The Most Desperate Part of J.D. Vance Agreeing to Debate Tim Walz
Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance really needs a win on this.
![J.D. Vance and Tim Walz splitscreen](http://images.newrepublic.com/2fe3e327f09e53327690ac7abe0f124ef373903e.png?auto=format&fit=crop&crop=faces&q=65&w=768&h=undefined&ar=3%3A2&ixlib=react-9.0.2&w=768)
Tim Walz and J.D. Vance will be debating on CBS News on October 1.
CBS News invited Walz and Vance for a debate in New York City on Wednesday, offering them a choice of September 17, September 24, October 1, and October 8. Walz quickly confirmed his willingness, posting on X that afternoon, “See you on October 1, JD.”
And on Thursday morning, Vance finally agreed. He even tried to pressure Walz into a second debate hosted by CNN in September, a clear sign that things are not going well for him.
![Twitter screenshot tyson brody @tysonbrody: Lol you know you’re down bad when you’re trying to get multiple VP debates](http://images.newrepublic.com/8e4dbb24ab0ed36b51f9df0baa9f5e9f189a59a3.png?w=1076)
Typically, the vice presidential candidates don’t debate more than once leading up to an election, and many see the proposition as desperation from Vance and the Trump campaign.
When Vance was initially asked by Fox News’s Laura Ingraham Wednesday evening if he would show up to the October 1 debate, he waffled.
“I strongly suspect we’re going to be there on October 1, but we’re not going to do one of these fake debates where they don’t actually have an audience there, where they don’t actually set the parameters in a right way where you can have a good exchange of ideas,” Vance told Ingraham.
“In other words, we’re not going to walk into a fake news media garbage debate. We’re going to do a real debate, and if CBS agrees to it, then certainly we’ll do it,” Vance added.
JD Vance says he wants a 'real' debate with opponent Tim Walz, not a 'fake news media garbage' one
— Melissa Hallman (@dotconnectinga) August 15, 2024
Vance told Fox News host Laura Ingraham on "The Ingraham Angle" Wednesday that CBS News had reached out to his team hours before. CBS said in a statement that it offered the two… pic.twitter.com/5HwqeC3P1a
But things clearly changed in the Trump team’s calculus. Vance’s debate follows Donald Trump’s decision last week to debate Kamala Harris, after weeks of hesitating and complaining about Harris replacing Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket. He attempted to schedule a new debate on GOP-friendly Fox News, only to face criticism from his own supporters. It seems that now Trump and Vance are getting desperate in the face of Harris and Walz’s surge in the polls.