To rescue a shaky debate performance, Tim Walz defended women, not weirdness | Opinion
Before the Vice Presidential debate Tuesday night, vice presidential candidate Tim Walz appeared to be untouchable. During his speeches on the campaign trail and Democratic National Convention, the Minnesota Governor had crowds eating out of his palm. He used his commanding voice, created from his time as a teacher and football coach, to tap into America’s desire for a better future. This is why Vice President Kamala Harris chose Walz to be her presidential running mate.
But when Walz first appeared on the stage the governor seemed like a deer seeing headlights. His nervousness could be felt through the screen. His opponent, U.S. Senator J.D. Vance, seemed polished by comparison. He was cool to Walz’s shaky.
Walz’s bread and butter had been to show how weird the GOP side can be. Walz didn’t hit his stride, he didn’t tap into his superpower as “Coach Walz,” when the two candidates were asked about immigration.
Vance twice declined to answer a follow-up question about mass deportation separating undocumented immigrant adults from their children, who might be citizens. Instead, he focused Harris’s record on the border.
Then Vance continued to unravel on the subject, arguing with Walz that current immigration policies are raising housing prices. But it would actually be the other way around. A nonpartisan economic study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics last month said that Trump’s economic proposals, including deporting more than eight million immigrants, could cause consumer prices to be 28 percent higher than current forecasts by 2028.
“When you don’t won’t to solve it, you demonize it” Walz said regarding the lie that Haitian Americans in Springfield, Ohio were taking dogs and eating them.
Walz began to seem much more comfortable as the debate went on, honing in on the economy and Trump as main talking points. He continued to target Trump’s dismissal of medical experts in a tone that has appealed to most Americans.
“My pro tip of the day is this: If you need heart surgery, listen to the people at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, not Donald Trump,” Walz said.
And then Walz tore into Trump’s views on abortion rights, specifically his unwavering belief that overturning Roe v. Wade was the right thing and bringing up the stories of women whose lives have been endangered as they seek care under recent restrictions.
“We’re pro-women. We trust doctors,” Walz said.
To Vance’s credit, he rose above immigrants “eating dogs.” Vance’s misstatements were less bizarre.
Walz’s best moments were to call out the weirdness of Republicans.
It was not a perfect first impression for Walz. But his saving grace was that he projected the earnest and endearing qualities that made him the pick for vice president. On the issue of abortion, Walz said the words: We trust women, we trust doctors. The side Vance represents does not.
The American people would be wise to remember the authenticity and genuineness of Walz. The country needs leaders who are genuine about their polices and their mistakes.
We have the choice to turn the page away from Trumpism.
This story was originally published October 1, 2024 at 8:49 PM.
