Vance refuses to accept Trump's 2020 defeat in VP debate

Candidates engage in civil, policy-focused exchange but clash on last election

JD Vance and Tim Walz, the Republican and Democratic candidates for U.S. vice president, spar over policy questions ranging from tariffs to abortion and health care. © Reuters

KEN MORIYASU, Nikkei Asia diplomatic correspondent

October 2, 2024 14:03 JST

WASHINGTON -- JD Vance, the Republican candidate for U.S. vice president, refused on Tuesday to acknowledge that his running mate and former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, in what will likely be the last debate of the 2024 campaign.

In stark contrast to the two presidential debates so far, in which Trump clashed fiercely with President Joe Biden and later his replacement, Vice President Kamala Harris, the vice presidential contest between Vance and Democratic candidate Tim Walz was civil and policy-focused. They shook hands before and after the debate and even thanked each other in their closing statements.