VP debate highlights from the Walz-Vance 2024 showdown

What to know about the VP debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz

• Republican Sen. JD Vance and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota met for the first and likely only vice presidential debate on Tuesday in New York City.
• The debate was largely cordial and substantive, with both candidates fielding questions on foreign policy, immigration, abortion, the economy and more.
• The most contentious exchanges of the night came toward the end, when Vance and Walz clashed over former President Donald Trump's actions in the wake of the 2020 election. Vance declined to answer when asked if he thought Trump lost in 2020, which Walz called a " damning non-answer ."
• Both men took aim at the candidates at the top of the ticket. Vance repeatedly criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for the current administration's policies and record, particularly on immigration and the economy. Several of Walz's strongest moments came when he was attacking Trump's position on abortion and reminding viewers of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
• Immediately following the debate, CBS News surveyed voters nationwide who reported watching it in order to get their reaction. Forty-two percent of debate watchers said Vance won the debate, while 41% thought Walz emerged as the winner.
• Find all of CBS News' fact checks from the debate here , and a full transcript of the debate here .
• Here are the highlights from the showdown as it unfolded:

Debate kicks off as Vance and Walz take the stage

The debate got started just after 9 p.m. with both candidates taking their place at their podiums.

Walz walked out first, followed by Vance. The two shook hands before Vance took his place at his lectern, and both began taking notes on the pen and paper that was provided.

Walz is behind the lectern on viewers' right, and Vance to the left. They shook hands again after being introduced.

Walz targets Trump in first exchange on Middle East

Walz fielded the first question on whether he would support a preemptive strike by Israel on Iran. He answered by highlighting his support for Israel before pivoting to criticizing Trump and his foreign policy.

Walz insisted "Israel's ability to defend itself is absolutely fundamental" following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

But Walz insisted Trump's own national security advisers have said it's dangerous for Trump to be in charge and denounced Trump's foreign policy.

"When our allies see Donald Trump turn towards Vladimir Putin, turn towards North Korea, when we start to see that type of fickleness about holding the coalitions together — we will stay committed," Walz said.

Vance recites brief bio before praising Trump for providing "stability" in the world

Vance was asked the same question about whether he would support or oppose a preemptive strike by Israel on Iran and began by providing viewers with an introduction of himself, detailing his background and resume.

He then praised Trump for "delivering stability" in the world through a policy of deterrence.

Getting to the heart of the question, Vance said it's up to Israel to decide what it needs to do.

He said Trump "consistently made the world more secure."

Fact check: Walz on Iranian missile strike under Trump

Walz: "And when Iranian missiles did fall near U.S. troops, and they received traumatic brain injuries, Donald Trump wrote it off as headaches."

Mostly true

Details: Iran carried out a missile strike on Iraq's al-Asad air base on Jan. 8, 2020, days after the Trump administration ordered a lethal drone strike on IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani on Jan. 3, 2020, near Baghdad International Airport.

On Jan.17, U.S. Central Command said 11 service members were transported out of al-Asad after being screened for traumatic brain injury. Then-President Trump at first said there were no injuries related to the strike, then later referred to "headaches and a couple other things" that were later confirmed by the Pentagon to be incidents of traumatic brain injury. In the same remarks, on Jan. 22, 2020, he said he didn't consider the injuries to be "serious."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says TBI is "a major cause of death and disability."

Vance says the answer to climate change is investing in more energy production in U.S.

When asked what responsibility the Trump administration would have to reduce the impact of climate change, Vance said he and the former president "support clean air, clean water."

"We want the environment to be cleaner and safer," Vance said, arguing that Democratic policies have led to more energy production in China. "If we actually care about getting cleaner air and cleaner water, the best thing to do is to double down and invest in American workers and the American people."

Vance did not answer when asked whether he agreed with Trump that climate change is a hoax.

"If you really want to make the environment cleaner, you've got to invest in more energy production," he said.

U.S. energy production has reached all-time highs in recent years, after a dip during the COVID-19 pandemic, government figures show .

Walz knocks Trump for calling climate change a "hoax"

Walz praised the Biden administration for the Inflation Reduction Act, which provided billions of dollars  to combat climate change. He criticized Trump for calling climate change a "hoax" and joking that it would lead to more waterfront properties.

"My farmers know climate change is real," he said, praising them for adapting to the changing environment.

Walz pointed to Hurricane Helene as evidence of more extreme weather events that have become more frequent in recent years, saying it "roared onto the scene faster and stronger than anyone has ever seen."

The Minnesota governor said the Biden administration has taken steps to help states and cities mitigate the effects of climate change.

"To call it a hoax and to take the oil company executives to Mar-a-Lago, say, give me money from my campaign and I'll let you do whatever you want, we can be smarter about that and an all-above energy policy is exactly what she's doing, creating those jobs right here," he said.

Fact check: Walz on Vance, Trump and global warming

Walz : "Sen. Vance said there's a climate problem in the past. Donald Trump called it a hoax and then joked that these things would make more beachfront property to be able to invest in."

True

Details : Former President Donald Trump has described global warming or climate change as a "hoax" on multiple occasions . "The global warming hoax, it just never ends," Trump said during a March 2022 speech in New Orleans, the Washington Post reported . "To which I say, great, we have more waterfront property."

Prior to his election to the Senate, Vance said in a 2020 speech at Ohio State University, "We, of course, have a climate problem in our society."

Vance says the U.S. needs to "stop the bleeding" on immigration

Vance was asked about the Trump-Vance pledge to implement the largest mass deportation in American history, and whether he would separate migrants from their U.S.-born children.

