The First Debate Between Vance and Walz on Tech in the Post-Democracy Era: A Simulcast View

Unlike the last ABC debate between former president Donald Trump and vice president Kamala Harris, the microphones will remain on for the duration of the debate. Two minutes to answer questions, two minutes to reply to opponents and one minute to rebuttals are what the candidates will have to answer.

On Tuesday night, vice presidential nominees J.D. Vance and Tim Walz will debate one another for the first and only time ahead of the November presidential election.

The former school teacher and the Hillbilly Elegy author have each taken some significant stances on tech. Walz, for example, navigated a power struggle between ridehailing apps and their drivers, vetoing a state bill to raise minimum pay for Uber and Lyft drivers after the companies threatened to leave the state, then signing a different bill to raise driver pay an estimated 20 percent without losing what he saw as a key mode of transportation for many Minnesotans.

Vance has ruffled feathers in his own party with his stance on tech competition regulation. The former venture capitalist and Peter Thiel protégé has praised Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan as “one of the few people in the Biden administration that I actually think is doing a pretty good job,” even though her progressive enforcement and rulemaking on tech is often the subject of critical Wall Street Journal op-eds and corporate pushback.

Tuesday’s debate will likely focus more on some of the key issues in this election, including immigration policy, reproductive healthcare, and the economy, but we’ll be listening in for any hints at how a Trump or Harris administration would impact tech.

The debate will be hosted by CBS and will be available for viewing across the network’s broadcast and streaming channels. Like most other debates, this one will be simulcast, so other major broadcasters and news channels will air it, too.

Margaret Brennan, anchor of Face the Nation and chief foreign affairs correspondent for CBS, will moderate the debate.

The candidates are given two minutes to answer each question and two minutes to provide responses and then one minute to rebuttals. Moderators can choose to grant an additional minute to continue a topic. The candidates won’t have a heads-up on questions and aren’t allowed to bring prewritten notes.

The Voting Experience of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris: How the Weird Does the GOP Really Compete With Its Vice President?

Rather than have the moderators jump in to fact-check in real time, CBS plans to display a QR code on the screen for viewers watching its channel, directing them to a live fact-checking page.

The polls show Donald Trump and vice president Mr. Harris in a close race going into the debate. A recent New York Times average of national polls showed Harris up three points in national polls, but neither candidate boasts a meaningful lead in battleground states like Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

Before becoming an Ohio senator, Vance built his profile as a Silicon Valley venture capitalist and author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” a memoir detailing his life as a young adult from Middletown, Ohio. They were connected with tech investors like Peter Thiel and he gave millions to their Senate campaign. Walz, a former congressperson and current governor of Minnesota, was not as high-profile of a pick as Vance, but the Kamala Harris campaign has leveraged his background as a former teacher, football coach, and veteran to appeal to rural America. Democrats call the GOP “weird” in much of the election messaging.

Neither candidate was asked about Ukraine, where these two campaigns have fundamentally different views, and Vance, in particular, has been a vocal critic of U.S. aid for Ukraine.

There was no need to account for his military record timelines or his misstatements on carrying weapons of war. Vance wasn’t asked about his “stolen valor” accusations about Walz’s service, either.

This debate likely will not move the needle at all in this presidential campaign, because — first and foremost — no one votes for the vice-presidential pick. After all, the most important rule of being a running mate is, “First, do no harm.”

The Right is Right: Donald Trump’s Failure to Talk Down to Working Class Voters in the Age of Infocommiscence and Confidence

One of the biggest issues in America is that people don’t agree on facts. People have their own ideologies and are finding others who affirm what they believe — whether Trump or posts on social media — rather than having their minds changed by contrary evidence.

In place of relying on traditional sources of knowledge, Trump is telling people there are simple solutions to complex problems, which they will not pay for. According to this line of thinking, voters should trust Trump over others. Giving the example of conventional wisdom about the global economy, Vance said, “For the first time in a generation, Donald Trump had the wisdom and the courage to say to that bipartisan consensus, ‘We’re not doing it anymore.’ I think so.

In the last 10 years of American politics, the right has moved away from believing experts. Democrats have had their own issues with being perceived as elitist and talking down to working-class voters. Republicans, like Trump, have exploited that.

Vance versus Harris: Why did Walz and Harris start talking about school shooting victims’ families? What did he think about his time in China?

Walz got off to a shaky start. He wasn’t very strong in foreign policy, and he was asked at the beginning. He had some awkward pauses and missespeaks when he said that he is friends with the school shooting victims’ families.

Instead of directly saying he misspoke, Walz gave a meandering answer that also included him saying, “I will talk a lot” which means you can’t believe everything he says.

Walz was weakest in his responses to questions about his time in China. During the Tiananmen Square protests, he claimed he was in Hong Kong. Minnesota Public Radio and others have reported that he did not travel there until later in the summer.

But with his popularity lower than any vice-presidential running mate in modern history, another Vance showed up Tuesday night — one largely respectful of his opponent. Vance even thanked the “folks at CBS,” a far cry from the booing that takes place on the campaign trail at his rallies when a reporter asks a question.

Vance also did a lot of laundering of Trump’s positions, especially on health care, child care and Jan. 6. Because Republicans have an inherent advantage on the cost of living in this election, his strongest moments were when he questioned why Harris hasn’t brought down prices already as part of the administration and implemented some of the things she’s promising to do if elected president.

The only vice-presidential debate Tuesday night will see the two nominees debate each other and both sides will make arguments about why their guy did well at certain times.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and the Violations of Vance-Walz Debate. And, Biden to assess North Carolina after Hurricane Helene

Jimmy Carter, the former President, was 100 years old yesterday. The 39th president, who has been in home hospice care since February 2023, received birthday wishes from many, including President Biden. His birthplace of Plains, Ga., held a parade to honor him. Carter has been the longest- living person to be a president.

The princess of the game is a new character in the series but hasn’t had a major spotlight role until recently. Instead, the green hat-clad Link plays the protagonist, saving the world from evil and rescuing Princess Zelda. She now flips the script by grabbing her wand to save a trapped Link in the series’ latest addition, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

President Biden is in North Carolina today to check on the recovery from Hurricane Helene. The death toll continues to climb across the flood-stricken southeast. Tens of thousands still lack electricity, water, cell service or all three.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against Iran for a missile attack against Israel last night. Iran launched approximately 180 missiles, forcing millions of people across the country into bomb shelters. This comes after Israel’s recent killing of Hasan Nasrallah, the leader of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Source: Fact-checking the Vance-Walz debate. And, Biden to assess N.C. after Hurricane Helene

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