclear if his son was actually witness to the shooting. During a Grand Rapids campaign rally on Sept. 12, while talking about gun violence, Walz made a similar comment: “My own son was in a location where someone was shot in the head,” Walz said at the rally. “Too many of us have this happen … These guys say it’s back to life and get over it. Move on … How morally broken do you have to be to not be able to spend any time internalizing children and teachers being gunned down in the first weeks of school?”

A spokesperson for Walz clarified at the time that his son Gus was at the location of — but was not involved in — a Jan. 2023 shooting at a St. Paul recreation center.

Asked by ABC News to clarify tonight whether Gus was witness to the actual shooting, a campaign spokesperson said, “He was in the building with the other kids. Happened in front of them.”

Local reports say the shooting took place just outside the rec center in the parking lot, leaving a 16-year-old boy critically wounded.

—Isabella Murray and Justin Fishel

Vance doesn’t rule out challenging 2024 results

Vance was asked if he would challenge this year’s election results even if they were certified by every state leader. He did not rule it out.

Vance said he believed “we should debate about those issues peacefully in the public square.”

Walz said that was “troubling.”

“When this is over, we need to shake hands this election and the winner needs to be the winner,” Walz said. “This has got to stop. It’s tearing our country apart.”

Candidates discuss paid parental leave

Childcare came up in the debate and Walz touted his state’s paid parental leave and medical leave policies.

Walz said that the time offered to parents should be negotiable.

“We’re saying is the economy works best when it works for all of us. And so a paid family medical leave program, and I will tell you, go to the families or go to the businesses and ask them, as far as child care on this, you have to take it at both the supply and the demand side,” he said.

Vance agreed that parents need help, but stressed that they need more choices.

The senator then defended Trump’s comments about child care not being expensive and focused on Trump’s policies to cut taxes and bring jobs back from overseas.

“It’s so expensive right now … because you’ve got way too few people providing this very essential service,” he said.

Claim: Walz: children are NOT being used a drug mules

Fact Check: Mostly True

According to Mexican immigration officials, it is very uncommon for children to be used to smuggle drugs. However, the federal government has warned in the past of youth being used by drug cartels. Sources within the Mexican cartels consulted by ABC News in previous coverage say that their drugs are mostly being smuggled through regular points of entry by Mexican citizens with visas or by U.S. citizens.

—William Gretsky and Anne Laurent

Claim: Vance said Trump made the Affordable Care Act stronger

Fact-check: [False](https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/sep/20/jd-vance/vance-misleads-trump-tried-to-take-the-aca-down-no/).

The Trump administration cut millions of dollars in marketing and enrollment aid for the law’s health plans and backed failed congressional and legal efforts to overturn the law. The Trump administration in June 2020 asked the Supreme Court to overturn the law in a case more than a dozen Republican-led states had brought; the high court rejected it.

Affordable Care Act enrollment declined by more than 2 million people during Trump’s presidency, and thenumber of uninsured Americans rose by 2.3 million, including 726,000 children, from 2016 to 2019, the U.S. Census Bureau reported; that includes three years of Trump’s presidency.

—PolitiFact’s Matthew Crowley and Julie Appleby

Voters are concerned about the cost of housing

Voters have been especially worried about inflation and the rising costs for basic goods like housing since the end of the pandemic. As Walz said tonight, Harris’s proposals have focused on the issue of affordability. She’s proposed trying to increase supply, which most economists agree is a big driver of rising home prices, but also to give first-time homebuyers a $25,000 grant for making down-payments.

A Napolitan survey from August found that 61 percent of voters liked that idea, though half thought it would drive up housing costs. A Data for Progress survey from this month found that voters like a range of solutions, including increasing supply.

Trump hasn’t released detailed plans but, as Vance said, has proposed the idea that there should be fewer regulations and that limiting immigration would increase supply. Most economists agree that the level of immigration has little to do with housing supply.

