The highly anticipated vice presidential debate occurred on Oct. 1 at 9 p.m. Unlike the presidential debate, it garnered positive feedback, with many referring to it as highly civilized and professional. Usually, the vice presidential debate doesn’t receive that much attention, but given the confusion many voters feel in the midst of the upcoming election, this is just another factor to consider.
The candidates, Minnesota governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator James David (JD) Vance, kept their composure throughout the debate, even complimenting each other at various points. According to a recap of the debate published by USA Today, “Vance, in particular, was fiercely focused on the U.S. southern border crisis… [and] Walz caught fire when the conversation turned toward abortion access and reproductive rights.”
Although the two have different stances on topics such as the ones above, when the conversation surrounding gun violence and school shootings came up, they empathized as fathers and concerned parents. Walz shared his son’s personal experience with a mass shooting, and Vance apologetically replied.
“I got a 17-year-old and he witnessed a shooting at a community center playing volleyball. Those things don’t leave you,” Walz said.
“Tim, first of all, I didn’t know that your 17-year-old witnessed the shooting. And I’m sorry about that,” Vance responded.
This was a breath of fresh air for many, who had previously tuned into the presidential debate and were confused by the responses from Former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
With many students at Staples researching the candidates but still being unsure, the vice presidential debate gave them more context into each candidate and their proposed framework.
Even though Elyana Blatt ’25 is not able to vote in this election, she appreciated the nature of this debate.
“The vice presidential debate was definitely the most informative one yet, especially because the candidates weren’t constantly going after each other,” Blatt said. “Even though I can’t vote, I know it helped my parents with their decision.”
