Did Vance or Walz win the vice presidential debate? The Internet decides

Social media users and critics identified the differences between the vice presidential candidates– said Ohio State Senator JD Vance and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz during the debate.

The debate, moderated on October 1 by correspondents Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan, highlighted a variety of hot political topics, starting from the deepening crisis in the Middle East, abortion restrictions and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s acceptance of the 2020 election results.

Both Vance and Walz began the debate by seeming to indicate equal respect for one another, and as the debate wore on, it seemed that the opposing candidates agreed to disagree on key issues affecting American voters. Their civility was in stark contrast to that in the Sept. 10 presidential debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. She caught the attention of social media users calling the vice presidential debate “refreshing.” “Honestly, the VP debate so far is much better than the entire last presidential debate,” @litcapital said on X.

“Two people actually answering questions is refreshing and sad that this is not the norm.”

However, this doesn’t prevent critics from declaring certain shortcomings. Vance was called out for telling viewers his life story, including stories about his mother’s drug addiction, which he continuously brings up when talking about immigration. During this a part of the evening, the senator stated that as a baby he often suffered from hunger attributable to his mother’s addiction and blamed it on debt. One of X’s users claimed that his drug use was putting his family in debt. “Honestly, your mom was in debt because she was buying drugs instead of feeding you,” @zibaddiejad93 said.

Perhaps Vance’s biggest fault of the evening was his constant blaming of politics on the Kamala Harris administration. Many viewers, including actress Yvette Nicole Brown, criticized the vice presidential candidate for his lack of expertise. Because Harris is just not yet president, none of the policies mentioned during the debate were adopted during her administration. “Can someone please tell this smoky-eyed weirdo that @kamalaharris isn’t in administration (yet!)?!” she wrote.

Senator Dayna Polehanki also showed how her colleague refused to confess that Trump lost the 2020 election and praised Walz for not conceding.

Although critics identified that each nominees did quite well, Walz was hailed as the big winner of the night. MSNBC host Joy Ann Reid called Vance’s performance “nothing to remember,” but added that the former football coach and state governor had proven to be “dependable.”

Walz received major points for his approach to health care, gun control and abortion laws. He mentioned the story of Amber Thurman, a young black woman who lost her life in consequence of Georgia’s unsafe abortion laws. Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney representing her family, issued an announcement on their behalf. “The fight for justice for Amber is a fight for every woman’s right to make decisions about her own body and access the medical care she needs,” the statement reads.

“We will not stop until these dangerous laws are repealed and there are no more deaths. Until then, we must keep repeating her name: Amber Thurman!”

According to , his the results gave him a lift in approval polls. A preliminary poll by CNN and SSRS showed the Minnesota governor receiving a 23-point increase – from 14 to 37, in comparison with Vance’s 19-point increase.