—538’s Monica Potts

Vance pressed on health care plan

Vance was asked to explain how his health care plan would protect people with preexisting conditions, with the moderator noting that during the presidential debate, Trump said he had “concepts of a plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act.

Vance responded in part, “Of course, we’re going to cover Americans with preexisting conditions.”

Pressed by the moderator to explain how, he said they plan to keep regulations and laws that protect them in place “but we also want to make the Health Insurance Marketplace function a little bit better now.”

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.

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

Voters trust Harris much more on abortion

Vance said a few times in this debate that Republicans need to “win back people’s trust” on the issue of abortion, and the polls support that.

Abortion is important to many voters this cycle, especially women and Democrats. And they trust Harris more than Trump on the issue. In an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll from August, they gave Harris a 12 point lead on the issue over Trump.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, more Americans have also expanded their view of abortion rights and don’t want states to put limits on the procedure. KFF has found that nearly three-quarters of reproductive-age women oppose leaving abortion access up to the states, as Trump and Vance have said they support.

Democrats have been working in states across the country to paint Republican candidates as too extreme on the issue, and are hoping it drives voters to the polls as it has the past two years.

—538’s Monica Potts

Claim: Vance: ‘I never supported a national ban. I did during when I was running for Senate in 2022 talk about setting some minimum national standard.’

Fact Check: False

When running for Senate in 2022, Vance signaled support for a bill introduced by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham that would ban abortion after 15 weeks nationwide. Vance called it “totally reasonable to say you cannot abort a baby, especially for elective reasons, after 15 weeks of gestation.”

Also during his 2022 Senate race, Vance said he supported setting “some minimum national standard” in an interview with USA Today.

—Cheyenne Haslett

Walz says they should find ‘common ground’ on housing, Vance blames immigrants

At times getting personal about home ownership, Walz defended Harris’ plan to build three million new homes.

“I think we should be able to find some common ground,” Walz said. “But we can’t blame immigrants for the only reason that’s not the case that’s happening in many cities, the fact of the matter is, is that we don’t have enough naturally affording affordable housing, but we can make sure that the government’s there to help kick start it.”

Vance continued to claim illegal immigration is responsible for higher prices.

“Tim just said something that I agree with. We don’t want to blame immigrants for higher housing prices, but we do want to blame Kamala Harris for letting in millions of illegal aliens into this country, which does drive up cost,” he said.

CBS News’ moderators then asked Vance for evidence that illegal immigration is leading to higher home prices. He said there was a “Federal Reserve” study he said he would share after the debate but did not elaborate.

Candidates differ with note-taking, body language, during debate

Walz is writing quite a lot during the debate.

Right off the bat, during first question to him, Walz took a few notes. Then, during Vance’s first and second answers, Walz continued to take additional notes during each of Vance’s answers.

Vance did not seem to pick up his pen until about 45 minutes in, but he has faced Walz almost continuously while Walz has been speaking.

When it comes to body language, Walz is rocking his weight back and forth on his feet, side to side. He speaks with his hands, sometimes his hands are on the podium, and sometimes his hands are closed with his arms down.

Vance, in contrast, has hardly moved his hands from both sides of the podium and is standing very still.

-ABC News’ MaryAlice Parks

Claim: Vance says Walz ended protections in Minnesota for babies born alive

Fact-check: [False.](https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/sep/18/tony-perkins/no-legal-protections-for-born-alive-babies-in-some/)

Infanticide, the crime of killing a child within a year of its birth, is illegal in all U.S. states. In May 2023, Walz, as Minnesota governor, signed legislation updating a state law for “infants who are born alive.” This change did not alter the fact that under state law, these babies are protected.

Previously, state law said, “All reasonable measures consistent with good medical practice, including the compilation of appropriate medical records, shall be taken by the responsible medical personnel to preserve the life and health of the born alive infant.”

The law was updated to instead say medical personnel must “care for the infant who is born alive.” The law’s updated version also kept the provision that said, “An infant who is born alive shall be fully recognized as a human person, and accorded immediate protection under the law.”

