TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) -- Vice presidential nominees J.D. Vance and Tim Walz are facing off for the first -- and likely only -- time before the 2024 election, which is just over a month away.
The debate is being hosted by CBS News in New York. There is no audience in attendance, and the mics will not be muted, in contrast to the presidential debates.
Vance and Walz shook hands at the beginning of the debate. Vance is on the left side of the screen, while Walz is on the right side of the screen.
The first question was about the tensions in the Middle East. Both candidates were asked if they would support Israel making a preemptive strike on Iran.
Vance started his answer by introducing himself to the TV audience. Walz didn't directly answer the question, and brought up the Iran Nuclear Deal, which former President Trump ended during his presidency.
Walz quickly pivoted to painting Donald Trump as too dangerous for the country and the world in an unstable moment.
“What’s fundamental here is that steady leadership is going to matter,” said Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota. "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, in his reply, argued that Trump is an intimidating figure whose presence on the international stage is its own deterrent.
“Donald Trump actually delivered stability," he said.
The second question was about Hurricane Helene and climate change.
Both candidates expressed condolences to everyone who has been impacted by the storm.
Vance said that the solution to climate change is more manufacturing in America.
In a follow up question, Vance was asked if he agrees with Trump's statement that climate change is a hoax. He did not answer the question.
Walz touted the infrastructure bill that was passed during the Biden-Harris administration.
The debate then shifted to immigration.
When they first turned to immigration and the influx of migrants coming over the U.S.-Mexico border, one of the most heated topics of the campaign, the two men credited each other with having good intentions.
“I believe Senator Vance wants to solve this, but by standing with Donald Trump and not working together to find a solution, it becomes a talking point and when it becomes a talking point like this, we dehumanize and villainize other human beings,” Walz said.
Vance echoed the sentiment, saying, “I think you want to solve this problem, but I don’t think that Kamala Harris does.”
Walz accused Vance and Trump of villainizing legal immigrants in Vance’s home state. He pointed to the fact that Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine had to send in extra law enforcement to provide security to the city’s schools after Vance tweeted about and Trump amplified false claims about Haitians eating pets.
“This is what happens when you don’t want to solve it, you demonize it,” Walz said, saying not doing so would allow people to “come together.”
Vance said the 15,000 Haitians in the city had caused housing, economic and other issues that the Biden-Harris administration was ignoring.
When the debate moderators pointed out that the Haitians living there had legal status, Vance protested that CBS News had said its moderators would not be fact-checking, leaving the onus to the candidates. As Vance continued and the moderators tried to move on, his microphone was cut and neither man could be heard.
Both candidates were then asked about things they've said in the past. Walz was asked about when he said he was in Tiananmen Square for the student protests, which Walz said he arrived in that area later in the summer and misspoke.
Vance was asked about his prior comments where he called Trump "America's Hitler." Vance said he was wrong about Trump.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.