Ahead of the first official showdown between Tim Walz and J.D. Vance at the Vice Presidential debate on CBS News, a Republican strategist has declared that the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate “has more holes than a thing of Swiss cheese.”
GOP pundit John Thomas believes that although there are risks and challenges on both sides, Walz might have a bit more to overcome than his Republican counterpart in the October 1 debate, Knewz.com has learned.
With Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump neck-and-neck in the presidential race, the stakes are as high as they can be for the debate, as reports suggest this might be the only debate between Walz and Vance.
It has been reported that both Walz and Vance are newcomers to the stage of national politics—while Walz has been the Governor of Minnesota since 2019 and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2019, he was largely unknown to people outside his state prior to his Vice Presidential nomination.
Vance, a Trump critic-turned-ally, has been the junior U.S. Senator from Ohio since 2023.
“Both sides are not without risk,” GOP strategist Thomas commented about the two Vice Presidential candidates in a statement.
Regarding Harris’s running mate, he said that Walz is “gambling that this is a likability question and he wants to come across as somebody who’s likable.”
“But JD Vance has to look for opportunities to take the shot or take the jab on policy against Walz but not come off too hard in such a way that certain demographics don’t like him,” Thomas mentioned.
“The softest spots and vulnerabilities that JD Vance has are JD Vance created, so he has to deal with that.”
However, he pointed out that “Walz has more holes than a thing of Swiss cheese,” and added that the Minnesota Governor has to deliver a “flawless” performance at the CBS News debate “to protect himself from his vulnerabilities.”
“Whereas, Vance just has to be more focused on the offense and then do no harm, which is relatively easy for him,” he added.
Thomas further stated that the weight will be upon the Vice presidential nominees to explain and appeal to the public about the policies of their respective campaigns—something he said Vance has been doing for a while in front of the press already.
“Vance articulates Maga and Donald Trump’s policies arguably almost better than Trump… JD Vance is not only going to articulate and re-articulate Trump’s policies but he’s going to call out the holes in the cookie cutter kind-of vision that Walz and Harris have put forward,” he stated.
On the other hand, Walz has made significantly fewer interview appearances as the running mate for Vice President Harris, as compared to Vance.
“Hitting the campaign trail for scripted rallies is a different animal versus doing in-depth press sit-downs,” the GOP pundit said. “The problem with doing interviews is that you could be forced to go places and talk about things that you don’t want to – even in spite of your best efforts.”
“JD Vance has done short-form, long-form interviews, friendly mediums, not friendly mediums… He’s availing himself to the press to answer questions and Tim Walz hasn’t,” Thomas said.
“I give Vance great credit. Doing a lot of interviews prepares you… That makes you a better candidate, arguably a better politician, a better president or vice president. The process is supposed to grind on you and sharpen your skills,” stated Matthew Bartlett, a former Trump administration official in the State Department, praising Vance.
“The worst thing you can do as a politician is live in your echo chamber and the bubble with your staffers.”
As a result, Thomas believes that Walz has more to overcome in the debate as compared to Vance.
It is worth noting that both VP picks have come under public criticism during the course of their campaign—Vance for his “childless cat lady” remark and for admitting to having fabricated the rumor about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, and Walz for allegedly embellishing his military career.
The Vice Presidential debate will be moderated by CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell and Face the Nation moderator and chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan, according to the host network.
The post VP Debate Preview: Tim Walz has ‘More Holes Than Swiss Cheese,’ GOP Strategist Declares appeared first on Knewz.
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