Post-Debate Analysis: JD Vance, Tim Walz spar on Iran, border during debate

Former President Donald Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to post commentary live during the debate. The debate began with a question on the escalating tensions between Iran and Israel — a situation that began escalating in the last 24 hours.

Walz, who was given the question first, appeared to hesitate or pause while answering the question — which the former president characterized as Walz being “as nervous as you can get” and “INCOMPETENCE,” in his post.

When asked about a preemptive strike, Walz emphasized “where this started,” harkening back to the Oct. 7 attack in Israel.

“What’s fundamental here is steady leadership is going to matter,” Walz said, jabbing Trump’s age and his rhetoric while questioning whether the GOP nominee is qualified to handle a chaotic Middle East.

He referenced the U.S.’s relationship with Israel, adding: “There will be consequences.”

Prior to answering the question, Vance brought up his own past and familial struggles, tying it to the American Dream and Trump’s ability to make that “attainable” once again.

He also defended his running mate’s history.

“Donald Trump actually delivered stability in the world,” Vance said.

Regarding a preemptive strike, the Ohio senator said, “It is up to Israel … we should support allies wherever they are.”

Andrew Yang, a former Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator, joined “CUOMO” just minutes before the vice presidential debate kicked off.

Yang pointed out that the Trump-Vance ticket has more to prove tonight because, at 78, the GOP nominee could leave the presidency or pass away, even if he wins.

With that in mind, Vance will have to prove himself as a potential future president, while Walz’s younger running mate might spare him that scrutiny.

Turner also said Walz “does have a proven track record in his state,” something she thinks Vance doesn’t have.

The questions for the 90-minute debate have not been released to the public, but top election issues like the economy, reproductive rights, border policy and crime will undoubtedly make the lineup.

The Hill reports that education could become a flashpoint for the vice presidential debate, despite the topic barely coming up during Trump and Harris’ September sparring match.

“It’s more likely to come up in the VP debate then it would be in even another presidential debate, with one of the reasons for that being that it’s so central — education is so central to Walz’s identity as a former teacher,” said Jon Valant, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institute.

Another hot topic that could arise is Middle East affairs after Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel on Tuesday. It’s likely Vance will bring up the Biden administration’s – and by extension, the Democratic party’s – response to the Oct. 7 attacks.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, said on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday” that Walz has to put a “human face” on his and Harris’ emphasis on small businesses, startups and innovation, “as opposed to the big business orientation on the other side.”

Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., on the other hand, said Vance has issues like the economy and border on his side during an interview on ABC News.

NewsNation’s Elina Shirazi contributed to this report.

Former President Trump’s daughter-in-law and Republican National Committee cochair Lara Trump joined NewsNation’s “CUOMO” to prop up Vance and decry what she calls the “most radical far-left ticket in the history of politics.”

“You can take a look around at your life as an American citizen, and clearly see what happens when Kamala Harris is in the White House,” she said.

She pointed to economy, border and foreign policy issues, claiming that “World War III” is “nearly breaking out right now.” She claimed that Trump would have never let war break out in the Middle East, a statement that echoes the Trump-Vance ticket’s narrative surrounding the Biden administration’s handling of the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel.

Chris Cuomo said that, typically, the vice presidential debates don’t matter, but “this is not typical,” citing the race’s close polling numbers as a reason to care about the second-in-command and their performance tonight.

While the vice presidential candidates speak, mics will not be muted unless CBS News decides to. In other words, microphones will begin hot and only change at CBS’ discretion. Each candidate will have two minutes to respond.

Candidates will not receive the topics or questions in advance, per CBS News. Campaign staff on both sides will not be allowed to interact with their candidates at any time, and there will be no live audience.

According to CBS News, both parties have agreed to stand throughout the debate, something of a rarity for vice presidential candidates.

Not since the 2008 VP debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin have the Republican and Democratic running mates stood behind the lectern. Both presidential debates this election cycle were undertaken standing up.

NewsNation’s Patrick Djordjevic contributed to this report.

The former president’s eldest son shared a photo of Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance on his way to the debate stage where he will face off against Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz.

