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Reactions from conservatives on social media poured in during and following the first and only vice presidential debate on Tuesday night with the majority praising JD Vance for his performance.

“This was a massacre,” Outkick founder Clay Travis posted on X. “JD Vance absolutely destroyed Tim Walz.”

“JD Vance just won big,” conservative commentator Charlie Kirk posted on X along with a video montage of facial reactions by the two candidates. “And it wasn’t even close.”

“Tonight’s debate underscored that the Harris-Walz ticket is the most radical in our nation’s history,” Jessica Anderson, President of Sentinel Action Fund, said in a statement. 

WALZ STUNS INTERNET WITH VP DEBATE GAFFE: ‘I’VE BECOME FRIENDS WITH SCHOOL SHOOTERS’

JD Vance and Tim Walz debated on Tuesday night in New York City with just weeks until the election.  (Reuters)

“As Governor, Walz implemented his far-left agenda in Minnesota, with soft-on-crime policies, authoritarian COVID lockdowns, and support for limitless abortion. As Vice President, he will expand his extremism beyond Minnesota as the unapologetic wingman for Kamala Harris.”

“Vance absolutely crushed it tonight and secured a very bright future in the GOP,” American Principles Project President Terry Schilling posted on X.

VANCE RIPS WALZ ON ECONOMY, SAYS HE’S FORCED TO ‘PRETEND’ TRUMP DIDN’T LOWER INFLATION’

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) participates in a debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on October 1, 2024 in New York City. This is expected to be the only vice presidential debate of the 2024 general election.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“Very proud of JD for a stellar performance tonight,” former presidential candidate Vivek Ramasawmy posted on X. “And my condolences to Tim Walz – it was unkind for them to put him in this position.”

“JD Vance won big and demonstrated why he was a fantastic pick by President Trump,” Arkansas GOP Sen. Tom Cotton posted on X. “He skillfully contrasted Trump’s record of peace and prosperity with Kamala’s record of disaster.”

TIM WALZ SAID HE WENT TO CHINA ‘DOZENS’ OF TIMES, NOW HIS CAMPAIGN SAYS ITS ‘CLOSER TO 15’

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News, with Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The Harris campaign released a statement following the debate expressing why it believes that Walz, not Vance, had the strongest night.

“Tonight, Governor Walz showed exactly why Vice President Harris picked him: he is a leader who cares about the issues that matter most to the American people,” Harris-Walz Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement. “In the debate, Americans got to see a real contrast: a straight talker focused on sharing real solutions, and a slick politician who spent the whole night defending Donald Trump’s division and failures.”

“On every single issue – the economy, health care, foreign policy, reproductive freedom, gun violence – Governor Walz won. He spoke passionately about the Vice President’s vision for a new way forward for the country. And in what was the most critical moment of the entire debate, which came in its final exchange, he stood up for our Constitution, while JD Vance admitted he’d put Trump ahead of the country.”

O’Malley Dillon continued, “The choice facing the American people in November was on full display tonight: between charting a new way forward, or going backwards. Vice President Harris believes that the American people deserve to see her and Trump on the debate stage one more time. She will be in Atlanta on October 23 – Donald Trump should step up and face the voters.”

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The Trump campaign said in a statement that Vance “unequivocally won tonight’s debate in dominating fashion” in what was “the best debate performance from any Vice-Presidential candidate in history.”

“Senator Vance spoke the truth, eloquently prosecuted the case against Kamala Harris’ failed record, and effectively held Governor Tim Walz accountable for his lies on behalf of the Harris-Biden Administration,” Trump senior advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita said. “Senator Vance also perfectly articulated the Trump-Vance vision to make America safe again with their plan to launch the largest mass deportation operation in history; to make America strong again with a peace through strength foreign policy agenda; and to make America wealthy again by cutting taxes, unleashing American energy dominance, and ending inflation.”

 “Tonight, Senator Vance proved why President Trump chose him as his running mate. Together, they make the strongest and most dynamic presidential ticket ever, and they are going to win on November 5th.” 

A focus group of Democrats, independents and Republicans reacted to the moment when Gov. Tim Walz called himself a “knucklehead” for claiming to have been in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Moderators confronted Walz on the claim during the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate Tuesday night. Walz admitted that he only traveled to Asia in August 1989, several months after the April 15 massacre. The focus group found that voters were initially skeptical of Walz’s answer, but he eventually recovered.

“Can you explain that discrepancy?” a moderator asked, as the focus group remained neutral.

“Look, I grew up in small rural Nebraska, a town of 400. A town that you rode your bikes with your buddies until the streetlights come on, and I’m proud of that service. I joined the national guard at 17, worked on family farms, and then I used the GI bill to become a teacher. Passionate about it. Young teacher. My first year out, I got the opportunity in the summer of ’89 to travel to China–35 years ago, to be able to do that,” Walz said.

ABC DEBATE MODERATORS SPARK FURY FOR AGGRESSIVE FACT-CHECKING OF TRUMP, EASY TREATMENT OF HARRIS

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz admitted that he is often a “knucklehead” when he was asked about his claims of being in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square massacre. (Getty Images)

“I came back home and started a program to take young people there. We would take basketball teams, we would take baseball teams, we would take dancers, and we would go back and forth to China,” he added.

JD VANCE REMINDS CBS MODERATORS OF DEBATE RULES AFTER THEY TRY TO FACT-CHECK HIM

The focus group showed support from Republicans, independents and Democrats all going down for Walz during the first portion of his response.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, right, delivered a rambling response when debate moderators pressed him on his claims about traveling to China. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

However, Walz recovered among independents and Democrats when he went on to admit that he can be “a knucklehead at times.”

“Many times I will talk a lot. I will get caught up in the rhetoric,” he said, as support from independents rose above 50% in the focus group.

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WATCH: TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM THE DEBATE:

Walz’s support among Republicans dipped to its lowest point – under 10% – when he said former President Donald Trump would have benefited from participating in one of his China trips, arguing Trump would never have befriended Chinese President Xi Jinping.

President Biden said Wednesday that he would not support an attack by Israel on Iranian nuclear sites in retaliation for Iran’s firing of 181 missiles at Israel amid fears that a lethal regional war is around the corner.

On Wednesday, a day after the massive attack and after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Iran would pay for the attack, Biden briefly spoke with reporters before boarding Air Force One.

He said all the leaders on a recent call – France, Canada, Japan, Britain, Italy and Germany – agreed that Israel had the right to “proportionally” respond to Iran’s military strike.

“We’ll be discussing with the Israelis what they’re going to do, but all seven of us [G7 nations] agree that they have a right to respond, but they should respond proportionally,” he said.

ISRAEL URGES UN TO CONDEMN IRAN AFTER LATEST ATTACKS

President Biden speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Oct. 2, 2024. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

But when asked whether he would back Israel striking Iranian nuclear sites as it has long threatened, Biden told reporters, “The answer is no.”

ISRAEL STRIKES HEZBOLLAH TARGETS IN LEBANON

Biden said more sanctions would be imposed on Iran and that he would speak with Netanyahu soon.

“Obviously, Iran is way off course,” he said.

President Biden speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Oct. 2, 2024. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran’s missile attack escalated tensions in the region, where the Biden administration has for months led negotiations on a cease-fire in the nearly year-old Israel-Hamas war.

ISRAEL’S ‘SWORN ENEMY’ HEZBOLLAH TELLS IRAN IT WOULD FIGHT ALONE IF CONFLICT ESCALATES

The recent assault on Israel follows the Biden administration souring on the prospects of an end to the war between Israel and Hamas. 

“We aren’t any closer to that now than we were even a week ago,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby previously told reporters. He called the prospects of a completed deal “daunting.” 

“No deal is imminent,” one U.S. official told the Wall Street Journal. “I’m not sure it ever gets done.”

Biden is traveling to South Carolina and North Carolina to survey storm damage after Hurricane Helene. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

During Tuesday’s vice presidential debate with Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Democrat nominee Vice President Harris’ “steady leadership” in the region is necessary.

“What we’ve seen out of Vice President Harris is we’ve seen steady leadership. We’ve seen a calmness that is able to be able to draw on the coalitions, to bring them together, understanding that our allies matter. When our allies see Donald Trump turn towards Vladimir Putin, turn towards North Korea, when we start to see that type of fickleness around holding the coalitions together, we will stay committed,” he said.

“And as the vice president said today, we will protect our forces and our allied forces, and there will be consequences,” he said.

JD Vance and Tim Walz took part in the vice presidential debate on Tuesday night in New York City. (Reuters)

Vance voiced support for GOP nominee former President Trump’s “peace through strength” policy toward Israel.

“Donald Trump recognized that for people to fear the United States, you need peace through strength,” Vance said. “They needed to recognize that if they got out of line, the United States’ global leadership would put stability and peace back in the world.”

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Vance said it is “up to Israel” how they choose to respond.

“Now, you asked about a preemptive strike, Margaret, and I want to answer the question,” he said during the debate. “Look, it is up to Israel what they think they need to do to keep their country safe,” he said. “And we should support our allies wherever they are when they’re fighting the bad guys. I think that’s the right approach to take with the Israel question.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department and the White House for comment.

Former President Trump blasted the Justice Department Wednesday for having “disobeyed their own rule in favor of complete and total election interference” after a key filing from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s election case against him was unsealed with just weeks before Americans cast their ballots. 

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Tanya Chutkan unsealed Smith’s 165-page filing Wednesday afternoon. The filing lays out his case and the alleged evidence he intends to use in an eventual trial against Trump. 

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges brought by Smith. 

JUDGE UNSEALS KEY FILING IN SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S ELECTION CASE

But Trump blasted the Justice Department Wednesday evening. 

“For 60 days prior to an election, the Department of Injustice is supposed to do absolutely nothing that would taint or interfere with a case,” Trump posted in all capital letters to his Truth Social. “They disobeyed their own rule in favor of complete and total election interference.”

“I did nothing wrong, they did!” he continued. 

