Mics Will Be Unmuted During Next Week’s Vance-Walz Debate—Here’s What Else To Know About The Faceoff
by Sara Dorn · ForbesTopline
Republican vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, will debate Tuesday with unmuted microphones, a departure from the rules during the first two presidential debates, debate host CBS News announced Friday.
Key Facts
CBS will leave the candidates’ microphones unmuted throughout the debate, leaving open the potential for interruptions, the network announced Friday.
The rule is a change from the two presidential debates—the CNN faceoff between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden and the ABC News debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris—when both campaigns agreed to participate with muted microphones when the other candidate was speaking.
Vance and Walz head into the Oct. 1 debate amid intensive campaign schedules that have facilitated their rise to national prominence since they were tapped as their respective parties’ vice presidential nominees earlier this summer.
What Are The Other Vp Debate Rules?
The candidates will have two minutes to answer questions during the 90-minute debate, two minutes to respond and one minute for additional rebuttals. There will be no opening statements and the candidates will each have two minutes for closing statements. Vance won the coin toss to give the final word. Candidates will not be given questions in advance, nor will they be allowed to interact with campaign staff or have pre-written notes during the debate.
When Is The Vp Debate? How Can I Watch?
Tuesday, Oct. 1 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS News from the network’s studios in Philadelphia, without a live audience. The debate will be broadcast by all CBS local affiliates, simulcast by most major networks and available for live-streaming on the websites of most major news networks.
Who Is Moderating The Vp Debate?
“CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell and “Face the Nation” moderator and chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan.
Will Vance And Walz Debate Again?
Neither an agreement nor a proposal for a second debate has been made public.
Will Donald Trump And Kamala Harris Debate Again?
Harris immediately challenged Trump to a rematch at the conclusion of their first debate earlier this month, but Trump has said he won’t debate her again, insisting Harris only wants a rematch because he “won” the first faceoff.
What Do Polls Say About Tim Walz And Jd Vance?
More Americans view Walz favorably (39% vs. 34%) than they do Vance, and more say Walz is qualified to serve as president if necessary than Vance (35% versus 30%), according to a September Pew Research survey of U.S. adults.
How Is Vance Likely To Attack Walz?
Vance, a former Marine and Iraq war veteran, seized on criticism of Walz’s military record soon after Walz’s entrance into the race, accusing him of “stolen valor.” Walz, for years, has faced allegations from some of his fellow guardsmen of retiring from the National Guard to avoid being deployed to Iraq, though others who served alongside Walz have defended him and said he had discussed retiring to run for Congress months before his unit’s deployment was announced. Republicans have labeled both Harris and Vance as far-left, and have coined the nickname “Tampon Tim” for Walz, in reference to a law he signed as governor requiring menstrual products be available in restrooms used by students in grades 4-12 in public schools to ensure transgender students have access to them.
How Is Walz Likely To Attack Vance?
Vance has faced a string of controversies since joining Trump’s ticket. Resurfaced comments he made in 2021 about “childless cat ladies” running the Democratic Party drew widespread scrutiny, and he is widely credited with amplifying the baseless claim that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were abducting and eating residents’ house pets, leading to increased threats of violence in Springfield. Walz has repeatedly referred to Vance and Trump as “weird” throughout the summer, popularizing the attack line among Democrats. And Harris’ campaign has cited Vance’s prior public comments in support of making abortion illegal nationwide, as Trump and Vance seek to distance themselves from the idea.
Key Background
Trump tapped Vance as his running mate in July at the start of the Republican National Convention. Harris chose Walz about three weeks after launching her own campaign on July 21 when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. Both hail from the Midwest and are relatively new to the national political scene. Vance was first elected to public office in the 2022 midterm, and Walz was relatively unknown to voters on a national level prior to him joining Harris’ ticket.
Further Reading
JD Vance Vs. ‘Cat Ladies’ And The Childless: VP Candidate’s Views Explained As Wife Defends Comments (Forbes)