Every person who is born has legal protections under federal and state laws, experts told PolitiFact.

—PolitiFact’s Sara Swann

Walz, Vance share friendly smile during break

Just before cameras started to roll for the next section of the debate, Walz entered the stage again with about 45 seconds to go.

Vance, though, cut it close and rushed back onstage right before the end of the break. As the stagehand announced, “10 seconds.” He was smiling.

The two men smiled at each other as the break ended.

-ABC News’ MayAlice Parks

Claim: Walz was in China during the Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing

Fact Check: False

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has repeatedly claimed he was in China during the Tiananmen Square, Beijing, protests during his year-long stint as a high school teacher in the southeastern Chinese town of Foshan starting in 1989.

Tonight he admitted that was false, saying he “misspoke” earlier, though he travelled to China in the months after the protests.

The school Walz taught at was near Hong Kong. He was there as part of the WorldTeach program, a nonprofit affiliated with Harvard University. But according to local newspaper clipping obtained by ABC News, it appears he did not actually travel to the country until August 1989,

The pro-democracy protests, which led to a deadly government crackdown by the Chinese government, lasted from April 15 to June 4, 1989 — ending about two months ahead of Walz’s travel to the country.

An article in the Chadron Record in Chadron, Nebraska dated August 11, 1989, said that Walz, a graduate of Chadron State College, “will leave Sunday enroute to China, where he will teach English and American history during the next year.”

Walz has spoken about Tiananmen Square repeatedly— why he supported the protests and why he stayed to be a witness.

As recently as in February, Walz said during an episode of the podcast “Pod Save America” that he was in Hong Kong during the protests. “I was in Hong Kong when it happened – I was in Hong Kong on June 4th when Tiananmen happened … Quite a few of our folks decided not to go in,” he said, further expanding on the experience. “There was a lot of Europeans in Hong Kong [saying] don’t do this, don’t go, don’t support them in this, and my thinking at the time was … what a golden opportunity to go tell how it was. And I did have a lot of freedom to do that, taught American history and could tell the story.”

Walz, while serving in Congress as ranking member on the Executive Commission on China, said at a 2014 congressional hearing marking 25 years since the massacre that “as the events were unfolding, several of us went in.”

“I will talk a lot,” Walz said tonight. “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.”

—Isabella Murray & Justin Fishel

Walz warns of dangers of GOP plans for reproductive rights

Walz talked about the dangers that women have faced since Roe. v Wade was overturned and claimed that one of Project 2025’s policies was 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,” he said.

Vance denied the claims and reiterated his claims that he wanted to make America “pro-family.”

“And I want to talk about this issue because I know a lot of Americans care about and I know a lot of Americans don’t agree with everything that I’ve ever said on this topic,” he said.

When asked about his past comments on a national abortion ban, Vance denied that he was pushing for it, and again claimed that the Trump administration is trying to help families including “making childcare more accessible, making fertility treatments more accessible.”

Claim: ‘Iran, which launched this attack, has received over $100 billion in unfrozen assets thanks to the Kamala Harris administration. What do they use that money for? They use it to buy weapons that they’re now launching against our allies.’

Fact Check: False.

Vance might be referring to Iran’s claims that it was able to access $100 billion in previously frozen funds when it officially entered an Obama-era nuclear pact in 2016. However, the Obama White House estimated the total sanctions relief Iran could see was around $50 billion.

And while President Biden was vice president at the time the deal was brokered, Vice President Harris was California’s attorney general and had nothing to do with the agreement, which former President Trump exited in 2018.

Another GOP claim has been that Biden and Harris have allowed Iran to access $16 billion—not $100 billion—of its frozen revenue during Biden’s time in office. However, that assertion is also complicated.

