Tim Walz, the Democratic vice-presidential candidate and Governor of Minnesota, and JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential candidate and Senator, will face off in their first TV debate this October. This is being dubbed the 'dirt spoon' match.
Republican vice-presidential candidate Senator JD Vance (left) and Democratic vice-presidential candidate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (right) [Image source=AFP Yonhap News]
On the 15th (local time), CBS News announced that both parties' presidential campaigns agreed to the vice-presidential debate scheduled for October 1 in New York. CBS reported that among the four proposed dates, the Democrats first agreed to the October 1 debate, and later Senator Vance confirmed his participation in the debate on the same date via social media (SNS). The debate will be moderated by CBS evening news anchor Nora O'Donnell and 'Face the Nation' host Margaret Brennan.
Earlier, Governor Walz shared CBS's invitation for the vice-presidential debate on his X (formerly Twitter) account, writing, "JD, see you on October 1." The Democratic campaign stated, "Walz is looking forward to debating Vance. That is, if he shows up."
Senator Vance also confirmed on X that he would participate in the CBS debate and additionally proposed a counteroffer to join the CNN debate on September 18. He said, "Americans deserve to see as many debates as possible. That’s why former President Donald Trump made three offers to Kamala Harris." He added, "I accept the October 1 CBS (vice-presidential) debate and also the September 18 CNN debate. I look forward to meeting in both."
CNN confirmed that it invited Governor Walz and Senator Vance to its debate, and that Vance has accepted. However, they did not respond regarding whether Walz has accepted the invitation.
Common Ground as Self-Made Men from the American Midwest... The 'Dirt Spoon' Match
The upcoming vice-presidential debate in October draws attention as a face-off between candidates who emphasize their 'dirt spoon' backgrounds. Governor Walz and Senator Vance, aged 60 and 40 respectively, have an age gap but share commonalities as white men from working-class families in the American Midwest who are self-made and have military service experience. However, their career paths differ. Walz, with a down-to-earth 'neighborly uncle' image, is a former high school teacher and football coach, while the ambitious Vance graduated from Yale Law School and worked as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley.
Walz, who has criticized Vance’s background by saying "The Midwest is not like that" and "He built his career with investments from Silicon Valley billionaires while writing a bestselling book criticizing the community," is expected to launch an offensive in the October debate focusing on the far-right controversial 'Project 2025' and abortion rights.
Project 2025, led by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, outlines a government agenda in preparation for former President Trump's potential return to power. Amid growing far-right controversies, even Trump has distanced himself by saying he is "unaware" of the project. Senator Vance wrote the foreword for a new book by Kevin Roberts, chairman of the Heritage Foundation and architect of Project 2025.
On the other hand, Vance has recently raised allegations of draft evasion against Governor Walz. A Marine Corps veteran, Vance claimed, "Walz avoided deployment to Iraq" and accused him of "boasting fake war stories." However, this claim has backfired somewhat as it was confirmed that Walz’s unit received deployment orders to Iraq only after Walz had already been discharged.
On X, Vance pointed out that the Democrats have not been as proactive as the Republicans in participating in debates, stating, "If you want to be the Vice President of the United States, you need to speak directly to the American people." He emphasized, "Debates are an opportunity to convey your arguments to voters without a teleprompter or script."
Partisan Tensions Over Additional Debates
The presidential candidates’ TV debate will be held on September 10, hosted by ABC News. Former President Trump recently proposed additional debates on September 4 hosted by Fox News and September 25 hosted by NBC News, but the Democrats have declined to participate in these additional September debates.
Michael Tyler Harris, spokesperson for the Democratic campaign, said, "Our previously accepted debate proposal from the Trump campaign includes two presidential candidate debates and one vice-presidential debate," adding, "Let's stop debating about debates now." The two presidential debates include the first debate with former President Trump at the end of June, which led to President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race.
Instead, the Democrats have stated they may participate in additional debates in October without specifying dates.
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