Vance said the first thing that needs to be done is to stem migration.

"We have to stop the bleeding," Vance said, claiming the U.S. has an immigration crisis because Harris wanted to undo Trump's border policies.

Vance said the U.S. should first deport "criminal migrants." He also blamed Harris for children who crossed the southern border into the U.S. with drug mules.

"My point is we already have massive child separations" because of Harris' policies, Vance said.

Walz on bipartisan immigration proposal: "Pass the bill. She'll sign it."

In response to Vance's claims, Walz said all stakeholders want to find a solution to address high rates of migrants illegally crossing the southern border, with the exception of Trump.

"We all want to solve this, most of us want to solve this," he said, noting, "that's why we had the fairest and the toughest bill on immigration that this nation's seen."

Walz then criticized Trump for derailing a legislative package negotiated by Republicans and Democrats and said enacting it into law would rob him of a critical campaign issue.

"What would Donald Trump talk about if we actually did some of these things?" he said, noting that Trump had four years in office to address the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border and promising to build a border wall, a fraction of which was completed.

"Pass the bill. She'll sign it," he said, referring to Harris.

He then said migrants have been "dehumanized" and "vilified," and knocked Vance for pushing false narratives about the Haitian population in Springfield, Ohio.

"There's consequences for this," he said.

Fact check: Walz's claim about Trump's chief of staff John Kelly

Walz : " It's those that were closest to Donald Trump that understand how dangerous he is when the world is this dangerous. His chief of staff, John Kelly, said that he was the most flawed human being he ever met."

True

Details: John Kelly, a retired Marine general and one of Trump's chiefs of staff in the White House, told those close to him in 2020 that Trump "is the most flawed person" he's ever known, according to CNN.

Kelly confirmed to CNN several stories that leaked out of the Trump administration during his presidency, including Trump's inflammatory comments about some service members, whom he called "losers" and "suckers." Kelly said, "A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all 'suckers' because 'there is nothing in it for them.'"

Trump denies making the comments.

Walz brings up Vance's remarks about Haitians in Springfield, Ohio

Walz was the first to mention Springfield, Ohio, in reference to Trump and Vance spreading false claims about Haitian immigrants eating people's pets.

"This is what happens when you don't want to solve it," Walz said when talking about immigration. "You demonize it. And we saw this — Sen. Vance, and it surprises me on this, talking about and saying, 'I will create stories to bring attention to this.' That vilified a large number of people who worked legally in the community of Springfield."

Soon after, Vance referenced the issue.

"He's very worried about the things that I said in Springfield," Vance said, arguing that the schools and hospitals are "overwhelmed" and housing is unaffordable "because we brought in millions of illegal immigrants to compete with Americans for scarce homes. The people that I'm most worried about in Springfield, Ohio, are the American citizens who have had their lives destroyed by Kamala Harris' open border."

State and local officials have said there is no credibility to the baseless rumors, but that hasn't stopped the Republican ticket from amplifying the claims. A majority of Haitians in Springfield are in the U.S. lawfully.

Mics muted for Vance and Walz over immigration cross-talk

CBS News briefly muted the microphones for both Vance and Walz as Brennan and O'Donnell moved to turn the debate to the economy.

The cross-talk began after Brennan fact checked Vance over his comments on migrants, saying Haitian immigrants who have settled in Springfield are largely here legally.

Vance then began to describe the government-run CBP One app, which was launched to serve as a portal for migrants in Mexico to secure appointments with asylum officers at the border.

"Gentlemen, the audience can't hear you because your mics are cut. We have so much we want to get to," Brennan said. "Thank you for explaining the legal process."

As Vance and Walz began to debate how long the nation's asylum laws have been on the books, the microphones were muted, the first instance it occurred during the debate.

Fact check: Vance on Harris as the "border czar"

Vance : Harris "became the appointed border czar."

False

Details : Harris was not asked to be the administration's "border czar" or to oversee immigration policy and enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border. That has mainly been the responsibility of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and his department, which oversees the country's main three immigration agencies, including Customs and Border Protection.

President Biden tasked Harris with leading the administration's diplomatic campaign to address the "root causes" of migration from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, including poverty, corruption and violence. The region, known as Central America's Northern Triangle, has been one of the main sources of migration to the U.S.-Mexico border over the past decade.

In reality, the only role close to that of a "border czar" under the Biden administration was held for only a few months by Roberta Jacobson, a longtime diplomat who served as coordinator for the Southwest border until April 2021.

Vance: "If Kamala Harris has such great plans … then she ought to do them now"

Vance was asked how a Trump-Vance administration would pay for their plans, given that Trump's economic proposals are expected to grow the deficit.

Vance said some of what Harris proposes "even sounds pretty good." But Vance said she's already had the opportunity to enact those policies, and instead, according to Vance, drove the cost of food higher.

"If Kamala Harris has such great plans … then she ought to do them now," Vance said.

Fact check: Walz on opioid deaths

Walz : "This is a crisis is — the opioid crisis. And the good news on this is the last 12 months saw the largest decrease in opioid deaths in our nation's history — 30% decrease in Ohio."

Partially true

Details : Opioid deaths have fallen to the lowest levels in three years, provisional Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures suggest, marking the first major decrease on record since deaths first began being tallied this way in 2015.

The CDC estimates that 77,461 deaths linked to opioids like heroin and fentanyl occurred in the year ending March 2024, down 7% from a year before nationwide.

The agency estimates 3,462 opioid deaths occurred in March 2024 — and for just Ohio, down 18% from March 2023.