In July 2023, the Biden administration expanded a waiver President Trump had initially put in place that allowed Iraq to purchase energy from Iran without running afoul of sanctions, according to the administration. That move greenlit some of roughly $10 billion in Iraqi payments to be transferred to third-party countries, primarily Oman, and used by Tehran to purchase non-sanctioned goods. According to U.S. officials, those funds are protected by a vetting system to ensure they cannot be put toward nefarious purposes.

Biden administration officials have testified that Iran has been able to withdraw at least some of the money held in Oman, but it’s unclear how much it has accessed and how that money was spent.

However, after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, the U.S. and Qatar reached an agreement to freeze the funds indefinitely, and a State Department official confirms that Iran has not been able to access any the $6 billion.

—Shannon Kingston

Walz pressed on Hong Kong discrepancy, says he ‘misspoke’

When asked why Walz previously said he was in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square massacre, Walz only glancingly responded, only saying that he’s “a knucklehead at times” and that his extensive travel to China “is about trying to understand the world, it’s about trying to do the best you can for the community.”

When pressed further, he conceded that he “misspoke” and that he was in Hong Kong the year of the massacre but not at the time it happened.

Vance’s past criticisms of Trump are highlighted. He defends himself

Walz repeatedly poked at Vance’s past criticisms of Trump and now the CBS moderator is asking him to explain

“Because I’ve always been open and 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,” Vance said.

Vance blamed the media for its coverage of Trump and then said he changed his mind in part because of Trump’s record in office.

Candidates defend their economic plans

Both candidates were asked how their economic plans would avoid ballooning the deficit by trillions of dollars, citing projections by the Wharton School.

Walz said their plan is “simple.”

“Kamala Harris has said to do the things she wants to do, we’ll just ask the wealthiest to pay their fair share. When you do that, our system works best, more people are participating in it, and folks have the things that they need,” he said.

Vance pushed back against the analysis.

“A lot of those same economists attack Donald Trump’s plans, and they have PhDs, but they don’t have common sense and they don’t have wisdom,” Vance said, citing Trump’s record on tax cuts.

Vance lashes out at experts who say Trump’s economic plans will add to deficit

The Penn Wharton Budget Model has estimated that Trump’s tax and spending proposal will cause tax revenue to fall by $5.8 trillion and produce a similar amount of primary deficit over the course of a decade.

Vance lashed out at the experts, saying not to trust them but to trust “common sense.”

“A lot of the same economists attacked Donald Trump’s plans and they have PhDs but they don’t have common sense and they don’t have wisdom,” he said.

Walz immediately pushed back on Vance.

“Economists can’t be trusted. Science can’t be trusted. National security folks can’t be trusted. If you’re going to be president, you don’t have all the answers. Donald Trump believes he does. 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.

Walz invokes his faith while talking about his support for the border bill

Walz has never invoked his Christian faith on the campaign trail, but during the debate, he quoted a Bible verse while reiterating his support for the border bill that failed to pass through Congress this year.

“This bill gets it done in 90 days. Then you start to make a difference in this and you start to adhere to what we know, American principles. Look, I don’t talk about my faith a lot, but Matthew 25:40 talks about — to the least amongst us. You do unto me,” he said.

“I think that’s true of most Americans. They simply want order to it. This bill does it. It’s funded. It’s supported by the people who do it. And it lets us keep our dignity about how we treat other people,” he said.

-ABC News’ Isabella Murray

Claim: Vance: ‘We’ve got 20, 25 million illegal aliens who are here in the country’

Fact-check: [False](https://www.politifact.com/article/2024/jun/28/2024-presidential-debate-fact-check-biden-trump/).

During Biden’s administration, immigration officials have encountered immigrants illegally crossing the U.S. border around 10 million times. When accounting for “got aways” — people who aren’t stopped by border officials — the number rises to about 11.6 million.

But encounters don’t mean admissions. Encounters represent events, so one person who tries to cross the border twice counts for two encounters. Also, not everyone encountered is let into the country. The Department of Homeland Security estimates about 4.2 million encounters have led to expulsions or removals.