As Vance and Walz prepare to face off for their first, and likely only, debate of the 2024 election between the two, tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have erupted into more violence.

Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel on Tuesday, less than a day after Israel began ground attacks on the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Republican leaders on Capitol Hill are calling on President Joe Biden to get tougher on Iran in the wake of Tuesday’s attack, urging the administration to adopt a series of specific measures designed to cripple the military powers of Tehran and its proxies. 

“The Biden Administration has repeatedly threatened Iran with ‘severe consequences’ for its campaign of terror against Israel and the United States, but failed to impose them,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a statement. “It has pledged ‘ironclad’ support for Israel, only to delay and withhold the security assistance that would give this pledge any weight.” 

It’s likely Vance will bring up the Biden administration’s – and by extension, the Democratic party’s – response to the Oct. 7 attacks and what has transpired since.

The Biden administration has given Israel weapons, billions of dollars and 2,000-pound bombs used to take out some of Hezbollah’s leaders, but the Trump-Vance ticket has consistently criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’ handling of the situation, claiming she “hates Israel.”

Notably, Walz condemned Hamas in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel but has also advocated for increased aid to Gaza.

The Hill contributed to this report.

The Minnesota governor and Ohio senator, like their running mates, offer vastly different visions of the United States. Here’s where each candidate stands on the topics that matter most to voters.

Abortion

Vance:

• Is opposed to abortion and declared himself “100% pro-life” during his 2022 Senate run, with his policy on exceptions in the case of rape or incest changing to be more forgiving in recent months.
• Told Fox News’ Sean Hannity he stands with Trump’s view that abortion should be left to the states

Walz:

• In January 2023, he signed a bill codifying abortion rights for Minnesota following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.
• Signed an executive order shielding people seeking or providing abortions in his state from facing legal consequences in other states.
• Vowed to reject requests to extradite anyone accused of committing acts related to reproductive health care that are not criminal offenses in Minnesota.

Economy

Vance:

• Trump’s running mate has built a brand on economic populism, diverting from the GOP’s traditional pro-business platform.
• He partnered with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to crack down on big banks.

Walz:

• His economic record includes passing tax cuts for Minnesotans while maintaining a balanced budget in the state.
• Investments in infrastructure and community college programs as well as supporting a transition to green energy.
• Advocated for paid family and medical leave.

Foreign policy

Vance:

• The Ohio senator has made his stance on the war in Ukraine clear, opting to reject any U.S. aid for the country. He was also a key figure in the unsuccessful attempt to block a $60 billion supplemental aid package to the country.

Walz:

• The Minnesota governor has not spoken at length about foreign policy. He did condemn Hamas in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel but has also advocated for increased aid to Gaza.
• He’s expressed support for Ukraine.

NewsNation’s Devan Markham, The Hill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Trump’s running mate has had several comments go viral since his addition to the GOP ticket, including his resurfaced comments saying the country was being run by “childless cat ladies” and a remark about how school shootings are a “fact of life.”

“It’s just a basic fact — you look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] — the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children,” Vance said in 2021. “And how does it make any sense that we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it?”

His wife, Usha Vance, addressed the criticism in August 2024, telling “Fox and Friends,” that her husband “would never ever, ever want to say something to hurt someone who was trying to have a family.”

“I took a moment to look and actually see what he had said and tried to understand what the context was and all that, which is something that I really wish people would do a little bit more often,” she added.

Most notably for some, Vance’s past comments about his now-running mate Trump were far from praise, calling the GOP powerhouse “a total fraud,” “a moral disaster” and “America’s Hitler.”

But like many Republicans who sought relevance in the Trump era, Vance eventually shifted his tone. He said he was proved wrong by Trump’s performance in office and evolved into one of his most steadfast defenders – earning him a spot on the ticket at this year’s Republican National Convention.

Leaked emails from Vance to a transgender Yale classmate obtained by The New York Times gave a deeper look at his opinion on Trump and the United States in the decade before his ascension to the ticket.

Excerpts included Vance saying “I hate the police” and “‘The more white people feel like voting for Trump, the more Black people will suffer.”

