Continuing his analysis of the Vice Presidential debate as Fox News Radio's official commentator, President John Pudner went to Columbus, Ohio, the heart of the Buckeye State and pivotal to his efforts during Bush 2000, to not only conduct a broad synopsis of the events leading up to the debate, but as he points out, how the differences highlighted in the debate more so reflect the different approaches both campaigns are taking as they inch closer to November.
On one corner, you have US Sen. JD Vance, labeled the well-versed candidate, who showcases the fact-based, issue-focused approach of the Trump campaign, representing a more polished, precise approach while hitting on the top issues - economy, immigration, and crime - and humanizing them in a more balanced approach. Meanwhile, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, labeled the well-vibed candidate, embodies the more folksy, rough-around-the-edge approach of the Harris campaign that focuses more on personalities, relatability, and labels than substance, instead shooting for a more grounded approach. Both have their different challenges, but one is seemingly standing out in recent polling, with undecided voters seemingly shifting toward the Trump ticket as national polls become deadlocked.
As both Pudner and host Mike Elliot summarize, however, this race is not only still anyone's ball game, but can also shift in the blink of an eye toward one or the other, with an equal chance of style winning over substance and vice versa as voters across our Republic continue to decide which ticket will lead the free world into the future.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Vice Presidential debate, fact-checking, Vance, Walz, debate style, contrast, issue focus
SPEAKERS
Mike Elliot and TBOR Action President John Pudner
Mike Elliott 00:00
Political Analyst, he was a part of the Bush 2000 team, he is John Pudner. We are talking about the Vice Presidential debate tonight at nine o'clock. It is moderated by Nora O'Donnell and Margaret Brennan of CBS. How important are Vice Presidential debates, John? Good morning.
John Pudner 00:18
Good morning. Not always that big, but I'd say, since this might be the last debate, President or Vice President, this one could carry some extra significance, I think.
Mike Elliott 00:28
I think you're right, and I think based on some of the, well, let's say non-issue discussions with these two, and in this campaign specifically, there'll be at least a decent amount of interest in this one, I don't know what the ratings will look like, but I would imagine, based on what's happened thus far in the campaign, there'll be some eyeballs on TV sets tonight.
John Pudner 00:49
I think so and then some eyeballs on the moderators. I think the fact that the Democrats have only accepted debates on very friendly stations...how much are the moderators going to weigh in? Are they going to...apparently they're saying they're not going to fact-check this time, they haven't fact-checked the Democrats in any of the debates, so maybe we'll see if they actually stick to it, and just let the candidates hash it out.
Mike Elliott 01:12
Well, that was going to be my next question to you is will JD Vance get a fair shake in this one? We know Donald Trump did not in the last one, he was fact-checked at least five times, Vice President Harris zero times, so either fact-check them both or don't fact-check at all. I don't know if the microphones staying live is an issue on this one. I don't know that these guys are going to be going at each other, mud-slinging, but that'll be an interesting twist because the last couple of debates have had muted microphones.
John Pudner 01:44
That's right. Just the outlandish Project 2025 claims, as if those were all quotes from candidates, that was never countered during the whole debate, these complete not just false narratives, but lies that were told, and they wouldn't check any of that. If they want to let the two candidates check each other, I'm sure JD is perfectly capable of doing that, but yeah, let it go, let the two of them check each other, both or neither, as you just said.
Mike Elliott 02:18
How will the styles of these two contrast? Speaking with political analyst John Pudner. I mean, here you've got JD Vance, Ivy League educated, a very intelligent guy, is smooth-talking, usually has all of his points in order, going up against Tim Walz, who was a public school teacher, not necessarily as smooth as Vance, he said he was nervous on this debate, he told Kamala Harris in the vetting process that he wasn't a great debater, he comes across as this folksy guy, so talk about the differences in style tonight.
John Pudner 02:56
Well, thinking back to 2000 and 04', when all our focus with Bush was, of course, on your state at the time, as the bellwether. My comment then would have been that, boy, Tim Walz is the greatest debater in the history of the universe, and anything short of an actual dominant performance would be a surprise. You've got to set your expectations and that's what I'm sure the Walz people are doing. He's nervous, scared of being out there, the aw-shucks guy. He can win debates like this over the more penetrating, issues-driven Vance who is on top of things. That can be a style. I mean, this whole campaign, if you think about it, has been the left wins if this comes down to personalities, and if someone rubs you the wrong way, and I think this year, the right wins if people vote on issues, and that'll play out in this debate too. If Vance, can keep it to issues, another poll yesterday said that all the top few issues are all ones that they dominate on, economy, immigration, and inflation, right down the line, the issues Walz is trying to push are fourth and fifth on the list. So if it's issues-focused, Vance wins, and this is where Trump clearly made a mistake in the last debate when he spent a couple of minutes talking about rally sizes, that's where Vance can't go. He can't get off focus and talk about irrelevant things that favor Democrats a bit.
Mike Elliott 04:18
I would think that Tim Walz will quickly bring up, you know, cats in Springfield, and the childish cat lady comment that JD Vance made, and the cat's making a big play in this election is kind of crazy. I would think that, to your point, John, that Tim Walz will bring those issues up very quickly, and then I guess JD has the stolen valor stuff in his back pocket. I mean, Tim Walz lied about his military record and his rank in the National Guard, so I guess two could play at that game, if it comes down to it.
John Pudner 04:50
That's right. It was one of the decisive issues in 04' with Kerry on stolen valor. Kerry was over there in combat, but nonetheless, had colleagues say that he was wildly exaggerating things that he did that made for the old swift boats commercial. I think those are the issues, and Vance does have the comeback on that, but he mainly wants to keep it on the issues that affect people.
Mike Elliott 05:17
Can either candidate really help the ticket by a decisive win tonight? I mean, are people going to make up their minds, or make a decision tonight, based on a Vice Presidential debate?
John Pudner 05:31
I think it can make a difference. Trump had a bad debate that Pence really had a good follow-up to. Bush had one bad debate that Cheney had a good follow-up to. I think this last debate was obviously not Trump's best, and I think to have the VP come back strong, does make a difference. So, yeah, I think Vance, in particular, can make a real difference with a strong showing.
Mike Elliott 05:54
Great stuff this morning, John Pudner.
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