About 3.9 million people have been released into the U.S. to await immigration court hearings under Biden’s administration, Department of Homeland Security data shows.

—PolitiFact’s Maria Ramirez Uribe

Debate has largely been civil, but mics had to be cut off on one of the most contentious issues

The debate has largely been civil thus far, with each vice presidential candidate sharing their thoughts on how their running mate wants to solve key issues.

However, the microphones had to be cut by CBS News during a conversation about immigration — mainly, the legal status of Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio.

CBS News had initially said its moderators would not focus on fact-checking the candidates but would reserve the right to mute the candidates’ microphones.

Vance not backing down from Springfield, gets his microphone cut

Vance did not attempt to walk back or apologize for his baseless claims about Haitian migrants in Springfield.

While he didn’t repeat his most egregious falsehoods that the migrants are eating pets, Vance continued to state they were in the U.S. illegally — which they are not.

After the CBS moderator tried to move onto the economy, Vance repeatedly interrupted her. They then cut his microphone.

Vance sidesteps answering if Trump thinks climate change is a hoax

Walz said Trump has called climate change a hoax and then “joked that these things would make more beachfront property to be able to invest in.”

In referencing those remarks, the moderator asked Vance if he agreed. Vance did not directly answer, instead responding that Trump has said that if Democrats believed that climate change is serious, they would be increasing energy production in the U.S. “and that’s not what they’re doing.”

He also said Democrats use clean energy as a “slogan.”

Vance’s Appalachia controversy

Vance often evokes his personal connections to Appalachia, as he did just now talking about Hurricane Helene’s devastation of the region. But there’s more than a bit of controversy over this. While his grandparents were from Southeastern Kentucky, Vance himself grew up in Middletown, Ohio, as was the subject of his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis.” Middletown itself is a small city of about 50,000 between Cincinnati and Dayton, far from Appalachia.

For his part, Walz was born in a small town in Nebraska — West Point, a town of about 3,500 — and has spent most of his career representing or living in the Midwest.

—538’s Monica Potts

Walz defends Harris’ immigration record

In response to Vance’s criticism of Harris’ immigration policy, Walz brought up the fact that Congress had a plan to address the migrant issue before Trump pushed Republicans to drop their support.

“Pass the bill, she’ll sign it,” Walz said.

Claim: Walz: ‘The person closest … to Donald Trump, said he is unfit for the highest office. That is Senator Vance.’

Fact Check: True

Vance has shifted his view toward President Trump since he first rose to prominence. Early in his career, Vance made a number of comments that were disparaging toward Trump. The specific comment that Walz seems to be referencing here is from a 2016 New York Times op-ed written by Vance ahead of the release of his book “Hillbilly Elegy.” In the op-ed, Vance wrote that “Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.” In years since the op-ed was published, Vance has said his views on Trump changed.

—Allison Pecorin

Vance pressed on mass deportation plans

Vance was pressed on his proposal to mass deport immigrants.

The senator argued that it was time to “stop the bleeding” contending Harris’ policies have allowed for more criminal activity.

He maintained that the first deportations should be those with criminal histories and the country should go back to Trump’s border policies.

Vance, Walz offer contrasting views on climate change when questioned on Hurricane Helene

Asked about climate change’s role in extreme weather amidst the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Vance said Trump supports clean air and water, but expressed skepticism carbon emissions play a role in such weather events.

Vance’s comments come one day after Trump bluntly denied any connection between climate change and the devastating storm.

Walz, meanwhile, emphatically said during his response: “Climate change is real.”

Candidates pressed on Iran attack on Israel

Both candidates were pressed in the first question on whether they’d support a preemptive Israeli strike on Iran if it was determined that Tehran had secured a nuclear weapon.

Walz started off shaky, at one point confusing Israel and Iran but declaring that Harris would provide “steady leadership” while noting that at the first presidential debate, “80-year-old Donald Trump” was “talking about crowd sizes.”

