A review of the vice presidential contenders’ past debates suggests a fiery clash is likely.
Vice presidential hopefuls JD Vance and Tim Walz have hurled rhetorical hand grenades at each other from afar since the start of their campaigns. On Tuesday night, they’ll get to do so in person when they meet on stage in New York for the first — and likely only — vice presidential debate.
What will a Vance-Walz matchup look like? For some clues, we’ve analyzed key moments from Vance and Walz’s past debates that shed light on each man’s style on the debate stage.
The takeaway: Expect a slugfest. Like his running mate Donald Trump, Vance prefers to go on offense, turning his opponents’ barbs against them and blurring the line between personal and political attacks. Walz, meanwhile, can get fiery when he attacks his opponents, but he tends to lean into his folksy demeanor to defuse tough questions about his record. Both men struggle at times to hide their tempers, and with plenty of bad blood between the two of them — stemming in large part from Vance’s attacks on Walz’s military record and Walz’s crusade to label Vance as “weird” — don’t be surprised if things turn personal.