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Mint Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

DOJ practice during an election year has often been to hold off on major actions in cases that could impact elections during the 60 days leading up to Election Day, an unwritten policy commonly referred to as the “60-day rule.” The “rule,” which is really more of a tradition because it is not an actual rule, has been cited many times in recent years.

“The case is a scam, just like all of the others, including the documents case, which was dismissed!” 

Trump was pointing to the other case Smith brought against him related to classified records. The case was tossed out by a federal judge in Florida who ruled that Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel. 

The former president further blasted Democrats, saying they are “weaponizing the Justice Department against me because they I know I am WINNING, and they are desperate to prop up their failing candidate, Kamala Harris.” 

Trump said the unsealing of the Smith filing, which he called the “latest ‘hit job,’” happened because his running mate, Sen. JD Vance “humiliated” Harris’ running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz during Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate. 

Trump said the Justice Department “has become nothing more than an extension of Joe’s, and now Kamala’s, campaign.” 

TRUMP TRIAL STEMMING FROM JACK SMITH’S PROBE DELAYED PAST ELECTION DAY

“This is egregious PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT, and should not have been released right before the Election,” Trump said. “The Democrat Party is turning America into a Third World Country that tries to censor, harass, and intimidate their Political Opponents. What they have done to our Justice System is one of the Great, All Time, Tragedies.” 

The former president added that the Democrat Party “is guilty of the Worst Election Interference in American History.” 

“They are trying to DESTROY OUR DEMOCRACY, allowing millions of people to enter our Country illegally. They are determined to stop us from winning back the White House, sealing the Border, and MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. BUT THEY WILL FAIL, AND WE WILL SAVE OUR NATION!” Trump posted. 

Trump also blasted Smith as “deranged,” and said that he, the “Harris-Biden DOJ, and Washington, D.C. based Radical Left Democrats, are “HELL BENT on continuing to Weaponize the Justice Department in an attempt to cling to power.” 

“‘TRUMP’ is dominating the Election cycle, leading in the Polls, and the Radical Democrats throughout the Deep State are totally ‘freaking out.’ This entire case is a Partisan, Unconstitutional, Witch Hunt, that should be dismissed, entirely, just like the Florida case was dismissed!” Trump said. 

The Department of Justice seals is seen during a news conference at the DOJ office in Washington, May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Trump’s comments came in response to Smith’s newly-unsealed filing, in which he alleges Trump “resorted to crimes to try to stay in office” after losing the 2020 presidential election.

“With private co-conspirators, the defendant launched a series of increasingly desperate plans to overturn the legitimate election results in seven states that he had lost — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin,” Smith wrote. 

“His efforts included lying to state officials in order to induce them to ignore true vote counts; manufacturing fraudulent electoral votes in the targeted states; attempting to enlist Vice President Michael R. Pence, in his role as President of the Senate, to obstruct Congress’s certification of the election by using the defendant’s fraudulent electoral votes; and when all else had failed, on January 6, 2021, directing an angry crowd of supporters to the United States Capitol to obstruct the congressional certification.” 

Smith claims that the “throughline of these efforts was deceit,” claiming Trump and co-conspirators engaged in a conspiracy to interfere with the federal government function by which the nation collects and counts election results, which is set forth in the Constitution and the Electoral Count Act (ECA); a conspiracy to obstruct the official proceeding in which Congress certifies the legitimate results of the presidential election; and a conspiracy against the rights of millions of Americans to vote and have their votes counted.” 

The Supreme Court earlier this year ruled that a president is immune from prosecution for official acts. 

Donald Trump and Jack Smith  (Getty Images)

TRUMP INDICTED A SECOND TIME IN ELECTION SUBVERSION CASE BROUGHT BY SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH

Smith was then required to file another indictment against Trump, revising the charges in an effort to navigate the Supreme Court ruling. The new indictment kept the prior criminal charges but narrowed and reframed allegations against Trump after the high court’s ruling that gave broad immunity to former presidents. 

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges in the new indictment as well. 

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital the release of the “falsehood-ridden, unconstitutional J6 brief immediately following Tim Walz’s disastrous debate performance is another obvious attempt by the Harris-Biden regime to undermine American Democracy and interfere in this election.” 

“Deranged Jack Smith and Washington DC Radical Democrats are hell-bent on weaponizing the Justice Department in an attempt to cling to power,” Cheung said. “President Trump is dominating, and the Radical Democrats throughout the Deep State are freaking out.

“This entire case is a partisan, Unconstitutional Witch Hunt that should be dismissed entirely, together with ALL of the remaining Democrat hoaxes.” 

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Last month, Chutkan said she would not hold the trial for Trump on charges stemming from Smith’s Jan. 6 investigation until after the 2024 presidential election. She set deadlines for replies and paperwork from federal prosecutors and Trump’s legal team for Nov. 7 — after Election Day. 

Fox News’ Jake Gibson contributed to this report. 

YORK, Pa. — The day after their vice presidential debate in New York City, Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota jumped back on the campaign trail with stops in two crucial battleground states.

As he arrived at the airport near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Wednesday, Walz pointed toward his debate hours earlier with Vance and told reporters, “New York City was a little crazy last night.”

Most pundits said Vance was the more polished of the two candidates on the vice presidential debate stage Tuesday night, although flash polls indicated debate watchers were mostly divided on which running mate was victorious.

An accidental response by Walz during the debate quickly went viral, as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate mistakenly said he had “become friends with school shooters.” 

2024 CASH DASH: TRUMP UPS HIS ANTE AS HE TRIES TO CLOSE GAP WITH HARRIS

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, the Republican vice presidential nominee, speaks with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, during a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News Tuesday, Oct. 1, in New York.  (AP/Matt Rourke)

The mishap occurred when Walz was asked about changing positions on banning assault weapons, which he previously opposed but now supports. 

“I sat in that office with those Sandy Hook parents. I’ve become friends with school shooters. I’ve seen it,” Walz said.

Asked to clarify his debate gaffe, Walz said Wednesday, “I’m super passionate about this. The question came up about the school shooting. We’re talking about everything except school shootings. And I sat as a member of Congress with the Sandy Hook parents, and it was a profound movement.

“David Hogg [a leading gun control activist and school shooting survivor] is a good friend of mine.”

VANCE, WALZ, SPAR OVER ISSUES AT VP DEBATE SHOWDOWN

Walz acknowledged “I need to be more specific on that. But I am passionate about this.”

Vance, speaking at a rally in Auburn Hills, Michigan, said he didn’t hear Walz’s comment until he was told about it during a conversation with his running mate, former President Trump, after the debate.

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio speaks at a rally in Auburn Hills, Mich., Oct. 2, 2024. (Associated Press)

“He said that Tim Walz said that he was friends with school shooters twice,” Vance said, referencing his conversation with Trump. “And that’s something I actually didn’t notice that Tim Walz had said that on the debate stage.

“I said, ‘Did he really say that, sir?’ And he [Trump] said, ‘I’m telling you, man, go and watch the clips.’

HARRIS, BIDEN, HEAD TO STORM-RAVAGED SOUTHEAST IN WAKE OF TRUMP TRIP

“And I said that was probably only the third or fourth-dumbest comment Tim Walz made that night.”

The debate moderators also confronted Walz on his claim to have been in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, China.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, headlines a rally in York, Pa., Oct. 2, 2024. (Fox News Digital/Paul Steinhauser)

Walz admitted he traveled to Asia in August 1989, several months after the April 15 massacre, adding he can be “a knucklehead at times.”

The governor on Wednesday reiterated that he had his “dates wrong.”

Trump, in an interview Wednesday with Fox News’ Brooke Singman, called his running mate’s performance “fantastic” and that it had “reconfirmed my choice.” 

The former president also argued that Walz had “embarrassed himself” during the debate.

Another major moment in the debate came near the end, when Vance wouldn’t say that President Biden won the 2020 election over Trump. The former president for four years has repeatedly made unproven claims that the election was rigged and rampant with voter fraud.

Walz, on Wednesday, once again emphasized that “it is disqualifying to not acknowledge that the 2020 election was won by Joe Biden. It’s as simple as that.”

An hour later, speaking to a large crowd at a rally at the York Fairgrounds, Walz charged that “you can’t rewrite history. And trying to mislead us about Donald Trump’s record. That’s gaslighting.”

Vance, asked about his avoidance of answering the 2020 election question during the debate, reiterated his charge on Wednesday that “the simple reason” is that “the media is obsessed with talking about the election of four years ago. I’m focused on the election of 33 days from now because I want to throw Kamala Harris out of office and get back to commonsense, economic policies.”

Walz arrived at his rally in York to cheers as he pulled into the York Exposition Center riding his campaign bus.

But York is Trump country. The former president won York County by roughly 25 points over Biden in 2020.

Walz’s Pennsylvania swing through Harrisburg, York and Reading kicked off what the Harris campaign described as a more aggressive post-debate travel and voter engagement blitz by the governor, with stops in two other battleground states — Arizona and Nevada — and a fundraising blitz in Ohio, California and Washington

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And the campaign noted that Walz would participate in more media interviews. Vance has done dozens of interviews and repeatedly fielded questions from reporters on the campaign trail since Trump named the senator as his running mate 2½ months ago.

Vance made the first of his two stops in Michigan in Auburn Hills, at Visioneering, an automotive industry tool supplier.

Auburn Hills is in Oakland County, which has swung heavily toward the Democrats in recent election cycles. Biden carried the county by roughly 14 points over Trump four years ago.

Michigan and Pennsylvania are two of seven key battleground states whose razor-thin margins decided Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump and will likely determine whether Trump or Harris win the 2024 presidential election.

Fox News’ Deirdre Heavey and Kirill Clark contributed to this report

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Former President Trump’s campaign said on Wednesday that they hauled in over $160 million in fundraising in September, in figures shared with Fox News. 

The haul by the former president’s campaign is up from the roughly $130 million that Trump’s various fundraising committees brought in during the month of August. 

Trump faces a large fundraising deficit to Vice President Kamala Harris, with just under five weeks to go until Election Day in November.

FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP AIMS TO FLIP THE SCRIPT ON THE CASH DASH

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally at Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, Pa., Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Droke) (AP Photo/Rebecca Droke)

The Harris campaign announced last month that it raked in a staggering $361 million in August, nearly triple Trump’s fundraising. 

The Harris campaign has yet to report its September fundraising figures.

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS SHOW IN THE 2024 ELECTION

The Trump campaign, in revealing its fundraising numbers, said that it had $283.1 million cash-on-hand as of the end of September. That’s down slightly from the $295 million it had in its coffers a month earlier.

The Harris campaign, in its announcement last month, reported $404 million cash-on-hand.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump’s team, in releasing their latest figures, showcased their small-dollar grassroots fundraising, saying the average donation they received was $60 and that 96% of their contributions were less than $200.

The Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee enjoyed a fundraising lead over Trump and the Republican National Committee earlier this year. But Trump and the RNC topped Biden and the DNC by $331 million to $264 million during the second quarter of 2024 fundraising.

Biden enjoyed a brief fundraising surge after his disastrous performance in his late June debate with Trump as donors briefly shelled out big bucks in a sign of support for the 81-year-old president.

But Biden’s halting and shaky debate delivery also instantly fueled questions about his physical and mental ability to serve another four years in the White House and spurred a rising chorus of calls from within his own party for the president to end his bid for a second term. The brief surge in fundraising didn’t last and, by early July, began to significantly slow down. 

Biden bowed out of the 2024 race July 21, and the party quickly consolidated around Harris, who instantly saw her fundraising soar, spurred by small-dollar donations.

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When asked about the fundraising deficit, Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley told Fox News Digital last month that “the Democrats have a ton of money. The Democrats always have a ton of money.”

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)

However, he emphasized that “we absolutely have the resources that we need to get our message out to all the voters that we’re talking to and feel very comfortable that we’re going to be able to see this campaign through, and we’re going to win on November 5.”

Fundraising, along with polling, is a key metric in campaign politics and a measure of a candidate’s popularity and their campaign’s strength. The money raised can be used – among other things – to hire staff, expand grassroots outreach and get-out-the-vote efforts, pay to produce and run ads on TV, radio, digital and mailers, and for candidate travel.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Tanya Chutkan on Wednesday unsealed a key filing in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s election case against former President Trump. 

Chutkan unsealed Smith’s 165-page filing Wednesday after the special counsel submitted the document, in which he lays out the case and alleged evidence he intends to use in an eventual trial against Trump. 

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges brought against him by Smith. 

TRUMP INDICTED A SECOND TIME IN ELECTION SUBVERSION CASE BROUGHT BY SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH

The Supreme Court earlier this year ruled that a president is immune from prosecution for official acts. 

Smith was then required to file another indictment against Trump, revising the charges in an effort to navigate the Supreme Court ruling. The new indictment kept the prior criminal charges but narrowed and reframed allegations against Trump after the high court’s ruling that gave broad immunity to former presidents. 

In the filing unsealed Wednesday, Smith outlines a “factual proffer,” alleging that Trump “resorted to crimes to try to stay in office” after losing the 2020 presidential election.

“With private co-conspirators, the defendant launched a series of increasingly desperate plans to overturn the legitimate election results in seven states that he had lost—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin,” Smith wrote. 

“His efforts included lying to state officials in order to induce them to ignore true vote counts; manufacturing fraudulent electoral votes in the targeted states; attempting to enlist Vice President Michael R. Pence, in his role as President of the Senate, to obstruct Congress’s certification of the election by using the defendant’s fraudulent electoral votes; and when all else had failed, on January 6m 2021, directing an angry crowd of supporters to the United States Capitol to obstruct the congressional certification.” 

Smith claims that the “throughline of these efforts was deceit,” claiming Trump and co-conspirators engaged in a conspiracy to interfere with the federal government function by which the nation collects and counts election results, which is set forth in the Constitution and the Electoral Count Act (ECA); a conspiracy to obstruct the official proceeding in which Congress certifies the legitimate results of the presidential election; and a conspiracy against the rights of millions of Americans to vote and have their votes counted.” 

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital that the release of the “falsehood-ridden, Unconstitutional J6 brief immediately following Tim Walz’s disastrous debate performance is another obvious attempt by the Harris-Biden regime to undermine American Democracy and interfere in this election.” 

“Deranged Jack Smith and Washington DC Radical Democrats are hell-bent on weaponizing the Justice Department in an attempt to cling to power,” Cheung said. “President Trump is dominating, and the Radical Democrats throughout the Deep State are freaking out.” 

Cheung added: “This entire case is a partisan, Unconstitutional Witch Hunt that should be dismissed entirely, together with ALL of the remaining Democrat hoaxes.” 

In the filing, Smith lays out his findings, claiming that people close to Trump had tried to tell him that the claims were all “bulls—t.”

Smith details conversations between an unnamed Trump personal attorney and the former president. That attorney allegedly told Trump that the campaign was “looking into his fraud claims and had even hired external experts to do so, but could find no support for them.” 

“He told the defendant that if the Campaign took these claims to court, they would get slaughtered because the claims are all ‘bullsh—t,’” the filing states, with Smith claiming that lawyer discussed with Trump the investigations and “debunkings on all major claims.” 

Smith also details alleged interactions between Trump and Pence in the days following the election. 

Smith details a Nov. 7, 2020 call between Pence and Trump in which Pence allegedly “tried to encourage” Trump “as a friend” by reminding him that he “took a dying political party and gave it a new lease on life.” 

Smith also details a private lunch between Trump and Pence on Nov. 12, 2020, in which Pence allegedly gave Trump a “face-saving option.” That option, according to the filing, was “don’t concede but recognize the process is over.” 

Smith also detailed another private lunch between Trump and Pence on Nov. 16, 2020, in which Pence allegedly tried to encourage Trump to accept the results of the election and run again in 2024. Trump allegedly said at the time: “I don’t know. 2024 is so far off.” 

Smith details another private lunch between the two in which Pence allegedly “encouraged” Trump “not to look at the election as a loss — just an intermission.”

Smith writes that after that lunch, Trump allegedly asked Pence in the Oval Office: “What do you think we should do?” 

Pence allegedly said: “After we have exhausted every legal process in the courts and Congress, if we still came up short, [the defendant] should ‘take a bow.’”

Meanwhile, Smith claims a White House staffer traveling with Trump overheard him tell his family members that “it doesn’t matter if you won or lost the election. You still have to fight like hell.” 

Smith claims that Trump “was on notice that there was no evidence of widespread election fraud in Arizona within a week of the election,” and claimed Trump also “had early notice that his claims of election fraud in Georgia were false.” 

Smith claims that “none of the allegations or evidence is protected by presidential immunity,” arguing that Trump’s “scheme was a private one.” 

“He extensively used private actors and his Campaign infrastructure to attempt to overturn the election results and operated in a private capacity as a candidate for office,” Smith claimed. “To the limited extent that the superseding indictment and proffered evidence reflect official conduct, however, the Government can rebut the presumption of immunity because relying on that conduct in this prosecution will not pose a danger of intrusion on the authority or functions of the Executive Branch.” 

Fox News’ Bill Mears and David Spunt contributed to this report. 

Gov. Tim Walz received steady support from independent and Democratic debate watchers during his remarks on immigration, except when he bashed former President Trump on the issue.

A focus group reacted live to the vice presidential debate on Tuesday, pitting Democratic nominee Walz against Republican Sen. JD Vance. 

“We all want to solve this, most of us want to solve this,” Walz said as he spoke of the immigration crisis during the debate.

Democratic and independent support for Walz was high as he talked about the issue of the fentanyl and opioid crisis. 

TOP 5 CLASHES BETWEEN VANCE AND WALZ DURING DEBATE SHOWDOWN: ‘YOUR MICS ARE CUT’

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, speaks during a debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on Oct. 1, 2024, in New York City. (Chip Somodevilla)

Support from both Democrats and independents spiked when Walz said Vice President Kamala Harris was “the only person in this race who prosecuted transnational gangs for human trafficking and drug interventions.”

Support from independent and Democratic respondents remained steady for the majority of his remarks on the issue of immigration.

Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz are shown on screen in the spin room during the debate at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

VANCE VS. WALZ DEBATE LEAVES AMERICANS WITH THIS BIG TAKEAWAY

However, independent support for Walz dropped when he suggested that “Donald Trump said no” to border legislation, “because it gives him a campaign issue.”

“What would Donald Trump talk about if we actually did some of these things?” Walz said, prompting a significant decline in support from independent viewers.

Sen. JD Vance participates in a debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on Oct. 1, 2024, in New York City. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“Donald Trump had four years. He had four years to do this. And he promised you, America, how easy it would be. I’ll build you a big beautiful wall, and Mexico will pay for it. Less than 2% of that wall got built and Mexico didn’t pay a dime,” Walz said, to which Democratic viewer support began to rise.

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Republican viewers maintained an unfavorable view of Walz as he spoke about the immigration crisis.

Vice President Kamala Harris sidestepped answering directly whether she believes athletes should stand for the national anthem during an unearthed 2016 interview, instead delivering a rambling response that is currently receiving backlash on social media ahead of the general election. 

While serving as attorney general of California, Harris joined PBS reporter David Nazar to discuss her Senate run and campaign platforms on issues such as criminal justice reform, the Black Lives Matter movement and the economy in California. During the discussion, Nazar pressed Harris if she believes athletes should stand for the national anthem. 

“Should folks stand for the national anthem?” Nazar asked in the interview, which was published in October 2016. 

Harris’ response focused on Americans’ rights protected in the Constitution, and did not include a direct answer on whether athletes should stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

“We are all, and should be, treated as equals. We articulated those principles in our Constitution. And part of what we decided is what makes a fair and just and noble society in a democracy, a true democracy, is freedom of religion, freedom, right, of association, freedom to organize, First Amendment,” she responded. 

“So, that is part of who we are as a country, and I will defend it to the core, which is that we give people, certain choices in this country.” 

