Politico

Walz and Vance played defense for the presidential nominees.

Ahead of the debate, Harris aides and allies sought to play down the stakes of the face-off, arguing that it won’t do much to move the polling. They viewed it more as another opportunity for Walz to present Harris’ agenda before a national audience, while Vance was forced to make up for Trump’s poor performance last month. While Walz got off to a shaky start on Tuesday, appearing nervous as he answered the initial question, he quickly eased into his role as the aggressive and energized communicator he’s often been on the campaign trail.

But by the end, even Walz seemed to acknowledge the debate may not have drastically altered the trajectory of the race.

“Most importantly, thank you to all of you if you’re still up and the folks who missed ‘Dancing with Our Stars,’” Walz said. “I appreciate it.”