Walz, Vance vice presidential debate in New York: Moment-by-moment recap

NEW YORK - The first vice presidential debate between Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance kicked off on Tuesday evening in New York, bringing together the two running mates who have spent months going after each other and Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

The debate will offer a fresh opportunity for Walz, 60, and Vance, 40, to re-introduce themselves to the nation as each vouch for their bosses. 

The matchup was hosted by CBS News on Oct. 1 and was expected to be the biggest television and online audience either vice presidential candidate would see before Election Day. 

Here is a live look at the debate (estimated times are in Eastern Daylight Time):

10:28 p.m. Walz and Vance discuss threats to democracy

While Walz and Vance both appeared to agree that there should be a peaceful transfer of power once the November election is over, Walz leaned into Trump's inflammatory comments to his supporters on Jan. 6 in the run up to the Capitol riot in 2021. 

When asked if he would challenge this year's election results, Vance didn't give a clear answer and defended Trump, claiming the former president encouraged "peaceful" protests at the Capitol in 2021. 

10:01 p.m. Walz and Vance appear to find common ground on gun violence

Vance suggests making doors and windows strong to curb gun violence in schools. 

Walz again mentions that he is a gun owner and believes there are common sense gun policies that can be put in place to eliminate gun violence in schools and in communities. Vance was seen shaking his head in agreement with Walz. 

9:45 p.m. Walz targets Trump during abortion discussion 

Walz addressed questions about abortion access with anecdotes to emphasize the importance for parents to access to this type of health care. 

Walz said that Trump, who appointed the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, set "this all into motion." 

"This is about health care," Walz added. 

9:40 p.m. Walz muddles Tianamen Square comments, Vance addresses past criticisms of Trump

Vance was asked to address his past biting criticisms of the former president, including once suggesting Trump would be "America’s Hitler."

"When you get something wrong and you change your mind, you ought to be honest with the American people," he said Tuesday.

Walz, meanwhile, was pressed on his misleading claim, which was investigated this week by Minnesota Public Radio and other outlets, that he was in Hong Kong during the turbulence surrounding the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, part of a broader pattern of inaccuracies that Republicans hope to exploit.

Confronted with his misstatements about his travels to China years ago, Walz defended himself by saying, "I’ve not been perfect." In fact, he said, "I’m a knucklehead at times." Eventually, he acknowledged he misspoke about his history.

9:29 p.m. Mics cut as Vance tries to interrupt moderators after claimed fact-checking

Vance pushed back on the CBS News moderators during the debate, noting that they said they would not fact-check the candidates.

The moderators attempted to fact-check Vance, saying that many Haitian residents in Springfield, Ohio have legal temporary status. Vance jumped in to "say what's actually going on."

While explaining the process and tying it to a Harris-backed process, the moderators spoke over him, sarcastically thanking him for "describing the legal process" before they cut off his microphone as Walz attempted to argue with him.

"We have so much we have to get to, thank you so much for explaining the legal process," Margaret Brennan said before asking her co-moderator to ask the next question.

9:19 p.m. Vance and Walz tackle immigration and the border crisis during the debate

Vance echoed Trump by repeatedly calling Harris the "border czar" and suggested that she, as vice president, single-handedly rolled back the immigration restrictions Trump had imposed as president. The result, in Vance’s telling, is an unchecked flow of fentanyl, strain on state and local resources and increased housing prices around the country.

Harris was never asked to be the "border czar" and she was never specifically given the responsibility for security on the border. She was tasked by Biden in March 2021 with tackling the "root causes" of migration from the Central American countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador and pushing leaders there and in Mexico to enforce immigration laws. Harris was not empowered to set U.S. immigration policy — only the president can sign executive orders and Harris was not empowered as Biden’s proxy in negotiations with Congress on immigration law.

Walz advanced Democrats’ arguments that Trump single-handedly killed a bipartisan Senate deal to tighten border security and boost the processing system for immigrants and asylum seekers. Republicans backed off the deal, Walz noted, only after Trump said it wasn’t good enough.