PRO ATHLETES WHO STOOD FOR NATIONAL ANTHEM AMID FEVER PITCH TO SUPPORT SOCIAL JUSTICE INITIATIVES

Vice President Kamala Harris during a campaign event at the Philip Chosky Theatre in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (Rebecca Droke/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In 2016, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick became the first NFL player to kneel during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racism. The form of protest, which began in Harris’ backyard of San Francisco, soon spread to other sports leagues and athletes. 

Athletes such as Megan Rapinoe knelt for the anthem ahead of soccer games in 2016, while Bruce Maxwell became the first Major League Baseball athlete to kneel during the national anthem in 2017. 

TRUMP TAKES NFL, NBA TO TASK ABOUT KNEELING DURING NATIONAL ANTHEM

The form of protest hit a fever pitch in 2020 following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis during an interaction with police. Scores of athletes knelt ahead of games that year during the anthem, while the NBA unveiled a court painted with “Black Lives Matter” amid social justice protests that year, and some Olympians took a knee during the Tokyo Games. 

San Francisco 49ers, from left, Eli Harold, Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid kneel on the sideline during the national anthem before the Dallas Cowboys game at Levi’s Stadium on Oct. 2, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

The protests were slammed by conservatives in the U.S., including former President Trump, who ripped the athletes for politicizing games. 

TRUMP GIVES TWO-WORD RESPONSE IN REACTION TO NFL PLAYERS KNEELING BEFORE THANKSGIVING DAY GAME

“I think it’s been horrible for basketball. Look at the basketball ratings. They’re down to very low numbers. People are angry about it. They don’t realize.… They have enough politics with guys like me. They don’t need more as they’re driving down… going up for the shot. They don’t need it. There’s a nastiness about the NBA about the way it was done too. So I think the NBA is in trouble. It’s in big trouble. Bigger trouble than they understand,” Trump said in 2020. 

Former President Trump listens at a town hall campaign event at Macomb Community College, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Warren, Michigan. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump also posted to X, then Twitter, that kneeling for the national anthem is “a sign of great disrespect for our Country and our Flag,” saying the “game is over” for him when he spots an athlete kneeling. 

Harris’ unearthed interview was criticized on social media this week, with OutKick founder Clay Travis saying Harris delivered a “long jumble of nothingness.”

COLIN KAEPERNICK PROTEST FALLOUT SHOWED ‘REALLY HOW A LOT OF THE WHITE PEOPLE SEE US,’ NFL LEGEND SAYS

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment on the 2016 interview, but did not immediately receive a response. 

Harris defended athletes who knelt during the anthem in 2017, after she was elected senator, saying they should not be “threatened or bullied” for the protest. 

“Let’s speak the truth that when Americans demand recognition that their lives matter, or kneel to call attention to injustice, that that is an expression of free speech, protected by our Constitution, and they should not be threatened or bullied,” Harris said during an event in Atlanta, the Hill reported at the time. 

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“When we sing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ we rightly think about the brave men and women from all backgrounds who proudly defend the freedom of those they may never meet and people who will never know their names. When we sing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ we also think about those marching in the streets who demand that the ideals of that flag represent them too,” she added. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. 

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance on Tuesday said he wanted to focus on the future when asked about former President Trump’s denials that he lost the 2020 election – an answer that drew negative reactions from some voters, according to the Fox News Debate Dial.

Vance was asked by Democratic candidate Gov. Tim Walz whether Trump lost the 2020 election, something that Trump has repeatedly denied, and which led to the protests on Jan 6, 2021.

“This was a threat to our democracy in a way that we had not seen, and it manifested itself because of Donald Trump’s inability to say – he is still saying he didn’t lose the election,” Walz said. “Did he lose the 2020 election?”

VOTERS REACT TO JD VANCE CLAIMING HE AND DONALD TRUMP SUPPORT ‘CLEAR AIR, CLEAN WATER’ 

Sen. JD Vance speaks during the vice-presidential debate at CBS Studios on Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Vance attempted to put the ball back in Walz’s court.

“Tim, I’m focused on the future. Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 COVID situation?” he responded.

Walz called it a “damning non-answer.”

“It’s a damning non-answer for you to not talk about censorship,” Vance said, going on to say that there were “problems” in 2020.

Republicans on the Fox News Debate Dial had been unimpressed with Walz’s line of questioning and the dial went down, with the approval staying generally the same with Vance’s answers, but the dials for independents and Democrats took a sharp dive as Vance brushed off the question. It dove the sharpest among independents.

TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM ONLY VP DEBATE BETWEEN VANCE AND WALZ BEFORE ELECTION

“But you guys attack us for not believing in democracy,” Vance then said. “The most sacred right under the United States democracy is the First Amendment. You yourself have said there’s no First Amendment right to misinformation. Kamala Harris wants to use the power of government and Big Tech to silence people from speaking their minds. That is a threat to democracy that will long outlive this present political moment.” 

“I would like Democrats and Republicans to both reject censorship. Let’s persuade one another. Let’s argue about ideas, and then let’s come together.”

Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on Oct. 1, 2024, in New York City. (Getty Images)

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As he spoke, the Republican dials increased significantly, the independent dial improved slightly and Democrats’ approval stayed generally the same.

Walz responded with a reference to the alleged limits on free speech.

“You can’t yell fire in a crowded theater – that’s the test, that’s the Supreme Court test.”

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EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump said Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz “embarrassed himself” during Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate, while Sen. JD Vance’s steady presentation “reconfirmed” his choice to make the senator from Ohio his running mate.

Trump spoke exclusively with Fox News Digital on Wednesday morning, hours after Vance, R-Ohio, and Walz faced off in the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate in New York City. The two sparred on issues like foreign policy, border security, abortion and climate change, while introducing themselves and their records to the American people. 

VANCE, WALZ SPAR OVER ABORTION AND IMMIGRATION IN FIRST AND ONLY VP DEBATE

“JD was fantastic last night – it just reconfirmed my choice,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “There was a brilliance to what he did.” 

“On the other hand, Tim Walz proved to be a man that doesn’t have it in any way shape or form for the office that he is seeking, though I would put him a large number of steps above Kamala,” Trump said.

The former president and Republican presidential nominee said Walz “embarrassed himself and the Democrat Party last night but was made to look even worse by JD’s brilliant performance.” 

“This is what the country needs; smart people, not people that can’t put two sentences together,” Trump said. “We have to take our country back.” 

Former President Trump and vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance appear on the first day of the Republican National Convention on July 15, 2024. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Vice presidential debates are traditionally seen as second-tier, but with Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris unlikely to debate again before voters cast their ballots on Nov. 5, the stakes were raised for their running mates as they attempted to tackle the most important issues facing the nation. 

CBS News anchors Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan moderated the debate in New York City Tuesday night, which was filled with more substantive policy discussion than personal jabs. Tuesday began with nearly 50,000 unionized dockworkers going on strike from Maine to Texas and ended with Iran launching its largest attack on Israel in history, firing nearly 250 ballistic missiles at the Jewish state. 

The first question for Walz and Vance was whether they would support a preemptive strike by Israel on Iran. 

A visibly shaky Walz had a rough start to the debate, pausing and stumbling over his words as he spoke about the need for “steady leadership” from the White House. Instead of answering the question, Walz took a shot at Trump. 

“What’s fundamental here is that steady leadership is going to matter,” Walz said, pointing to Trump’s debate performance against Harris last month. “It’s clear, and the world saw it on that debate stage a few weeks ago. A nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment.” 

But Vance, in his first answer, defended Trump, saying he “delivered stability to the world, and he did it by establishing effective deterrence.” 

WALZ FORCED TO CORRECT RECORD ON WHETHER HE WAS IN CHINA FOR THE TIANANMEN SQUARE PROTESTS

“People were afraid of stepping out of line,” Vance said. “Donald Trump recognized that for people to fear the United States, you needed peace through strength. They needed to recognize that if they got out of line, the United States’ global leadership would put stability and peace back in the world.” 

JD Vance and Tim Walz (CBS)

As for a preemptive strike, Vance said, “It is up to Israel what they think they need to do to keep their country safe. And we should support our allies wherever they are, when they’re fighting the bad guys.”

Walz fired back. He slammed the Trump administration for pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, saying Iran is “closer to a nuclear weapon than they were before because of Donald Trump’s fickle leadership,” adding Harris is providing “steady leadership.” 

“You blame Donald Trump, but who has been the vice president for the last 3½ years? And the answer is, your running mate, not mine,” Vance said. 

Vance, again defending Trump, saying he “consistently made the world more secure.” 

“Gov. Walz can criticize Donald Trump’s tweets, but effective, smart diplomacy and peace through strength is how you bring stability back to a very broken world,” Vance said. “Donald Trump has already done it once before.” 

Vance also urged voters to ask themselves, “When was the last time that an American president didn’t have a major conflict break out?” 

“The only answer is during the four years that Donald Trump was president,” Vance said. 

The debate shifted to the ongoing crisis at the southern border, a top issue for voters. 

Vance said he has already been to the border more than “border czar” Kamala Harris, while touting Trump’s plan to secure the border. 

But Walz blasted Trump for his alleged efforts to get Republicans to vote against a border bill. 

VANCE, WALZ SPAR ON IMMIGRATION DURING VP DEBATE: BEEN TO THE BORDER ‘MORE THAN OUR BORDER CZAR’

“As soon as it was getting ready to pass and actually tackle this, Donald Trump said no, told [lawmakers] to vote against it, because it gives him a campaign issue,” Walz said. “What would Donald Trump talk about if we actually did some of these things?”

On the same topic, moderators asked Vance whether he and Trump would support family separation as part of Trump’s proposed “mass deportation” should he be elected. 

“We have 320,000 children that the Department of Homeland Security has effectively lost,” Vance explained. “Some of them have been sex trafficking. Some of them, hopefully, are at homes with their families.

JD Vance and Tim Walz debated on Tuesday night in New York City with just weeks until the election. (Reuters)

“Some of them have been used as drug trafficking mules. The real family separation policy in this country is, unfortunately, Kamala Harris’ wide open southern border. And I’d ask my fellow Americans to remember when she came into office, she said she was going to do this. Real leadership would be saying, ‘You know what, I screwed up. We’re going to go back to Donald Trump’s border policies.’ I wish that she would do that. It would be good for all of us.” 

