Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz stunned watchers of Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate as he nervously fidgeted, frowned and even called himself a “knucklehead” — while his Republican counterpart, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, gave a steady and lawyerly presentation and was widely seen as the victor.
The largely good-natured forum, hosted by CBS News, featured the two candidates agreeing with each other repeatedly and expressing warm personal sentiments — avoiding the blistering personal attacks that were part of both presidential debates earlier this year.
Walz, 60, who has honed a folksy demeanor on the campaign trail, was noticeably nervous and misspoke repeatedly as he wrung his hands, took frantic notes, and his eyes darted around the CBS studio.
Answering the very first question of the night, Walz expressed concern about “the expansion of Israel and its proxies” — instead of Iran and its proxies — when asked if he would support a pre-emptive Israeli strike targeting Iran’s nuclear weapon program.
The Minnesotan ultimately didn’t answer the question, with Vance, 40, saying he would leave the final decision up to the Israelis and support them regardless.
Walz still seemed nervous an hour later, declaring “I’ve become friends with school shooters” — when he seemed to mean victims — during an answer about gun control.