Vance began by rattling off his biography before saying that “Donald Trump actually delivered stability in the world” by creating “deterrence” and “peace through strength.”

Walz responded that Trump’s “fickle leadership” helped Iran get near a weapon by backing out of a U.S.-led nuclear deal and that “we need the steady leadership that Kamala Harris is providing.”

Walz, Vance shake hands before debate begins

Walz and Vance shook hands before the debate started.

There was no handshake during the last vice presidential debate because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Candidates take the stage

Vance and Walz started at their podiums for tonight’s debate, so far the only scheduled matchup between the two vice presidential nominees.

Tonight’s viewers have largely already made up their mind

Debates are big deals, and it’s tempting to treat tonight like a potential game-changer in the campaign. But the reality is, most people who are planning to watch tonight aren’t still candidate-shopping. A YouGov/CBS News poll from late last week asked people who were planning to watch the debate why they were planning to do so; 71% said to root for their party’s candidate and 61% said to see if the other side made a mistake. Only 24% said to help them decide who to vote for.

—538’s Nathaniel Rakich

‘It’s game time’: Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris gave her running mate a good luck sendoff in a post on X less than 10 minutes before the debate started.

“@TimWalz, it’s game time,” she said. “I am excited for the country to see you in action.”

-ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim_

Springfield voters want ‘fewer memes, more solutions’ from the campaigns

The Ohio town was at the center of a political firestorm after Vance and Trump amplified false claims that Haitian migrants were eating people’s pets.

Voters there told ABC News’ Terry Moran what they want to hear from both campaigns in these final weeks of the race.

“They know the city is on a recovering path,” Moran said. “What they want is practical, pragmatic solutions to the problems they face. If there are going to be immigrants in this community that don’t speak the language, they need more help with the translation. They need more resources for primary care, for school teachers.”

“They want to hear fewer memes, more solutions.”

Read more about what unfolded in Springfield and Vance’s false claims about the migrants there.

Trump’s advice to Vance: ‘Have fun’

Former President Trump said he told his running mate to “have fun” ahead of tonight’s debate.

“He’s a smart guy. He’s been amazing. He’s been a real warrior,” Trump said of Vance during a campaign event in Milwaukee.

Gwen Walz sends husband well-wishes before debate

Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz sent her husband well-wishes in a post on X prior to the debate.

“Tim has always held true to the values he grew up with: loving your country, helping your neighbor, and fighting for what’s right.” she wrote.

“We’re so proud of you, Tim.”

Tim has always held true to the values he grew up with: loving your country, helping your neighbor, and fighting for what’s right.

We’re so proud of you, Tim. pic.twitter.com/NlKor1qjwG

— Gwen Walz (@GwenWalz) October 1, 2024

-ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim

Walz and Vance backgrounds will be on display

Vance, at 40, is the first millennial on a major party ticket and has only been a politician for two years. He was elected to the Senate in 2022.

Walz, who is 60, has been in government for decades. He successfully ran for Congress in 2005 and served for six terms. He became the governor of Minnesota in 2018 and was reelected in 2022.

Still, some commonalities exist: both are military veterans and they each bring Midwest bona fides to their respective tickets.

Vance arrives at debate site

Vance has arrived at CBS Studios for the debate.

-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie

Walz arrives at CBS Studios in NYC for debate

Walz’s motorcade has arrived at CBS Studios in New York City for the debate. Vance is en route.

-ABC News’ Isabella Murray and Hannah Demissie

Political analysts weigh in on what Vance, Walz need to do to win

Reince Priebus and Donna Brazile joined ABC News Live to discuss what the goals are for Vance and Walz tonight.

“They have one thing to do: to show they can be president and to show the American people that they’re likable,” said Priebus, who served as chief of staff in the Trump White House.

Priebus also stressed the need to reach “uncommitted voters” and discuss what they want to hear. For Republicans, he said, the key issue is the economy, while Democrats will want to hear about health care.

