Walz, Vance prepare for debate amid hurricane political maelstrom
WASHINGTON — Republican U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will hold a vice presidential debate on Tuesday night, the last face-to-face exchange between the campaigns, as polls continue to show the election just days away. For more than five weeks, the competition between the two sides was fierce.
The debate, hosted by CBS News, is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Eastern time and last 90 minutes. The event will be broadcast live on local CBS-affiliated stations and live on the CBS News app, CBSNews.com, YouTube and Paramount+.
The showdown between the running mates of former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris brings together two people who both claim to have congressional records and have served in the U.S. armed forces.
This debate also takes place in the southeastern United States reel Hurricane Helene swept inland as a tropical storm, bringing record flooding and killing more than 100 people, a third of them in North Carolina, a battleground state in the 2024 presidential election.
Vance, the junior senator from Ohio, plans to attack Walz on multiple fronts during the debate, including by linking Walz to the Biden administration, Republican National Committee and Trump campaign officials said Monday.
“No amount of friendly Minnesotans can make up for the fact that Walz embodies the same disastrous economic, open borders and (record-breaking) policy on crime that Harris has brought to our country over the past four years,” the Minnesota Republican Party said. fact.
“J.D. Vance is ready to rub shoulders with Tim Walz and expose his radical liberal nature,” Emmer told reporters on a conference call Monday morning.
But Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, warned: “Walz is very good at debates. I want to reiterate, Tim Walz is very good at debates, really very good. He has been in politics for nearly 20 years. years.
trump card release On Monday on his Truth social platform, he will hold a “personal, one-on-one” debate.
The Harris campaign has not yet revealed details about Walz’s debate preparations. CNN report Walz was nervous and had been practicing with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as Vance’s stand-in.
Walz attended the University of Michigan Wolverines’ football game against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday in Ann Arbor, where he was greeted by local elected officials and called on students to promote the importance of youth voting, according to the campaign. sex.
Military service, China
Trump campaign surrogates said debate observers were sure to see Vance attack Walz while he was in the military.
Vance bragged about his four years in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2003 to 2007, during which time he Deployed In 2005, he went to Iraq to serve as a military reporter.
The Trump campaign insists Walz retired to avoid being deployed to Iraq. Trump campaign officials included two veterans on Monday’s conference call who blasted Walz as a “traitor.”
“After 24 years of military service, he left his position and his unit behind,” said retired Minnesota National Guard command sergeant major Tom Behrends.
Walz, a six-term congressman representing the state’s 1st Congressional District, served in the Army National Guard for 24 years before running for office. From 2003 to 2004, he was deployed to Italy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, a non-combat assignment.
Fact-checking by PolitiFact established He submitted his candidacy papers in February 2005, and a month later, Camp Walz was notified of a possible deployment within two years. According to the fact check, Walz filed retirement paperwork five to seven months before the deployment notice.
In 2007, Walz led a U.S. House of Representatives resolution honoring Minnesota service members deployed to Iraq. according to to the National Guard.
Walz is the highest-ranking soldier ever in Congress, according to His congressional biography was published in 2017.
Walz developed hearing loss and tinnitus after working exclusively on heavy artillery for two decades, according to records shared with reporters by the Department of Veterans Affairs during his 2018 gubernatorial campaign.
The explosion “would have knocked us down, and my ears were ringing from the firing,” he wrote on his 2013 benefit application. according to Transcript reviewed by Minnesota Public Radio. Walz eventually underwent surgery to improve his hearing loss.
Retired Sgt. Private First Class Tom Schilling, who participated in the Republican National Committee call on Monday, also attacked Walz’s trip to China and how the governor handled the “George Floyd incident,” referring to the police murder of a black man. Protests in Minneapolis rocked by Floyd.
“He made 30 trips to China and never got an answer. As governor, he let Minneapolis burn,” said Schilling, who served in the Minnesota National Guard.
Walz said he was proud of the way local, state and federal officials handled the protests in Minneapolis and St. Paul. About three days after the protests, Walz ordered the full mobilization of the National Guard. However, Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey and state Republican officials criticized parts of Walz’s response. according to Associated Press review.
Waltz spent a year teaching in the southern Chinese city of Foshan. As a public school teacher in Minnesota, he takes his students on trips to China every year. In the past he said he had visited China 30 times. When asked to provide travel documents APM reportThe Harris campaign said his visits totaled “nearly 15.”
Trump visits Helen, Georgia, destroyed incident
trump card publish Wearing his signature red “Make America Great Again” hat, he spoke in front of a damaged furniture store in Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday.
“We are here today in total solidarity with the people of Georgia and all those who have suffered in the horrific aftermath of Hurricane Helene,” Trump said, standing next to American evangelist Franklin Graham, who was coordinating the delivery of supplies.
Trump also said the presidential campaign should take a back seat to the storm response. “We’re not talking about politics right now, we have to come together to solve this problem.”
Shortly after, he incorrectly said Biden had not taken calls from Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. Biden had a phone call with Kemp on Sunday.
Reporters traveling with Harris in Las Vegas, Nevada, reported early Monday morning that the vice president would cancel a campaign event to return to Washington. DC, to be briefed on the response to Helen.
Harris issued a statement Saturday saying she “sympathizes with all those affected by the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.”
“Doug and I are thinking of those who tragically lost their lives, and we are praying for all those who loved them in the difficult days ahead. President Biden and I remain committed to ensuring that no community or state has to deal with this disaster alone,” she continued.
At a campaign rally in Erie, Pa., on Sunday, Trump criticized Harris for “attending a fundraiser in San Francisco with her radical left-wing crazy donors at a time when much of our country was devastated by that massive hurricane.” , and were submerged under the water, many, many people.” People died. “
President Joe Biden publish The White House spoke earlier Monday pledging federal support to affected areas. Biden has issued emergency declaration Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. He also said he would immediately travel to areas hit by the storm as long as his convoy did not hinder relief efforts.
Republicans back Harris
The Harris campaign continues to tout its growing Republican support.
Former conservative Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona announced his support for Harris over the weekend.
“I served with Kamala in the U.S. Senate. I also served with Tim in the House. I know them both. I know firsthand their good character and their love of country. wrote X Sunday.
Republican voters opposed to Trump also announced a new multimillion-dollar advertising campaign in swing states on Sunday.
The group launched a $5.8 million advertising campaign in the Pennsylvania media markets of Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. The ad launch is part of a $15 million campaign that will also cover ArizonaMichigan and Wisconsin, according to the release.
“Many swing voters will make decisions in the coming weeks, and it’s critical that we let them know what’s at stake,” PAC Executive Director Sarah Longwell said in a statement.
“You can repudiate him without abandoning your deeply held conservative values. We are here to help create a permission structure that allows right-leaning swing voters to do the right thing and vote their conscience,” the statement continued.
Moving forward on the campaign trail
Trump is scheduled to visit on Saturday return Traveling to Butler, Pa., the site of his first assassination attempt, during which he suffered a non-life-threatening ear injury, a spectator was shot and two others were seriously injured.
Trump also plans to hold a town hall meeting Thursday in Fayetteville, North Carolina, east of the devastation caused by Helen.
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