The vice presidential debate between Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is officially in the books. J.D. Vance put on a masterclass in how to handle biased moderators and a lying opponent. It was a thing of beauty.
Every Republican voter or person who is rooting for Donald Trump knows exactly what I am feeling right now, which is: Thank God. Listening to a guy go out there and know how to raise the right points in response to the right questions and to not take the moderators’ bullsh-t was really cleansing. It was just so great to see.
Moderator Mess
CBS News moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan were not much better than David Muir and Linsey Davis on ABC News. Margaret Brennan, you need to understand how to moderate a fair debate when you have half the country rooting for the other guy. She didn’t even attempt to be fair. I am going to utter words I never thought I would utter: I preferred Norah O’Donnell.
Margaret Brennan used to have a reputation as being somewhat reasonable. When it came to issues of faith, she could be kind of normal. But no, she has been in the soup too long. She has gone totally native over there at CBS News. You are terrible, madam. Terrible. The moderators were disgusting.
Vance Reintroduces Himself
Regardless, J.D. Vance was a vision, and Tim Walz really did look like the bumbling knucklehead he said he was. You know what was so masterful about what J.D. did tonight? He has been demonized by the press since he was named Trump’s running mate, and he completely shattered that tonight.
He was kind. He was likable. He complimented his beautiful wife. He brought up his kids. He kept giving Tim Walz points like, ‘I kind of agree with that’ or ‘If I don’t win and he becomes the vice president, I will help him.’ He did such an effective job throughout the whole 90 minutes of showing America that he is actually a nice guy.
And for those female Republican voters who left the party and are now planning to vote for Kamala Harris, if J.D. was the problem – you know, ‘the childless cat ladies,’ which did not come up – I have to imagine they are looking at him just a little softer tonight.
That was the J.D. Vance I met back in 2017 when I interviewed him for NBC who cried when I talked about his sister Lindsay, whom he loves deeply and who loves him. She is five years older than he is and can’t forgive herself for not protecting him more from the abuse that he suffered at the hands of their mom and some of the men who came through their house.
He is an emotional guy in a lovely way – not in a weird, Tim Walz way. He connects with that heartstring thing, but I don’t think it was done explicitly for the women of a middle America. I think it was a genuine outreach. Like, ‘I get it, trust me. We’re working on it.’
What Comes Next?
I think he did the Trump-Vance ticket a lot of good. I think what he did tonight was help restore the equilibrium on the narrative about him. It is not completely countermanded, but he helped restore it by having an audience of millions and letting people see who he really is.
Whether this will change the trajectory of the race, I don’t know. I don’t know that Trump needs the trajectory of the race changed, but I think the narrative on J.D. Vance has to change after tonight. And he did a great job of hammering on policy and the difference between the two candidates at the top. He did everything he could possibly do.
You can check out Megyn’s full analysis by tuning in to the post-debate special on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.