Brazile, a Democratic Party operative, said Walz has to focus on how the Biden-Harris administration has lowered costs and tackled inflation while also bringing back manufacturing jobs.

“So I think that winner of this debate will be able to talk about those kitchen table issues that will be relatable to the American people. Let’s abort all the conversations about childless women and cats and dogs, and instead address those concerns,” she said.

Biden sends well-wishes to Walz in social media post

President Joe Biden sent well-wishes to Walz in a post on X from his campaign account on Tuesday night ahead of the CBS News vice presidential debate.

“Coach, I got your back tonight! Tonight, America will see the strong, principled, and effective leader I’ve known for years—and the contrast you and Kamala provide against the other team,” Biden wrote.

Coach, I got your back tonight!

Tonight, America will see the strong, principled, and effective leader I’ve known for years—and the contrast you and Kamala provide against the other team. pic.twitter.com/7ojASvwkjw

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 1, 2024

-ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim

Stefanik, in spin room, says Iran’s latest attacks raise stakes of national security issues

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., surrogating for Vance, predicted that Iran’s attacks Tuesday on Israel could be a part of the debate questions, saying the latest development in the Middle East has raised the stakes of the importance of national security issues.

“I think that as the American people are seeing the unprecedented hypersonic ballistic missile attack directly from Iran launched into multiple quantities, that raises the stakes,” she said in the spin room. “It also provides an opportunity for JD Vance to compare the peace through strength, and the peace, specifically in the Middle East under President Trump, versus this catastrophe that we’re seeing around the world.”

-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim

Harris, in fundraising pitch, says Walz ‘is ready’ to debate Vance

Vice President Harris, in a fundraising pitch email to supporters, said Walz “is ready” to debate Vance.

“In just hours, Tim Walz will debate JD Vance,” she wrote. “I know that he is ready. And it would help if he knew donors like you had his back before he got on stage.”

Harris added that “Tim has been an outstanding partner out on the campaign trail over the last two months,” and “I have the utmost confidence in the team we’ve built.”

-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow

Biden has ‘complete confidence’ in Walz: White House

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wouldn’t say during the White House press briefing on Tuesday whether President Joe Biden would watch the vice presidential debate, but she said the president has “complete confidence” in Walz.

“He continues to be very busy with all of the events happening today,” she said during Tuesday’s briefing. “But he has complete confidence in Tim Walz.”

Gabbard predicts ‘stark contrast’ between Walz and Vance during debate

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard spoke to ABC News Live on Tuesday where she criticized Walz’s lack of media interviews, predicting that it will show in the debate.

“I think there’s going to be a stark contrast here, given JD Vance has been out on the road doing multiple interviews,” she told ABC News Live. “I think he’s done more interviews than any candidate in this election, whereas Tim Walz has been very quiet on that front.”

“I think this opportunity tonight, I hope, will not be more of the same kind of political theater that we’ve seen in so many of these debates, but actual substantive discussion and debate and accountability,” Gabbard — who endorsed Trump — continued.

-ABC News’ Casey McShea

Walz taking debate ‘very seriously’: Harris campaign spokesperson

Ahead of Tuesday’s debate, Adrienne Elrod, Harris campaign senior adviser and spokesperson, made an appearance on ABC News Live and said that Walz is taking it “very, very seriously.”

“Gov. Walz is taking this debate very, very seriously because you understand the magnitude of this moment,” Elrod said. “He’s going to continue to really talk about the Harris-Walz priorities, what their administration would look like, lowering costs for middle class families, protecting the Affordable Care Act, not getting rid of it.”

-ABC News’ Casey McShea

CBS News says mics won’t be muted for VP debate

CBS News, the network hosting the debate, said that the candidates’ microphones will not be muted, but clarified in a press release that it “reserves the right to turn off candidate microphones.”

This is a shift from the CNN presidential debate in June and the ABC News presidential debate held earlier this month, where microphones were muted unless it was the candidate’s turn to speak.