It sounds as though the mainstream media is already setting the stage to give Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz a pass for a bad performance ahead of his lone debate with Trump running mate Sen. JD Vance. According to CNN, Walz has been expressing that he feels just as nervous about facing Vance just as he did back in August when he cautioned Kamala Harris during his running mate interview that he was a poor debater. In fact, according to several individuals who have spoken with him, he may be even more anxious this time around, CNN reports.
The pressure is even greater this time, as the vice presidential debate on Tuesday is poised to be the last major event before Election Day in modern campaign history. With many voters still indicating that they don’t know enough about Harris, it may fall to Walz to persuade them to trust a vice president he barely knew himself before she chose him as her running mate, the outlet continued.
In conversations with aides who have rallied around him in Minnesota and other supporters, Walz frequently expresses his concern about letting Harris down, according to nearly a dozen top campaign staffers and others in contact with the governor and his team. He is determined not to let Donald Trump win and does not want Harris to feel she made the wrong choice in selecting him as her running mate, CNN noted.
Democratic lawmakers are also making excuses already. “He’s a strong person,” Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D), who’s known Walz since they were each first elected to Washington in 2006, told CNN. “He’s just not a lawyer-debater type. It’s not like he was dreaming of debates when he was in first grade.” Walz is confident in Harris’s vision, but he worries that he may not be able to present his case as effectively as needed, according to those who have been in discussions with him, the outlet claimed.
Vance, meanwhile, plans to hold Harris’ running mate “accountable,” according to a Minnesota Republican lawmaker who has played Walz during Vance’s debate prep. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer said during an interview on Sunday he believes that Vance holds an advantage over Walz on the issues that have consistently polled as the most important to voters this election cycle. CBS News will host the debate, moderated by “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan of “Face the Nation,” The Hill noted.
“He’s going to do a great job,” Emmer told ABC News’ Martha Raddatz regarding Vance. “I can tell you, he’s got the issues on his side, Martha. He could talk about the economy that Donald Trump fixed and that Harris and Biden broke. He can talk about the border that Trump fixed and they broke. He can talk about peace and stability around the world, which they don’t even have a clue.”