JD Vance and Tim Walz met for the first time on Tuesday, Oct. 1, as they discussed gun violence, the economy and more during the 2024 Vice Presidential Debate. 

The two had never met prior to the debate, and viewers were able to experience their first encounter live from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City. The debate ran for 90 minutes and was hosted by CBS news anchors Norah O’Donnel and Margaret Brennan. 

Before the debate, the two candidates exchanged handshakes and approached their podiums. 

Brennan kicked off the debate by asking Walz if he would oppose or support an attack on Iran by Israel. This is in connection with the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine that reignited after Hamas-led militant groups sent their largest attack yet on Israel, which led to over 1400 casualties on Oct. 7, 2023.

“Israel’s ability to be able to defend itself is absolutely fundamental,” Walz said. He then followed up with a personal attack towards Vance’s running mate, Donald Trump, by criticizing his comments surrounding crowd sizes at rallies. 

“A nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment,” he said. ”We will protect our forces and our allied forces, and there will be consequences.” 

Brennan then asked the same question to Vance, in which he thanked Walz and CBS for allowing the debate to take place. 

“Iran, which launched this attack, has received over $100 billion in unfrozen assets thanks to the Kamala Harris administration,” Vance said. “They use it to buy weapons that they’re now launching against our allies and, God forbid, potentially launching against the United States as well.” 

During Walz’s next time to speak, he denied the allegations Vance made about the Kamala Harris organization and added that, “It was Donald Trump… We had a coalition of nations that had boxed Iran’s nuclear program in the inability to advance it.”

Walz continued to bash Trump and his “fickle leadership.” 

“He will go to whoever has the most flattery or where it makes the most sense to him,” he said. 

Further into the debate, the two candidates shared a personal moment after Walz described an instance in which his 17-year-old son witnessed a shooting at a community center while playing volleyball. 

“Those things just don’t leave you,” Walz said.

Vance responded to this statement by saying, “Tim, first of all, I didn’t know that your 17-year-old witnessed the shooting. Christ have mercy; it is awful.” 

Vance elaborated further on his stance on gun violence and how mental health plays a factor in it. 

“We, unfortunately, have a mental health crisis in this country that I really do think that we need to get to the root causes of because I don’t think it’s the whole reason why we have such a bad gun violence problem.” 

Walz then described his experience meeting the parents of the children involved in the Sandy Hook shooting that occurred back in 2014. 

“We have an epidemic of children getting guns and shooting themselves,” he added. 

Toward the end of the debate, the topic of censorship and misinformation came up. O’Donnel asked the candidates, specifically Vance, if he were to try and challenge this year’s election results. This question is in correlation with the claims made by former President Trump and his election skepticism he has publicly expressed. 

“Look, what president Trump has said is that there were problems in 2020, and my own belief is that we should fight about those issues,” Vance said. 

Walz responded to Vance’s answer by stating, “He lost this election, and he said he didn’t. One hundred and forty police officers were beaten at the Capitol that day, some with the American flag.” 

In the final moments of the debate, the two candidates thanked each other and gave their closing words.  

“I humbly ask for your vote on Nov. 5 for Kamala Harris,” Walz said in his closing sentence. 

“Whether you vote for me or vote for Tim Walz, I just want to say I’m so proud to be doing this, and I’m rooting for you,” Vance said. 

The U.S. Presidential Election will be held on Nov. 5, 2024.

Caden Adkins can be contacted at [email protected].