Republican strategist Matt Klink told NewsNation this email leak was a “welcome to the big leagues” for the candidate, adding: “Look, JD Vance has already explained, at [the RNC] and after, his criticism of Donald Trump in 2015 and 2016 … That being said, everything is fair game. This is politics.”

The Hill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Conversations about vice presidential candidate Tim Walz‘s alleged “stolen valor” have run rampant since the governor was introduced on the Democratic ticket.

Walz, a Nebraska native, enlisted in the National Guard out of high school at 17 and served 24 years. He retired in 2005 and ran for Congress before he would have gone to Iraq, and some say his statements about serving in war misleading.

In the Harris-Walz campaign‘s first unscripted interview, Walz told CNN’s Dana Bash he didn’t use the best grammar in describing his military service when the word “war” was involved.

In 2018, Behrends and retired Command Sgt. Maj. Paul Herr wrote a paid endorsement letter to the West Central Tribune accusing Walz of abandoning his unit.

Trump’s military involvement — or lack thereof — has also been the subject of speculation.

Trump was diagnosed with bone spurs in his heels in 1968, which led to his medical exemption from the military during Vietnam, The New York Times reported. The podiatrist who diagnosed Trump has since died, but his daughter told The New York Times the diagnosis was a favor to Trump’s father.

Another controversy resurfacing after the Minnesota governor’s addition to the Democratic ticket was his 1995 arrest for drunk driving while going 96 mph in 50 mph zone.

Walz described the incident as a “gut-check moment” in a 2018 Minneapolis Star Tribune interview.

Defenders argue that the offense is minor, noting that former President George W. Bush had a similar arrest when he ran for office in 2000 and that Minnesota Republican Rep. Tom Emmer was arrested twice for suspected drunk driving when he was 30.

NewsNation’s Taylor Delandro, Joe Khalil and Katie Smith contributed to this report.

According to estimates, the vice presidential candidates’ financial situations are dissimilar.

The Ohio senator is worth millions — about $5 million (per Celebrity Net Worth) to $10 million, according to Forbes — thanks to various endeavors.

Vance graduated from The Ohio State University and Yale Law School without student debt because of his Marine Corps service and high-paying jobs at elite law firms, Forbes reported.

He released a book in 2016 about his Appalachian upbringing, “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” which was later turned into a movie. He ran and was elected into Ohio’s Senate in 2022, which banks roughly $71,000 annually.

Walz, on the other hand, has a considerably lower net worth than other politicians, including his opponent.

Estimates place Walz’s net worth between $112,003 to $330,000 without counting his federal pension, which could add as much as $800,000 to that number.

Unlike many politicians, Walz doesn’t count any income from book deals (he hasn’t written one), speaking engagements or even real estate. He and his wife, Gwen Walz, sold their home in 2019 and currently live in a rental paid for by the state while the governor’s mansion is being renovated.

The majority of the Walzs’ assets are in savings and pensions. They have a 529 college savings plan for their children and hold life insurance policies along with four pensions between them. Walz is also likely to be eligible for federal retirement plans.

It’s possible Walz could have invested in a 401k-like Thrift Savings Plan, but that is unknown since it’s not required to be disclosed.

NewsNation’s Steph Whiteside and Cassie Buchman contributed to this report.

The early voting windows vary by state, with some states like Minnesota opening in-person and absentee voting as early as Sept. 20. Some states, like Alabama, don’t have it at all.

Click here for a state-by-state guide to when early voting begins in all 50 states along with information on how to register to vote and how to check your registration status in your state.

NewsNation’s Sean Noone contributed to this report.

To vote in the states, you must be a U.S. citizen, meet your state’s residency requirements, be 18 years old on or before Election Day and be registered to vote by the state’s voter registration deadline, according to USA.gov.

Most Americans can register in their state or territory online through Vote.gov.

Other ways to register to vote include downloading the National Mail Voter Registration Form and mailing it to the location listed for your state. Americans who prefer to register in person can visit their state or local election office to sign up.

Some states have registration deadlines as early as 30 days before Election Day.

For a state-by-state breakdown of voter registration practices, click here.

NewsNation’s Devan Markham contributed to this report.