By Elaina Batista, Contributor
New York, NY- Tuesday, Oct.1, was the first and only Vice Presidential debate between Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The debate was hosted by CBS News and was moderated by CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan. It was 90 minutes long and covered topics ranging from foreign policy, reproductive rights, threats to democracy, immigration, housing and much more. As reported by CBS, candidates were not allowed to bring pre-written notes or props on stage, and had two minutes to answer per question and two minutes to respond. They were allowed one minute for rebuttals.
According to CNN, the debate had around 43 million viewers, which was enough to make the Walz-Vance debate one of the most-watched single telecasts of the year in the United States. With this debate only being 35 days away from the presidential election, the candidates used their time to push the policies and opinions of their running mates.
CNN pollsters found that there was “no clear winner”. Nonetheless, many viewers felt as if the debate had a positive “tone” as reported by CNN. For most of the debate, the candidates were respectful of one another. The Economist wrote that the American people were almost “transported back to a different era of politics.”
For the most part, the two candidates emphasized their running mates’ position on certain topics. When asked about abortion, Tim Walz supported Harris’s view point on abortion and simply stated, “This is basic human rights…We trust women. We trust doctors” as reported by the official transcript from CBS.
Tim Walz also made the point that he and Harris understand women are not getting the care they deserve from their physicians because they feel as if they would be prosecuted for helping these women and providing them care. In Vance’s rebuttal, he stated that he and Trump recognize that the United States is a diverse nation with various legal requirements for each state. Vance also fully supports Trump’s choice to leave abortion up to the states.
In the debate, Vance said, “I want us, as a Republican Party, to be pro-family in the fullest sense of the word. I want us to support fertility treatments. I want us to make it easier for moms to afford to have babies.”
Vance also denounced his support for a national abortion ban and said that he and Donald Trump are simply in support of pro-family policies.
The Republican candidates’ position on abortion was especially relevant this past week in light of Melania Trump’s memoir. The 45th First Lady has not had much of a presence in the political scene, but on Oct.8, her memoir is set to be published.
In her memoir, Trump discusses a woman’s right to their own bodily autonomy. As reported by the Guardian, Melania states in the book, “It is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children, based on their own convictions, free from any intervention or pressure from the government.”
Trump also discusses the fact that she and her husband have disagreed politically before, and writes, “Occasional political disagreements between me and my husband…part of our relationship, but I believed in addressing them privately rather than publicly challenging him.”