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As for the issue of abortion, another top issue for voters this cycle, Walz maintained that he and Harris are pro-choice, while Vance said Republicans need to “do so much better of a job at earning the American people’s trust back on this issue, where they, frankly, just don’t trust us.” 

“And I think that’s one of the things that Donald Trump and I are endeavoring to do. I want us, as a Republican Party, to be pro-family in the fullest sense of the word. I want us to support fertility treatments. I want us to make it easier for moms to afford to have babies,” Vance said. “I want to make it easier for young families to afford a home so they can afford a place to raise that family. And I think there’s so much that we can do on the public policy front just to give women more options right now.”

Tuesday’s vice presidential debate between Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz brought together two candidates with different visions for the future of America.

Their body language also sharply contrasted with one another as Vance espoused a sense of calmness and command of the issues, whereas Walz appeared nervous and overly fidgety at times, although he did manage to find his stride later in the debate, body language expert Carole Lieberman, M.D., tells Fox News Digital. 

“What JD Vance had that made him most likable and most trusted was that he was authentic… you could just say it in one word. JD Vance was authentic. He did big hand movements and so on, but they were just to explain what he was saying,” Lieberman said. 

TOP 5 CLASHES BETWEEN VANCE AND WALZ DURING DEBATE SHOWDOWN: ‘YOUR MICS ARE CUT’

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appeared nervous and overly fidgety at times, Lieberman says. (Getty Images)

“JD Vance came across as being very steady, like you can kind of see him as a captain of the ship, and he wasn’t too stiff, but you knew what you were going to get. Each time he seemed sure of himself… And so you felt like you would be safe with him. He gave an air of stability,” Lieberman added. 

That ran counter to Walz, whom Lieberman said was anxious and jittery, particularly at the beginning of the debate. 

“With Tim Walz, he was all over the place. He was very nervous, and he also had body language signs of lying. His body language was discordant with what he was saying. It was like too much, it made you feel exhausted and scared.”

Lieberman says Walz fumbled his question about being in Tiananmen Square for the deadly protests in the spring of 1989. Walz previously said he was in Hong Kong during the protests, but Minnesota Public Radio and other media outlets report that Walz actually did not travel to China until August of that year. 

CBS News moderator Margaret Brennan asked Walz to explain the discrepancy. Walz initially tried to talk around the question but eventually admitted he “misspoke” after calling himself a “knucklehead at times.”

“He was so defensive, he was just talking in circles and didn’t want to admit that he had lied. If he had said that at the very beginning, it would have been more honest.”

WATCH: Walz forced to correct record on whether he was in China for the Tiananmen Square protests

ABC’S LINSEY DAVIS ADMITS FACT-CHECKING OF TRUMP WAS BECAUSE CNN LET HIS STATEMENTS ‘HANG’ AT FIRST DEBATE

Lieberman says body language plays an important role in debates, as people may not give their full attention to the entire debate and some topics interest people more than others. 

She says 40-year-old Vance came across as the more experienced politician, even though he has only served in the Senate since January 2023, whereas Walz served in Congress from 2007 to 2019 before going on to be governor of Minnesota.

“[Walz] seemed like he was the new politician, like he was just trying to figure these things out. He was always looking down… I mean yes, it’s OK to take notes when you’re talking but… he was frantically taking notes like, ‘Oh man I better say that’ and ‘This is the answer to that.’ It really didn’t seem to help him much, but I think it was a nervous compensation.”

“Whereas with JD you could see the Yale debater,” Lieberman said. 

“He obviously has had… years and years of practice, debating in college and as a lawyer and so on. You read about or heard about both of them practicing, but if it’s coming from an authentic place, you don’t really have to practice that much. You know what you want to do and you just say it. Whereas if you’re hiding things by squirreling around, then you do have to practice to make sure you don’t say that, or you do say that. And that’s kind of how it came across.”

Republican Sen. JD Vance espoused a sense of calmness and command of the issues, Lieberman says. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The CBS News Vice Presidential Debate showcased the two candidates’ platforms on issues such as the ongoing war raging in the Middle East, abortion laws and their respective tickets’ economic records. During the 90-minute debate, Vance and Walz had a handful of clashes, including moderators turning off Vance’s microphone.

Commentators on both sides of the political spectrum largely agreed that Vance won the debate with a more polished performance in what was a highly policy-driven event devoid of personal attacks. The pair were seen shaking hands and chatting immediately after the debate. 

Lieberman says Vance was confident in prosecuting the case for the Trump ticket and was comfortable arguing the issues the Republican Party stands for. 

“He wanted to ‘Let’s go, I can’t wait to do this, I’m going to do it’… he’s Trump lite,” Lieberman said. “It’s kind of the authenticity that I want to take care of America, I want to make America great again, all of that just came through naturally and by the end, you just kind of wanted him to push Tim Walz away. ‘You’re making me nervous’ kind of thing and with JD Vance you just kind of felt ‘OK, that’s good.’”

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Commentators on both sides of the political spectrum largely agreed that Vance won the debate with a more polished performance in what was a policy-driven event devoid of personal attacks.  (Reuters)

Lieberman says it appears that Walz’s strategy was to blame Trump, in large part, for many of the issues or cite Trump when responding to answers, and when that line of response became ineffective, he appeared lost. 

“Walz was nervous, in parts, and then he had some signs of lying, like, for example, fidgeting. Mainly his movements were discordant with what he was saying. These puppy dog looks at Vance did him in, in my opinion… He was practicing what to say bad about Trump and that was not a good plan.”

Lieberman says Walz also had some “brain freeze moments.”

“You could call it a senior moment, he would stare and you were wondering, ‘Is he going to go on? Is there more?’ And that was very sort of worrying,” Lieberman said. 

“Throughout the 90 minutes, you would find yourself getting more and more nervous, anxious, irritated by Tim Walz, whereas you were beginning to feel calmer and as though things were going to be OK with JD Vance. And even if you couldn’t hear the words that they were speaking and you were just watching them, this is how you would feel.”

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris each travel to the storm-ravaged Southeast on Wednesday, as the death toll and devastation from Hurricane Helene soars and a couple of million people remain without power and running water.

Over 160 people have been killed by Helene since the hurricane made landfall in Florida late Thursday before tearing a path of destruction through the interior Southeast. The storm sparked millions of power outages and billions of dollars in property damage as it smashed through the southern Appalachian Mountains and into the Tennessee Valley. 

As the floodwaters from the storm receded, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper lamented that in the western part of his state “communities were wiped off the map.”

NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS FIGHT FOR THEIR SURVIVAL

North Carolina and Georgia, which was also hard hit by the storm, are two of the seven key battlegrounds whose razor-thin margins decided Biden’s 2020 election victory over former President Trump and are expected to determine the outcome of the 2024 showdown between Harris and Trump.

Flood damage at a bridge across Mill Creek in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 30, 2024, in Old Fort, North Carolina. ( Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

And with a margin-of-error race between the vice president and Trump with less than five weeks to go until Election Day on Nov. 5, and with the former president during a trip to the storm-damaged region earlier this week blasting both Biden and Harris over the federal response, the hurricane has become front-and-center in the White House race.

RESCUE MISSIONS UNDERWAY IN NORTH CAROLINA AFTER HURRICANE HELENE BRINGS ‘HISTORIC’ FLOODING, LANDSLIDES

The president on Wednesday heads to North Carolina, where he’ll survey damage from a helicopter flight over the city of Ashville, one of the hardest hit areas. Biden will also visit a rescue command center in the state before also stopping in neighboring South Carolina.

“My top priority is to ensure the communities devastated by this hurricane get the help and support they need as quickly as possible,” Biden told reporters Tuesday as he spoke during a Cabinet meeting focusing on the federal response.

Trump this past weekend accused the president of “sleeping” at his beach house in Delaware as the storm blasted the Southeast.

And speaking with reporters as he arrived in Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday, the former president charged that “the federal government is not being responsive.” 

Former President Trump speaks outside the Chez What furniture store as he visits Valdosta, Georgia, a town hit hard by Hurricane Helene, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

And he falsely claimed that Biden had not spoken with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a conservative Republican.

Pushing back against the political attacks, Biden has noted that he was on the phone with federal, state and local officials throughout the weekend and returned to the nation’s capital on Sunday afternoon to monitor storm rescue and relief efforts.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON HELENE’S HAVOC

“We had over 1,000 federal personnel, including search and rescue teams, at the ready on the ground before it hit,” the president said on Tuesday. “Over the past several days, I’ve been in regular contact with the governors, the mayors, the county officials, and all the affected areas. That includes Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia.”

And Biden emphasized that his administration has sent “every available resource that we have at our disposal to the affected region” and pledged “we’ll be there until this work is done.”

President Biden speaks during a briefing on the government’s response to Hurricane Helene in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, as Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, left, and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas listen. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Trump on Sunday attacked Harris for attending “fundraising events with her radical left lunatic donors” in California over the weekend. And he argued that Harris “ought to be down in the area” where the storm caused destruction.

On Monday during his stop in Georgia, Trump repeated the dig, saying, “The vice president, she’s out someplace campaigning looking for money.”

The White House has highlighted that the vice president over the weekend was on the phone with federal, state and local officials. 

Harris said on Saturday that she and the president “remain committed to ensuring that no community or state has to respond to this disaster alone.”

On Monday, Harris visited FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] headquarters in Washington, D.C., where she received a briefing on relief and rescue efforts.

“We will do everything in our power to help communities respond and recover,” Harris vowed.

Harris on Wednesday travels to Georgia to survey the impacts of the storm and receive an on-the-ground briefing and provide updates on the federal response.

Harris was originally scheduled to take part Wednesday in a campaign bus swing through central Pennsylvania, another key battleground state, with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

With the vice president headed to Georgia, Walz will headline the bus tour, which comes the day after he faced off in the running mates debate against Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, the GOP vice presidential nominee.

