On Politics

Wed Oct 2 2024

Rebecca Morin | Senior National News Reporter

@RebeccaMorin_

Good morning! Rebecca Morin, senior national news reporter at USA TODAY, here with a special edition following Tuesday night's policy-focused — and pretty civil — debate.

Vance vs. Walz: Who won?

The goal of the evening? Don't mess up. Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate, came into the debate hoping to avoid a repeat of former President Donald Trump's mistakes from the last debate. At that, Vance succeeded. Gov. Tim Walz , the Democratic vice presidential candidate, had a shaky start and stumbled over his words at times. But there were no real fireworks at Tuesday's debate. Read more.

•	Fact check: What Tim Walz, JD Vance got right (and wrong)
•	Replay: JD Vance, Tim Walz battle over abortion rights, border in pivotal debate
•	VP debate moderators mute mics after Vance argues with fact checking

Post-debate 'za

After the debate, Walz took part in a New York pastime: late-night pizza. Walz dropped into Justino's pizza with his wife, Gwen. The two ordered pepperoni pizza, according to the pool report. While Walz ignored questions to clarify his statements on whether he was in China during the Tiananmen Square massacre, he did respond to what he believed the strongest moment of the night was.

•	"I think it was a good debate. The public got to see a contrast, and I think the ending sums it up. The democracy issue is important," Walz said.

Vance gets back in front of the camera

After the debate was over, Vance was back on TV. He went to the spin room, the area where surrogates for the campaigns talk up their preferred candidate, where he sat for an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity.

Trump says he would veto national abortion ban as issue threatens his campaign

Vance's big boss, Trump, was following along in the debate. But he also wanted to make some news of his own. Trump during the debate said he would veto a national abortion ban if one crossed his desk as president. Vance during the debate also changed his tune on this policy, saying the GOP needs to "earn people's trust" on the issue. Read more.

A laugh and a handshake

After the 90-minute debate, JD Vance and Tim Walz shook hands again, and seemingly shared a laugh. Vance's wife, Usha, and Walz's wife, Gwen, also made their way to the stage and shook hands. Both candidates thanked the moderators after the debate. View more photos here.

(L-R) US Senator and Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance greet Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and his wife Gwen Walz at the end of the Vice Presidential debate hosted by CBS News at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City on October 1, 2024.

ANGELA WEISS, AFP via Getty Images