Vice presidential candidates Tim Walz and J.D Vance are facing off for their first debate in New York tonight (11am AEST) as the race for the White House reaches its final stretch.
The pair have been taking aim at one another for weeks as they play the role of resident attack dog for presidential hopefuls Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, but this will be their first in-person meeting.
Both Walz, the Governor of Minnesota known for his Big Dad Energy, and Vance, the self-described “Never Trump Guy” guy who has since become the former president’s staunchest defender, have had plenty of experience under the public eye.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, and Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance.Credit: AP
But with polls showing the contest is extremely tight, the pair will have to avoid any damaging stumbles that could imperil the campaigns of their political masters.
Vance is likely to take aim at Walz’s history of progressive policies to brand the 60-year-old former teacher as “dangerously liberal” – the same narrative the Trump campaign has framed for Harris.
Walz, meanwhile, will seek to portray Vance as a “weird” extremist who, along with Trump, wants to wind back voters’ freedoms.
The 90-minute debate will be hosted by CBS news, and unlike the Trump-Harris showdown, microphones will not be muted (although the moderators can choose to do so if participants continue to talk over one another).
And given Trump hasn’t yet agreed to a second presidential debate, this could end up being the last one voters get to see before election day.