During his Monday stop in Georgia, Trump highlighted that “I’ve come to Valdosta with large semi-trucks, many of them, filled with relief aid. A tanker truck filled up with gasoline, a couple of big tanker trucks filled up with gasoline, which they can’t get now. And we’ll be working to distribute it throughout the day.”

And a GoFundMe page set up by the Trump campaign earlier this week has raised nearly $4 million so far for storm victims.

Presidents and vice presidents often don’t travel immediately to storm-damaged areas, to prevent their trips from hampering badly needed rescue and relief efforts.

“I’m committed to traveling to the impacted areas as soon as possible, but I’ve been told that it would be disruptive if I did it right now. We will not do that at the risk of diverting or delaying any of the response assets needed to deal with this crisis,” Biden told reporters on Monday.

And Harris said on Tuesday, “I plan to be on the ground as soon as possible – but as soon as possible without disrupting any emergency response operations, because that must be the highest priority and the first order of business.”

But the optics of Trump’s Monday stop in Georgia may have put some political pressure on Biden and Harris.

Longtime Republican strategist David Kochel said Trump had been “very aggressive” with his quick trip to the storm-damaged region. 

“I think he put a lot of pressure on them to try to do something,” Kochel, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns, told Fox News. “He’s out there pushing a line that they don’t care – they’re not doing anything and I think they’re reacting to it.”

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The response by elected officials to natural disasters can impact their political standing.

President George W. Bush was heavily criticized in the summer of 2005 for his initial response to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans.

And Trump faced criticism early in his White House tenure as Puerto Rico struggled to recover from a powerful storm. The president was pilloried for throwing paper towels to the crowd as he stopped by a relief center during a storm-related visit to the island.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

One of Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance’s biggest debate moments was when he explained his complete reversal of feelings about his running mate.

Vance was asked at the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate on Tuesday how he went from calling Trump potentially “America’s Hitler” and an “idiot” to joining the former president’s 2024 ticket.

“Sometimes, of course, I’ve disagreed with the president, but I’ve also been extremely open about the fact that I was wrong about Donald Trump. I was wrong, first of all, because I believed some of the media stories that turned out to be dishonest fabrications of his record,” Vance said Tuesday night. 

TOP 5 CLASHES BETWEEN VANCE AND WALZ DURING DEBATE SHOWDOWN: ‘YOUR MICS ARE CUT’

Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz shake hands at the debate moderated by Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City. (Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty Images)

He continued, “But most importantly, Donald Trump delivered for the American people rising wages, rising take-home pay, an economy that worked for normal Americans, a secure southern border. A lot of things, frankly, that I didn’t think he’d be able to deliver on.”

Fox News’ Debate Dial audience feedback system showed viewers’ approval rates shooting in different directions during Vance’s explanation of how he came to be a Trump supporter. 

Republican audience approval surged past 80% and at one point even over 90%, maintaining solid support throughout Vance’s statement.

VOTER PANEL REACTS TO VANCE CLASH WITH DEBATE MODERATORS, MIC CUTOFF: ‘YOU’RE FACT CHECKING ME’

Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz are shown on screen in the spin room during the vice presidential debate at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Democratic viewers expressed discontent – ratings from Democrats fell below 40% and at one point bottomed out near 20%.

Vance emphasized that there were mistakes made in the first Trump administration that he wishes could have been handled better, but placed a significant portion of blame on Congress.

“There were a lot of things on the border, on tariffs, for example, where I think that we could have done so much more if the Republican Congress and the Democrats in Congress had been a little bit better about how they govern the country. They were so obsessed with impeaching Donald Trump, they couldn’t actually govern,” Vance said.

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during his debate with Sen. JD Vance in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Debate Dial data showed independents were more tempered in their reactions to the segment, hovering mostly between 40% and 60% approval.

Republican, Democrat and independent voters reacted differently when Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, stated that he and former President Trump support “clean air, clean water” while responding to a question on the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate stage about climate change, the Fox News Debate Dial showed. 

“Look, a lot of people are justifiably worried about all these crazy weather patterns. I think it’s important for us, first of all, to say, Donald Trump and I support clean air, clean water. We want the environment to be cleaner and safer,” Vance said.

The Fox News Debate Dial showed support among independents and Democrats dipping downward when Vance made that statement. Support among Republicans remained fairly consistent. 

But support among independent viewers began to rise again when Vance referenced how Democrats bring up carbon emissions when discussing climate change. 

“This idea that carbon emissions drives all of the climate change. Well, let’s just say that’s true just for the sake of argument. So we’re not arguing about weird science. Let’s just say that’s true,” Vance said. “Well, if you believe that, what would you — would you want to do? The answer is that you’d want to reshore as much American manufacturing as possible, and you’d want to produce as much energy as possible in the United States of America, because we’re the cleanest economy in the entire world.” 

TIM WALZ: THE SOLUTION IS TO ‘MOVE FORWARD’ WITH IDEA THAT ‘CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL’

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks during the vice-presidential debate at CBS Studios on Oct. 1, 2024, in New York City. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The dial for independents remained flat as Vance moved into criticizing Kamala Harris on energy policy. Support among Democrats took a dive by contrast. 

“What have Kamala Harris policies actually lead to more energy production in China, more manufacturing overseas, more doing business in some of the dirtiest parts of the entire world,” Vance said. “When I say that, I mean the amount of carbon emissions they’re doing per unit of economic output. So, if we actually care about getting cleaner air and cleaner water, the best thing to do is to double down and invest in American workers and the American people. And unfortunately, Kamala Harris has done exactly the opposite.” 

CBS News host Nora O’Donnell began her question by noting how more than 160 were dead and hundreds more were missing in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. 

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are shown on screen in the spin room during the first vice presidential debate at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024.  (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

MAST DEMANDS VA FIRE STAFFERS OVER VANCE, WALZ MEDICAL RECORD BREACH, FBI PROBE POSSIBLE FOREIGN INTERFERENCE

“Scientists say climate change makes these hurricanes larger, stronger and more deadly because of the historic rainfall,” she said. “Senator Vance, according to CBS news polling, 7 in 10 Americans and more than 60% of Republicans under the age of 45 favor the U.S. taking steps to try and reduce climate change. Senator, what responsibility would the Trump administration have to try and reduce the impact of climate change?” 

Vance began his response by recognizing the hurricane as “an unbelievable, unspeakable human tragedy” and recalling a photograph of grandparents and a six-year-old child on a roof that later collapsed, causing those people to lose their lives. “I’m sure Governor Waltz joins me and saying, our hearts go out to those innocent people, our prayers go out to them,” Vance said. “And we want as robust and aggressive as a federal response as we can get to save as many lives as possible. And then, of course, afterwards to help the people in those communities rebuild.” 

Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz shake hands after the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in New York City.  (Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty Images)

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When the Republican vice presidential nominee referenced Appalachia and said he knew impacted people personally across the Southeast who “need their government to do their job,” the Fox News Debate Dial showed support spiked drastically among Republican viewers, and also rose for independents. For Democrats, the dial seemed to dip down, especially when Vance added, “I commit that when Donald Trump is president again, the government will put the citizens of this country first when they suffer from a disaster.” 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was not asked about several highly talked about news stories in the first and only vice presidential debate on Tuesday, including his military service, which Walz did not strongly invoke either. 

The CBS Vice Presidential Debate in New York City showcased the Republican and Democrat candidates answering questions on a variety of issues, but Walz’s military service, which he has faced sharp criticism from Republicans and some veterans for allegedly embellishing, was not asked about.

Walz only briefly mentioned his military service during the debate when he was forced to correct the record on whether he was in China for the Tiananmen Square protests.

At another point in the debate, Walz referred to himself as a “good soldier.”

Walz was also not asked during the debate about how many times he has visited China.

A VISIBLY SHAKY WALZ SAYS THE WORLD NEEDS ‘STEADY LEADERSHIP’

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz baffled the internet on Tuesday when he accidentally declared he had “become friends with school shooters” during the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate against Sen. JD Vance. (Getty Images)

In the past, Walz has claimed he went “dozens of times” and once claimed he went “about 30 times.” This week, the Harris-Walz campaign walked that back and said the actual number is “closer to 15 times.”

Other questions Walz was not asked during the debate include his disputed claims about his wife’s IVF treatment and his claim that he carried weapons “in war.”

Despite CBS announcing that it would not allow live fact-checking during the debate, moderator Margaret Brennan interjected to correct Vance after he suggested that illegal immigrants are overwhelming resources in Springfield, Ohio.

“Just to clarify for our viewers, Springfield, Ohio, does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status, temporary protected status,” Brennan said.

When Vance tried to push back on the fact-check, Brennan and her co-moderator Norah O’Donnell attempted to speak over Vance, insisting that they had to move on to the next question.

“The rules were that you guys weren’t going to fact-check,” Vance reminded them. “And since you are fact-checking me, I think it’s important to say what’s actually going on.”

While explaining the process of obtaining legal status and tying it to a Harris-backed immigration policy, the moderators again spoke over Vance, thanking him for “describing the legal process” before they cut off his microphone as Walz attempted to argue with him.

VANCE, WALZ SPAR ON IMMIGRATION DURING VP DEBATE: BEEN TO THE BORDER ‘MORE THAN OUR BORDER CZAR’

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) participates in a debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on Oct. 1, 2024 in New York City. This is expected to be the only vice presidential debate of the 2024 general election. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Democrats quickly came out in support of Walz’s debate performance as it was unfolding, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who said Walz was “laying down facts.”

“Gov Walz dominating JD Vance on the immigration exchange with undecided voters in a western battleground state,” David Plouffe, campaign manager and White House Senior Advisor for Barack Obama and Senior Advisor for Kamala Harris for President, posted on X. “Reminding these voters Donald Trump built only 2 percent of the wall and Mexico didn’t pay a dime strongest moment of the debate.”

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Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, right, speaks during a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News, with Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Many top Republicans took the opposite position and expressed support for Vance’s performance. 

“JD knocks it out of the park with first question!!! Tim Walz implodes on first question in presentation, communication, and substance,” Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., wrote on X. 

“Senator JD Vance spitting the cold hard TRUTH on the debate stage,” Trump 2024 national press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X. 

