Hollywood Reacts to Issues-Driven Vice Presidential Debate Between J.D. Vance and Tim Walz

Despite disagreeing vehemently on many issues on the campaign trail, the running mates of former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, respectively, even went so far as to agree several times.

That’s not to say there weren’t some more serious moments, with Walz called out for lying about being in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, calling himself “a knucklehead” and admitting he “misspoke.” He was there about two months after the incident, per an NPR fact-check.

For his part, Vance was questioned for his seemingly changing stances on abortion rights, among other things, with many pundits believing that he lied on the debate stage when he said he wouldn’t seek a nationwide abortion ban, countering even more recent comments he’s made and Congressional efforts.

Vance also snapped at CBS News moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margarat Brennan after the latter fact-checked his misleading statements about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. Remember this was the viral moment from the presidential debate where Trump talked about immigrants eating cats and dogs.

Vance didn’t bring up anyone eating anything on this issue, but did argue that Springfield, Ohio is overwhelmed in its schooling and housing infrastructures due to “millions of illegal immigrants” competing “with Americans for scarce homes.”

“And just to clarify for our viewers, Springfield, Ohio does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status, temporary protected status,” Brennan retorted, which set Vance off.

“Margaret, the rules were that you were not going to fact check and since you’re fact-checking me, I think it’s important to say what’s actually going on,” Vance said, before getting into the process of seeking Temporary Protected Status.

As Walz began to weigh in, the moderators cut the mics to both candidates and insisted that the debate must move on to other topics. At other times, both moderators offered guided opportunities for the other candidate to fact-check their opponent.

One moment that was not fact-checked or clarified, but got some heat online in reactions, was when Walz talked passionately about the rise of gun violence and said that he’s become “friends with school shooters.” Did he misspeak? It was a line that’s left some online confused or outraged, depending on their political leanings.

Another notable moment of the night getting even bigger play was when Vance repeatedly refused to say whether or not he would accept the results of this year’s election no matter the outcome, and even refused to acknowledge that Trump lost in 2020.

At one point, Walz even asked him directly, “Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?” To this, Vance pivoted, replying, “Tim, I’m focused on the future,” he said, before asking if Harris was censoring freedom of speech on Facebook four years ago.

“That’s a damning non-answer,” Walz shot back.

In a post-debate interview with undecided voters, this exchange proved pivotal for at least one voter.

Walz also accused the Trump campaign of halting a bipartisan bill that would have bolstered the Southern border and done a lot to help the flow of illegal immigrants there solely so he could use it as a political tactic in the debate, at one point even interrupting Vance talking about the topic to quip, “Pass the bill.”

Ultimately, the large consensus of instant polling after the debate had both candidates in close to a dead heat, with Vance considered the winner by a slim margin (42% to 41% per a CBS News poll, with 17% calling it a tie).

They were also pretty closely tied on three of the top five issues for voters, per CBS News: Middle East, the economy, and immigration, with Vance slightly ahead on the latter two. In Abortion (62-38) and Healthcare (59-41), the margins were more notably in Walz’s favor.

Overall, though, viewers seemed to appreciate the more issues-driven and cordial tone of the debate. Both candidates came out of it looking better with prospective voters than they went into it.

In fact, it was so un-shocking and un-polarizing that it almost shocked Hollywood into silence about it. While there was plenty of reaction to the presidential debate, there was far less social media noise during and after this vice presidential tussle.

Another notable response is that everyone came out of it incredibly confident that their guy won, suggesting that both candidates did what they needed to do to continue the agenda of their base. It’s how they will fare with those undecided voters that matters.

According to Politico, that crucial edge come election day might have gone to Walz, based on initial reactions.