Catholic converts can be nice too: JD Vance charms – and wrongfoots – Walz during vice-presidential debate
JD Vance and Tim Walz, the US Republican and Democratic candidates for vice-president, went head-to-head during last night’s debate in New York about the obvious issues: abortion, immigration, the election result of 2020. It meant the biggest shock of the night came not so much from policy position rather from demeanour: JD Vance was all The post Catholic converts can be nice too: JD Vance charms – and wrongfoots – Walz during vice-presidential debate appeared first on Catholic Herald.
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JD Vance and Tim Walz, the US Republican and Democratic candidates for vice-president, went head-to-head during last night’s debate in New York about the obvious issues: abortion, immigration, the election result of 2020.
It meant the biggest shock of the night came not so much from policy position rather from demeanour: JD Vance was all smiles and played Mr Nice Guy, much to the consternation of Tim Walz.
Previously, Vance, a Catholic convert not shy of speaking his mind on hot-button topics and the role of his faith in forming his political consciousness, has drawn withering fire both from his Democratic opponents and the mainstream media.
Last night, though, he indulged in the modern colloquialism of a “vibe shift”, and one that Walz had not been expecting.
“Tim Walz turned to stare at JD Vance and his eyes grew very wide. He looked shocked at what he was hearing. Senator Vance was being nice,” Will Pavia writes in his sketch for The Times about how the night and debate proceeded.
Pavia notes how “Walz is the governor of Minnesota” and “being nice is part of his act” – but Vance was using a similar modus operandi straight back at Walz, and saying he agreed with the governor on the likes of gun control and sorting out the border issue.
Vance conceded that he believes Walz wants to “solve this problem”, before smoothly noting: “But I don’t think Kamala Harris does.”
If the preceding weeks of Walz continually and publicly calling Vance “weird” had ruffled Vance, the latter didn’t show it.
RELATED: Tim Walz is right – JD Vance is very weird
Vance maintained composed, confident and charming while answering questions. Gone was what Pavia describes as the “radio shock jock” stance that has led to significant backlash against him over the sorts of bold and brusque comments Vance has made, including – back in 2021 – about “childless cat ladies” running America.
“A quite different young chap was now on stage, politely introducing himself to the American people,” Pavia describes:
“He had grown up in Middletown, Ohio, he said. His mum struggled with addiction, his grandmother raised him. All this was in answer to a question about the Middle East. It was very effective. It was the story of Hillbilly Elegy, the bestselling memoir that may be the most broadly popular thing that he has ever done.”
And it all proved “very effective”, especially in regard to his opponent.
“Walz, 60, looked staggered,” Pavia says. “His cloudlike white eyebrows floated higher into the big sky of his forehead. He was not quite himself either.”
Perhaps Vance took account of a previous Catholic Herald editorial which noted that while it is “good that thoughtful and sincere Catholics are participating in politics”, at the same time Vance “can sometimes appear gloomy” when “a cheerful and optimistic demeanour goes a long way in US politics”.
Whether Vance took the advice from the Herald or elsewhere, he applied it during the debate and played Walz at his own game.
Even the New York Times had to begrudgingly acknowledge a degree of success for Vance, running an article titled “Walz Failed to Expose Vance’s Debate Masquerade”.
The NYT, not wanting to let Vance get away with deigning to offer the American electorate a polished performance, notes: “His long experience in tailoring his answers for his audience made him seem, at a superficial level, more polished than Tim Walz, who didn’t have the commanding performance his supporters had hoped for. The sly Midwestern charm that has been so effective in his speeches and campaign ads was missing, replaced by a nervous intensity that led to puzzling answers and missed opportunities to remind viewers of Trump’s unfitness for office.”
Regardless how the US media tries to spin the performances of either candidate to serve their editorial agendas, the debate offered a similar dynamic at play as in the debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, but with the shoe on the other foot.
Leading up to the presidential debate, the evidence suggested that the former president had been unsettled by finding himself now competing against a very different sort of opponent, after Kamala Harris replaced Joe Biden as the Democrat’s presidential candidate for November, and indeed Trump was judged to have “lost” the debate against Harris by both liberal and conservative commentators
Similarly, in last night’s debate Walz appears to have been unsettled by finding himself up against an opponent he has either misjudged or not fully taken the measure of.
“He was nervous. He tripped through his allotted two minutes…He used prepared put-downs at random, which created clanking non sequiturs, and spent too long talking about his home Minnesota,” was the conclusion of the New Statesman.
Hence after two debates, which will likely be all we get, the scores (as in English football terms) read: Democratic ticket – 1, Republican ticket: 1, with everything still to play for with less than five weeks to go till the election on 5 November.
While it’s been noted that it’s next to impossible to say whether last night’s debate might influence the election, with most suggesting it would be very unlikely, it could also have an influence further down the line.
“Parties remember past debates when choosing candidates,” the News Statesman notes. “Vance’s performance will shore up his position within the party, making a run for the nomination in 2028 more likely.”
If Vance were to enter the White House, this would make Vance – who would still be under 45 – the third US Catholic president and the third youngest in US history. Theodore Roosevelt was just 42 when he became president after the assassination of William McKinley in 1901. Irish-Catholic John F. Kennedy was 43 when he was sworn in January 1961.
Photo: US Senator and Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance (left) and Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz shake hands at the start of the Vice Presidential debate hosted by CBS News at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City on October 1, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP) (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
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