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz faced backlash on social media after he defended an individual healthcare mandate during a back and forth with his counterpart, Republican Sen. JD Vance, in their first and only debate on Tuesday night. 

“The question about this of young people, whatever, that’s the individual mandate,” Walz said during a conversation on healthcare and the Affordable Care Act at the CBS News debate in New York City. “And Republicans fought tooth and nail saying Americans should be free to do this.”

Vance then interjected, asking, “Tim do you think the individual mandate is a good idea?”

“I think the idea of making sure the risk pool is broad enough to cover everyone — that’s the only way insurance works. When it doesn’t, it collapses. You are asking pre- ACA where we get people out. Look, people know that they need to be on health care. People expect it to be there.”

BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN HAS ‘FAILED’ REPEATEDLY ON HEALTH CARE: ANALYSIS

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz baffled the internet on Tuesday when he accidently declared he has “become friends with school shooters” during the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate against Sen. JD Vance.  (Getty Images)

Walz went on to say that the ACA “works” but we can “continue to do better.”

Walz’s comments defending the individual mandate drew criticism on social media, with people pointing out that it was repealed during the Trump administration.

“We eliminated an especially cruel tax that fell mostly on Americans making less than $50,000 a year — forcing them to pay tremendous penalties simply because they could not afford government-ordered health plans,” Trump told an audience during the 2018 State of the Union Address.

“We repealed the core of disastrous ObamaCare — the individual mandate is now gone,” he added.

7 REASONS TO FEAR KAMALA HARRIS’ RADICAL ‘MEDICARE-FOR-ALL’ SCHEMES

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News, with Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

“Tim Walz just endorsed reinstating the Obamacare mandate which was a massive tax penalty for Americans who can’t afford to buy insurance,” GOP Sen. Tom Cotton posted on X. 

“Oh my god, Walz defending the individual mandate,” journalist Josh Barro posted on X. “Does he know there isn’t one anymore?”

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) participates in a debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on October 1, 2024 in New York City. This is expected to be the only vice presidential debate of the 2024 general election.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“Tim Walz doubles down on his support for Obamacare’s individual mandate tax, by far the least popular part of Obamacare,” Americans for Tax Reform Director Mike Palicz posted on X.

“This would violate Kamala’s pledge not to raise taxes on anyone earning less than $400K. Trump Tax Cuts repealed the hated individual mandate tax.”

During the debate, Vance argued, “Donald Trump has said that if we allow states to experiment a little bit on how to cover both the chronically ill, but the non-chronically ill, it’s not just a plan. He actually implemented some of these regulations when he was president of the United States. And I think you can make a really good argument that it salvaged ObamaCare, which was doing disastrously until Donald Trump came along.”

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Fox News Digital reported Monday that Walz has previously voiced his support for single-payer government-run healthcare.

“I think that’s probably the path where we end up,” Walz said in a 2018 debate while running for governor when asked, “Are you for single-payer?”

“And I say that because, be very clear about this, there were no protections for preexisting conditions before the ACA,” Walz continued. “A vote for the ACA was the first time in this nation’s history we had those protections and making sure people have that protection, making sure they were covered, and then making sure we were focused on preventative care, people were finally getting that under the ACA, we started to see health outcomes improve and that’s the real key to driving down insurance premium prices.”

Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance took the same stage for their first and only vice presidential debate this election cycle on Tuesday evening, when the pair had a handful of fiery clashes over top voter concerns. 

The CBS News Vice Presidential Debate showcased the two vice presidential candidates’ platforms on issues such as the ongoing war raging in the Middle East, abortion laws and their respective tickets’ economic records. Amid the 90-minute debate, Vance and Walz had a handful of clashes, including moderators turning off Vance’s microphone. 

NEW YORK – OCTOBER 01: Republican vice presidential candidate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), and Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, participate in a debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on October 1, 2024 in New York City. This is expected to be the only vice presidential debate of the 2024 general election. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

Vance fact-checks the fact checkers, loses mic privilege 

VANCE, WALZ SPAR OVER ABORTION AND IMMIGRATION IN FIRST AND ONLY VP DEBATE 

The CBS debate’s rules included leaving microphones on for both candidates no matter who was speaking, breaking from the two presidential debates this cycle that muted microphones when a candidate was not speaking. The outlet, however, reserved the right to turn the microphones off if they felt it was warranted. 

Moderators Margaret Brennan and Norah O’Donnell did mute the pair Tuesday when Vance spoke up to complain that the moderators were trying to fact-check him on his remarks regarding illegal immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. 

“The people that I’m most worried about in Springfield, Ohio, are the American citizens who have had their lives destroyed by Kamala Harris’s open border. It is a disgrace,” Vance said referring to about immigration issues in a city in his home state.

After Vance and Walz both delivered responses regarding immigration, Brennan told viewers that Springfield “does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status, temporary protected status.”

Vance took issues with the on-air “fact-check” before he was muted. 

ABC’S LINSEY DAVIS ADMITS FACT-CHECKING OF TRUMP WAS BECAUSE CNN LET HIS STATEMENTS ‘HANG’ AT FIRST DEBATE

“The rules were that you were not going to fact-check, and since you’re fact checking me, I think it’s important to say what’s actually going on,” Vance said. “So there’s an application called the CBP. One app where you can go on as an illegal migrant, apply for asylum or apply for parole and be granted legal status at the wave of a Kamala Harris open border wand. That is not a person coming in. Applying for a green card and waiting for ten years.”

Moderators tried to quiet Vance before cutting his and Walz’s mics. 

“Gentlemen, the audience can’t hear you because your mics are cut,” Margaret Brennan said. “We have so much we want to get to.”

Walz forced to correct record on whether he was in China for the Tiananmen Square protests

Walz was forced to answer questions regarding his travel to China during Tuesday night’s debate. 

Walz has said he was in Hong Kong during the deadly Tiananmen Square protests in the spring of 1989. Minnesota Public Radio and other media outlets, however, are now reporting that Walz actually did not travel to China until August of that year. 

CBS News moderator Margaret Brennan asked Walz to explain the discrepancy. 

WALZ FORCED TO CORRECT RECORD ON WHETHER HE WAS IN CHINA FOR THE TIANANMEN SQUARE PROTESTS

“Look, I grew up in a small rural Nebraska town, a town that you rode your bike with your buddies till the streetlights come on, and I’m proud of that service,” a visibly shaky Walz said. “I joined the National Guard at 17, worked on family farms and then I used the GI bill to become a teacher.” 

“I came back home and then started a program to take young people there. We would take basketball teams. We would take baseball teams. We would take dancers. And we would go back and forth to China,” Walz said, noting the trips were “to try and learn.” 

“Look, my community knows who I am. They saw where I was at. I will be the first to tell you I have poured my heart into my community, and I’ve tried to do the best I can, but I’ve not been perfect,” Walz continued. 

“And I’m a knucklehead at times.”

Brennan pushed back, reminding Walz of the question and again asking him to explain the discrepancy. 

“All I said on this was, as I got there that summer and misspoke on this,” Walz said. “So, I will just — that’s what I’ve said. So, I was in Hong Kong and China during the democracy protests, went in and, from that, I learned a lot of what needed to be in in governance.” 

OB-GYNS DECRY THE ‘FEARMONGERING’ ABOUT GEORGIA’S ABORTION LAWS: ‘THE LIES ARE HURTING WOMEN’

Walz and Vance battle over abortion laws 

Walz claimed during the debate that a woman in Georgia likely died due to the state’s “restrictive” abortion laws after Roe v. Wade was overturned, sparking a clash with Vance. 

“There’s a young woman named Amber Thurman. She happened to be in Georgia, a restrictive state. Because of that, she had to travel a long distance to North Carolina to try and get her care. Amber Thurmond died in that journey back and forth. The fact of the matter is, how can we as a nation say that your life and your rights, as basic as the right to control your own body, is determined on geography,” Walz said during the debate while sparring with Vance on abortion laws. 

“There’s a very real chance that if Amber Thurman lived in Minnesota, she would be alive today. That’s why the restoration of Roe v. Wade,” he said. 

Walz’s remarks come after ProPublica published an article last month blaming the deaths of two Georgia women, Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller, on the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the state’s new abortion limits after the women received chemically induced abortions in 2022. 

GEORGIA DOCTORS SPEAK OUT TO CHALLENGE MISINFORMATION ON STATE’S ABORTION LAW, DEATH OF AMBER THURMAN

Georgia’s heartbeat law states that “no abortion shall be performed if the unborn child has a detectable human heartbeat except in the event of a medical emergency or medically futile pregnancy.”

Vance shot back that a Minnesota abortion law does not require doctors to save a baby who survives an abortion.

“First of all, governor, I agree with you, Amber Thurman should still be alive, and there are a lot of people who should still be alive. And I certainly wish that she was. And maybe you’re free to disagree with me on this and explain this to me. But as I read the Minnesota law that you signed into law, the statute that you signed into law, it says that a doctor who presides over an abortion where the baby survives, the doctor is under no obligation to provide lifesaving care to a baby who survives a botched late term abortion,” he said. 

VANCE, WALZ SPAR ON IMMIGRATION DURING VP DEBATE: BEEN TO THE BORDER ‘MORE THAN OUR BORDER CZAR’

“That’s not true,” Walz said. 

“Choice or not option that is fundamentally barbaric,” Vance continued. 

Walz, Vance spar on immigration: Been to the border ‘more than our border czar’

The pair also sparred over immigration a handful of times throughout the debate, including Vance slamming Vice President Kamala Harris for her handling of immigration. 

“First of all, the gross majority of what we need to do to the southern border is just empowering law enforcement to do their job,” Vance said during a discussion on the Haitian migrant surge in Springfield, Ohio, and immigration overall. 

“I’ve been to the southern border more than our ‘border czar’ Kamala Harris has been. And it’s actually heartbreaking because the Border Patrol agents, they just want to be empowered to do their job.”

Vance continued by saying that, “of course, additional resources would help,” but that the issue is mostly about the Biden administration not empowering law enforcement to say “if you try to come across the border illegally, you’ve got to stay in Mexico” and “go back through proper channels.”