9:12 p.m. Helene's devastation 1 of top issues discussed during debate

Walz took the opportunity to direct the question about Helene toward a conversation about climate change. 

Both men found unity on Hurricane Helene, which has devastated several states and caused massive flooding in North Carolina in particular. Walz mentioned the storm’s devastation and talked about working with governors across the country, saying they don’t let politics get in the way of collaborating.

"I think it's important for us, first of all, to say, Donald Trump and I support clean air, clean water. We want the environment to be cleaner and safer. But one of the things that I've noticed, some of our Democratic friends talking a lot about is a concern about carbon emissions. This idea that carbon emissions drives all of the climate change. Well, let's just say that's true just for the sake of argument so we're not arguing about weird science," Vance said

9:05 p.m. Debate begins with questions regarding Iran's missile barrage on Israel

Starting off the vice presidential debate, Vance and Walz were asked about the recent missile barrage Iran launched on Israel.

Walz began the night by thanking the American people for tuning into the debate and criticized Trump's actions and policies. 

Walz, answering a question on whether he'd support a preemptive strike on Iran as it's launched missiles into Israel.

"What’s fundamental here is that steady leadership is going to matter," said Walz."And the world saw it on that debate stage a few weeks ago, a nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment."

Vance also thanked Americans for tuning in and defended Trump against Walz, also stating that a pre-emptive strike is up to Israel. 

8:51 p.m. Harris, Trump campaigns hype up vice presidential candidates ahead of debate

Part of the Harris campaign's strategy ahead of the debate is to raise expectations for Vance.

For weeks, they've painted Walz as a regular guy who will be facing off with the Ivy League-trained Vance. What they don't mention is that Walz won six House races and two gubernatorial elections.

The Trump campaign's playing the same game.

"Walz is very good in debates. I want to repeat that. Tim Walz is very good in debates. Really good. He's been a politician for nearly 20 years. He'll be very well-prepared for tomorrow night," Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller told reporters on the eve of the debate.

But Trump seemed to undercut this campaign's argument, charging in an interview with Kellyanne Conway's FOX Nation program "Here's the Deal with Kellyanne" that Vance is "going up against a moron. A total moron, how she picked him is unbelievable."

How to watch the debate

Beginning at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, viewers can watch the debate on CBS News. The debate will air on their broadcast network live and will be livestreamed on all platforms where CBS News and Paramount+ are available. 

RELATED: VP debate: How to watch Walz vs. Vance matchup

Abortion and family views

Both candidates will likely feature their views on abortion rights and family dynamics in America. 

Walz has tried to capitalize already by mixing his story into the argument. The governor talks often about how he and his wife, Gwen, required fertility treatments to have their daughter. Democrats have excoriated Vance for his 2021 quip about "childless cat ladies" shaping American life. And Walz has been eager to echo Harris' emphasis on abortion rights as an anchor of her overall campaign theme: "Freedom."

Vance and Trump, on the other hand, have struggled for a consistent message on abortion rights — a reflection of how politically fraught the issue is for Republicans since support for abortion access has increased since the 2022 Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and end a woman's constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy.

Middle-American roots

As much as the debate is about Harris and Trump, the running mates got here in no small part because of their respective biographies.

Trump's choice was a play to further cement the GOP ticket as the choice for middle America. The author of the "Hillbilly Elegy" memoir who grew up in small-town Ohio, Vance has roots to match his economic populism in ways the billionaire Trump does not.

Walz and Harris both grew up middle class, but Walz remains firmly ensconced there, going from his boyhood on a Nebraska farm to the high school classrooms of Minnesota before he ran for office. It's both a juxtaposition with and reinforcement of Harris' story as the daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father.

Both men have made their families part of their political identities. Each have working spouses. Walz has two children — young adult and teenage. Vance has three young children. The Walzes and Vances are more traditional political families than those of the presidential nominees: Harris has adult stepchildren from her decade-old marriage to Doug Emhoff; Trump has five children from three marriages.

Expect both running mates, even as they try to keep the spotlight on their bosses, to highlight their own stories.

2024 ElectionPoliticsJD VanceTim WalzNews