Hello,
Last night marked another critical moment in the 2024 presidential election cycle. Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz faced off in the only scheduled vice presidential debate. After two testy presidential debates and in a political climate increasingly filled with mud-slinging and personal attacks, the vice presidential debate was an unexpected return to civility for an American debate.
In a critical moment toward the end, Walz asked Vance a pointed question: Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election? Vance’s response: “Tim, I’m focused on the future.”
There is a clear right answer — the 2020 presidential election was in fact legitimate and Donald Trump did in fact lose it — but Vance refused to offer it. It was, as Walz immediately noted, “a damning non-answer.” As Vox’s Zack Beauchamp wrote, “Ultimately, every issue discussed earlier that night comes in second to the fundamental question of whether America’s democratic institutions deserve to endure. On that question, Vance truly is radical, and his exposure as such was the only truly important moment of the night.”
Senior correspondent Eric Levitz also looked at Vance’s performance and his fundamental challenge: how to make a radical right-wing agenda sound like middle-American common sense. Levitz explains, “Compared to the version of himself who opined on the moral failings of childless cat ladies and rape survivors, Vance came across as reasonable in his showdown with Walz — so much so that the Democratic vice-presidential candidate felt compelled to express his agreement with his Republican counterpart more than once.”
With the US presidential campaign in its final weeks, we’re dedicated to helping you understand the rising stakes. In this election cycle and at critical moments like these, it’s more important than ever to understand the context beyond the headlines. Here at Vox, we aim to help you do that, but in-depth reporting is costly. To continue this vital work, we have an ambitious goal to add 5,000 new members by Election Day. We hope you’ll join our community and support our work!
—Elbert Ventura, executive editor