VANCE RIPS WALZ ON ECONOMY, SAYS HE’S FORCED TO ‘PRETEND’ TRUMP DIDN’T LOWER INFLATION

“Now, Gov. Walz brought up the community of Springfield, and he’s very worried about the things that I’ve said in Springfield,” Vance said. “Look, in Springfield, Ohio, and in communities all across this country, you’ve got schools that are overwhelmed. You’ve got hospitals that are overwhelmed. You’ve got housing that is totally unaffordable because we brought in millions of illegal immigrants to compete with Americans for scarce homes.

Walz repeatedly argued Trump shut down a Senate immigration bill earlier this year that he believes would have made strengthened border security.

“It is law enforcement that asked for the bill,” Walz said. “They helped craft it. They’re the ones that supported it. It was because they know we need to do this. Look, this issue of continuing to bring this up, of not dealing with it, of blaming migrants for everything.

“On housing, we could talk a little bit about Wall Street speculators buying up housing and making them less affordable, but it becomes a blame. Look, this bill also gives the money necessary to adjudicate. I agree it should not take seven years for an asylum claim to be done.”

“This bill gets it done in 90 days. Then, you start to make a difference in this, and you start to adhere to what we know, American principles. I don’t talk about my faith a lot, but Matthew 25:40 talks about to the least amongst us, you do unto me. I think that’s true of most Americans. They simply want order to it. This bill does it. It’s funded. It’s supported by the people who do it, and it lets us keep our dignity about how we treat other people.”

Vance underscores threat of ‘censorship’

The pair of vice presidential candidates also sparred over the threat of censorship on Tuesday, as Walz pressed Vance on the 2020 election and Jan. 6, 2021. 

“It’s really rich for Democratic leaders to say that Donald Trump is a unique threat to democracy when he peacefully gave over power on January the 20th, as we have done for 250 years in this country. We are going to shake hands after this debate and after this election,” Vance said after Walz cited Jan. 6, when Trump supporters breached the U.S. Capitol. 

“We have to remember that for years in this country, Democrats protested the results of elections. Hillary Clinton in 2016 said that Donald Trump had the election stolen by Vladimir Putin because the Russians bought like $500,000 worth of Facebook ads. This has been going on for a long time, and if we want to say that we need to respect the results of the election, I’m on board. But if we want to say, as Tim Walz is saying, that this is just a problem that Republicans have had, I don’t buy that, governor,” Vance continued. 

TIM WALZ SAID HE WENT TO CHINA ‘DOZENS’ OF TIMES, NOW HIS CAMPAIGN SAYS ITS ‘CLOSER TO 15’

Walz countered that “Jan. 6 was not Facebook ads.”

“This idea that there’s censorship to stop people from doing, threatening to kill someone, threatening to do something, that’s not that’s not censorship. Censorship is book banning. We’ve seen that. We’ve seen that brought up,” he continued. 

Walz continued that Trump has repeatedly claimed he won the 2020 presidential election. 

“Did he lose the 2020 election?” Walz asked Vance of Trump during the last election cycle. 

“Tim, I’m focused on the future,” Vance replied. “Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 Covid situation?”

“That is a damning non-answer,” Walz said. “I’m pretty shocked by this. He lost the election. This is not a debate, it’s not anything anywhere other than in Donald Trump’s world.”

“It’s a damning non-answer for you to not talk about censorship,” Vance shot back. 

JD Vance and Tim Walz debated on Tuesday night in New York City with just weeks until the election.  (Reuters)

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The debate was the first and only debate between the pair and was held exactly five weeks before Election Day. 

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller, Brooke Singman, and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. 

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., met face to face on Tuesday night in New York City for the only vice presidential debate before the election. 

The event covered a variety of subjects ranging from immigration to climate change to abortion as the two lesser known politicians sought to make their introductions to American voters before election day. 

Here are the top moments from the debate: 

VANCE, WALZ SPAR OVER ABORTION AND IMMIGRATION IN FIRST AND ONLY VP DEBATE

1. JD Vance fact-checks CBS News moderators

After CBS News’ Margaret Brennan offered an impromptu fact-check in response to Vance describing cities being overwhelmed by illegal immigration, noting that many Haitians in Springfield, Ohio have been granted a legal status, Vance hit back at her for violating the terms of the debate. 

“Margaret, the rules were that you are not going to fact-check. And since you’re fact-checking me, I think it’s important to say what’s actually going on,” he said. “So there’s an application called the CBP one app where you can go on as an illegal migrant, apply for asylum or apply for parole and be granted legal status at the wave of a Kamala Harris open border wand.”

WALZ REPEATS GEORGIA ABORTION DEATH FALSEHOOD DECRIED BY DOCTORS AS ‘FEARMONGERING’

2. In show of compassion, Vance tells Walz he is sorry that his son witnessed a shooting

Vance told Walz that he was sorry to hear that his son had been witness to a shooting, in a moment of civility that was particularly frequent during the vice presidential debate. This civility has also been less and less common during presidential debates, which have proven contentious in recent election cycles. 

“I didn’t know that your 17-year-old witnessed a shooting, and I’m sorry about that,” the senator told Walz. 

“I appreciate it,” Walz said. 

“Christ have mercy,” Vance remarked. 

JD VANCE REMINDS CBS MODERATORS OF DEBATE RULES AFTER THEY TRY TO FACT-CHECK HIM

JD Vance and Tim Walz debated on Tuesday night in New York City with just weeks until the election.  (Reuters)

3. Vance says he thinks Walz wants to solve border crisis—but Kamala Harris doesn’t

“The American citizens have had their lives destroyed by Kamala Harris’s open border. It is a disgrace, Tim,” Vance said during the debate.

“And I actually think I agree with you,” the Ohio senator said, adding, “I think you want to solve this problem.”

“But I don’t think that Kamala Harris does.” 

4. Walz claims there will be pregnancy registry in Trump-Vance administration but Vance pushes back 

Walz claimed there would be “a registry of pregnancies” under what he said was Trump and Vance’s Project 2025. The Project 2025 is an endeavor of conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation.

“It’s going to make it more difficult, if not impossible, to get contraception and limit access, if not eliminate access, to infertility treatments,” he said. 

But Vance denied this claim. “No, certainly we won’t,” he pushed back at the statement. 

WALZ FORCED TO CORRECT RECORD ON WHETHER HE WAS IN CHINA FOR THE TIANANMEN SQUARE PROTESTS

NEW YORK – OCTOBER 01: Republican vice presidential candidate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), and Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, participate in a debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on October 1, 2024 in New York City. This is expected to be the only vice presidential debate of the 2024 general election. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

5. Walz refers to his frequent note-taking, which was mocked by Trump

Walz referred back to his notes in one answer on Tuesday night, after frequently scribbling down observations during the debate. 

“I made a note of this,” he said. 

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“Economists can’t be trusted. Science can’t be trusted. National security folks can’t be trusted,” he listed, referencing Vance’s skepticism of those heralded as experts. “Look, if you’re going to be president, you don’t have all the answers. Donald Trump believes he does.”

Even Trump poked fun at the noticeable amount of notes that the Minnesota governor was taking, writing on Truth Social, “Walz is taking so many notes – Never seen a Candidate take more! He needs the notes to keep his brain intact.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Republican lawmakers and top voices praised Ohio Sen. JD Vance for “spitting the cold, hard truths” as he sparred with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in the vice presidential debate in New York City.

“Senator JD Vance spitting the cold hard TRUTH on the debate stage,” Trump 2024 national press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X. “Total domination and we are only 20 minutes in.”

The debate in New York City on CBS News was Walz and Vance’s only debate prior to the monumental election on Nov. 5.

“Tim Walz is as radical as they come on the issue of immigration,” Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., wrote on X. “As governor of Minnesota, he supported free health care, free college tuition, and driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants. Innocent Americans have been assaulted & murdered because of this border crisis.”

VANCE, WALZ FACE OFF ON BORDER, CLIMATE CHANGE AND ABORTION DURING VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News, with Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The debate began with CBS News moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan asking the candidates about their Middle East policy after Iran attacked Israel with a massive missile barrage.

“Tim Walz’s answer on Israel was incomprehensible. Like Kamala–Walz has no idea what he is talking about,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wrote on X. “Kamala and Walz would make the chaos in the Middle East worse.”

“Iran rained missiles down on Israel TODAY, 1,350 days into Kamala Harris’ tenure as Vice President, so naturally Tim Walz says it’s Donald Trump’s fault,” Trump campaign senior adviser Tim Murtaugh wrote on X. 

“JD knocks it out of the park with first question!!! Tim Walz implodes on first question in presentation, communication, and substance,” Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., wrote on X. 

Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz speaks during the Vice Presidential debate with US Senator and Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, hosted by CBS News at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City on October 1, 2024. (Getty Images)

Republican voices highlighted the Kamala Harris campaign’s immigration policy. Immigration is a top issue for American voters this year, as a record number say the situation at the southern border is a major problem or an outright emergency, according to the latest Fox News national survey. 

“Law enforcement has been attacked. Deadly fentanyl has taken the lives of thousands of Americans,” Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott wrote on X. “Kamala Harris & Tim Walz support open border policies. They will make the border crisis WORSE.”

FOX NEWS TOP TALENT REACT TO CBS NEWS VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

“How can Tim Walz pretend Kamala is tough on the border when she allowed more than 16,000 sex offenders and 13,000 murderers to cross the border?” Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote on X. “A vote for Kamala and Tim Walz is a vote for open borders.”

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) participates in a debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on October 1, 2024, in New York City. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The candidates turned their attention to abortion, with Republicans criticizing Walz’s abortion stance.

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“He is better in our toughest issues than most republicans are on our best issues. I told you so!!!” Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X. 

“Democrats always resort to killing babies every time they are losing. And then lie and call it ‘reproductive freedom.’ There is nothing reproductive about abortion,” Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X. “Democrats view unwanted babies as a life they can throw away and call it a choice. The truth is motherhood is not something to throw away, neither are babies.”