Top 10 Moments From the 2024 US Vice Presidential Debate

The Tuesday, October 10th, 2024 vice presidential debate rather predictably didn’t generate as many fiery viral moments as its presidential predecessor… or, really, any viral moments at all. Instead, the two vice presidential candidates, Governor Walz and Senator Vance, civilly discussed the hot-button issues affecting the United States. One notable exception to the mostly polite vibe of the evening? The topic of abortion, perhaps the most hot-button of them all. Both Vance and Walz took interesting paths in explaining their positions, both invoking the lived experiences of real women. Whereas Vance shared a personal story to illustrate his “pro-family” values, Walz shared instances in which women — whom he named — struggled with receiving procedures that they needed.

For political pundits and people who just can’t unglue themselves from the news, it might have seemed like the vice presidential debate was all anyone was talking about. However, zoom out, and you’ll see why Senator Vance felt the need to present his entire life story — his “Hillbilly Elegy,” if you will — to the American public. In a few short minutes, Vance managed to articulately distill his most important talking points into a succinct summary, supporting the unflappable persona he’s sometimes associated with. We wonder if there’s a reason he didn’t bring up “Elegy’s” Netflix film adaptation — directed by Ron Howard and starring Oscar nominees Glenn Close and Amy Adams — which sits at a whopping 25% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Don’t worry, it’s coming — we’ll get to Trump’s more infamous quote of the second 2024 presidential debate. For now, though, anyone watching the vice presidential debate and had access to the Internet would surely have been amused by Norah O’Donnell’s reference to a much-memed Trump quote. For the uninitiated, former President Trump, when asked in the second debate how he planned to replace and improve upon the Affordable Care Act, responded that he had “concepts of a plan.” An instantly memorable phrase, JD Vance did his very best to sell Trump’s vague “concepts,” to which an incredulous Walz responded that “it cracked me up as a fourth grade teacher because my kids would have never given me that.”

We knew that it was only a matter of time until this came up. Before Trump had ever selected Vance as his running mate, before Vance was even a sitting U.S. senator, the Republican vice presidential candidate was a staunch #NeverTrumper. The former author and venture capitalist had, from 2015 onwards, been vocal in his criticism and even outright disdain for the former president. During the Tuesday evening debate, Vance was forced to face his past statements, and wisely made the call to reject them outright. Admittedly, given the severity of Vance’s past insults, it’s more than a little bizarre to watch the Ohio senator emphatically sing Trump’s praises.

This isn’t the last time we’ll return to the sparring politicians’ back-and-forth on what to do about gun control. Contemplating the complex, uniquely modern issue, Governor Walz made the heartrending revelation that his 17-year-old son had been witness to a shooting at a local community center. In a sincerely touching moment, Senator Vance offered a momentary olive branch to his Democratic rival. Not only did Vance offer kind words, he followed up on Walz’s point with a thoughtful, measured, alternative perspective that suggested an open channel of communication. Wait, these things can be constructive?

As you’ll see later on, the Oct. 1, 2024 vice presidential debate was refreshing in more ways than one. Although it took more than a little coaxing, viewers were treated to a vanishingly rare sight: a politician admitting that he’d messed up, and apologizing for it. Earlier in the week, Minnesota Public Radio had investigated Tim Walz’s claims that he had been in Hong Kong during the headline-making 1989 Tiananmen Square protest. What did it find? That Walz couldn’t possibly have been there at that time. After a lengthy explanation as to what he was doing in China, Margaret Brennan politely asked that the governor properly respond to the question; he promptly fessed up.

During the presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, the vice president cited Project 2025 as an indication of what a second Trump term might usher in. A sort of political manifesto published by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, Trump vehemently denied having anything to do with the initiative (despite maintaining a known relationship with its founder Kevin Roberts). Governor Walz, addressing Project 2025’s very real potential for significant harm, made the frightening proclamation that it “is going to have a registry of pregnancies.” That said, CNN’s Daniel Dale and Katie Lobosco noted that “Walz’s claim is false [...] And there is no indication that a Trump-Vance administration is trying to create a new government entity to monitor pregnancies.”

The attempted insurrection of the United States Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021 still looms large over Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign — and now, by extension, JD Vance’s path to the White House. Pressed directly on whether or not he and former President Trump would accept a loss, Vance claimed that they were “focused on the future,” and that the transfer of power had been completed. While that was technically true, the New York Times’ Linda Qiu pointed out that “[w]hile Mr. Trump did indeed leave office on Jan. 20, 2021, without any violence, that of course followed Mr. Trump’s supporters storming the Capitol on Jan. 6.” Walz ultimately accused Vance of giving a “damning non-answer.”

The 2024 vice presidential debate, regardless of the election’s outcome, reminded viewers of one thing: that these debates are never even a fraction as entertaining as their presidential counterparts. Having said that, though, it seems fair to say that it was refreshing to watch a debate that didn’t deteriorate into an all-out mud-slinging match (as voters and global spectators have seen in recent years). In this vein, shortly after Vance’s well wishes to Walz’s son, Walz did the seemingly impossible: sincerely concurred with his Republican rival. When the senator proposed increased security in schools as a short-term measure, Walz reaffirmed his interest in protecting schoolchildren and encouraged further healthy debate.

Look, we probably don’t have to say this, but let’s just be clear. Donald Trump’s baseless claim that domestic pets in Springfield, Ohio were being eaten by Haitian migrants was just that — a baseless claim. It’s worth noting, then, that Trump’s highly memed declaration originated with a post on X by JD Vance. Calling back to this, Walz accused his opponent of refusing to cooperate with Democrats on the issues of immigration and border control. The Minnesota governor also spoke to some of the consequences of Trump’s memorable quote. In response, Vance butted in to protest the supposed “fact-checking” he was being subjected to, and both candidates had their mics muted in what was surely the debate’s most awkward moment.

Which moment shocked you the most? Let us know in the comments below!