AUBURN HILLS, Michigan — Sen. J.D Vance (R-OH) mocked Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) on Wednesday for saying he’s “friends with school shooters,” ending the brief politeness that marked their vice presidential debate.
Both Vance and Walz met for two hours on Tuesday for what was largely a policy-focused debate. Each was civil and repeatedly sought areas of common ground.
But the collegiality evaporated on Wednesday as Vance opened a rally in Auburn Hills, Michigan, recounting how Walz mistakenly said he had “become friends with school shooters” in an answer about gun control.
“That was probably only the third- or fourth-dumbest comment Tim Walz made that night,” Vance said on Wednesday, telling the audience he and former President Donald Trump joked about the remark in a phone call after the debate.
Walz later explained that he meant to refer to those affected by gun violence, not the gunmen.
Vance kept returning to his debate against Walz as he delivered his remarks, relitigating everything from their answers on the economy to what Vance called government “censorship.”
He again defended Trump’s economic agenda as based on “common sense” after Walz appealed to the economists suggesting his plans would cause inflation.
“I don’t think those economists know what the hell they’re talking about,” Vance told rallygoers, saying the topic “really annoyed the hell out of him” on Tuesday night.
Wednesday’s event marked a return to the rhetorical sniping that had become commonplace on the campaign trail. Vance, a former Marine, had spent weeks relentless accusing Walz of distorting his time in the National Guard, while Walz helped start the Democratic taunt that Vance is “weird.”
After mocking Walz’s misspeak, Vance feigned pity at what political analysts regarded as a rocky debate performance.
“I gotta be honest. I feel a little bad for Gov. Walz, and the reason I feel bad for him is he has to defend the indefensible,” Vance said of Vice President Kamala Harris’s record as vice president.
The lion’s share of Vance’s remarks were on the car industry, claiming Harris wants to “impoverish a generation of Michigan auto workers” with the transition to electric vehicles.
But the Q&A portion of the event was preoccupied with Vance’s own debate performance. One reporter asked why he declined to answer whether the 2020 election was stolen on Tuesday night as Trump regularly claims.
“The media is obsessed with talking about the election of four years ago. I’m focused on the election of 33 days from now,” Vance responded.
Walz made his own return to the campaign trail on Wednesday in York, Pennsylvania, where he appeared alongside Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA).
Walz acknowledged he at times lacked polish, quipping, “Look, not bad for a football coach, huh?”
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But he, too, attempted to seize on his opponent’s comments, calling Vance’s “damning nonanswer” on the 2020 election “disqualifying.”
“There’s a reason why Mike Pence was not on that stage with me,” Walz told the crowd. “Because Pence honored his oath and chose the Constitution over Donald Trump.”
