AN absolute blowout.

That’s the only way to describe the vice presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz on Tuesday night from New York City.

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Republican vice presidential candidate Senator JD Vance participates in a debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on October 1, 2024 in New York CityCredit: Getty

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Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Governor Tim Walz at Tuesday night’s debateCredit: Reuters
The Republican nominee surgically and masterfully eviscerated Kamala Harris’ running mate, Walz, throughout what amounted to a 90-minute masterclass by the Ohio senator.

As expected, Walz came in rehearsed and programmed. He often looked nervous.

And his answer on why he lied about being in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square protests when he was back in Nebraska was arguably the most cringe moment we’ve ever seen in a vice presidential debate.

For two full minutes, Walz tried to dodge the question.

But when moderator Margaret Brennan followed up by noting he hadn’t answered the question, Walz spit this up:

“All I said on this was as I got there that summer and I misspoke on this,” Walz explained.

“I was in Hong Kong and China during the democracy protests, and from that, I learned a lot of what needed to be in government.”

Wait, what?

At another moment, Walz tried to make the argument that Kamala Harris, the sitting vice president of the United States for the past three-and-a-half years, is the change candidate the country is pining for.

“Kamala Harris is bringing us a new way forward,” he argued.

“She’s bringing us a politics of joy. She’s bringing real solutions for the middle class.”

A new way forward from… the current Biden-Harris administration?

For Vance and Walz, this was the first time many voters got to know them.

This was especially true for Walz, who has yet to do a single national TV interview on his own.

This hide-and-seek campaign is all by design, of course, because both his handlers along with Kamala Harris’ want to win this election without saying almost anything outside of controlled or friendly settings.

The lack of being tested with anything resembling a tough question showed on that debate stage.

Walz often seemed testy, off balance, and lacked confidence in his answers.

Conversely, Vance, who has done dozens of interviews with mostly hostile hosts, came across as battle-tested.

The ex-Marine was calm, concise, and confident.

Post-debate flash polls by CNN and CBS show that Vance was the winner.

In the coming days, more formal polls will be released undoubtedly showing the same result.

For the Harris-Walz campaign, this was their last chance to make a favorable impression on voters, with more than 60 million viewers likely tuning in if recent audience numbers for events like this are any indication.

There will likely be no more debates. Voting has begun in many states. And Trump is polling far better in the key swing states than he did in 2016, when he won, and 2020, when he barely lost, while Kamala and Walz have stalled after the media coronation of August.

If this debate was the last major impression to the American people for the Harris-Walz ticket, it was not a good one.

But for Trump-Vance, it is certain they couldn’t be happier with the result.

Most people don’t vote for a ticket based on the vice presidential pick. But two things happened on Tuesday night: Vance is seen as someone who could be president one day, while Tim Walz showed he’s not ready for prime time.

Not even close.

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It was the first vice presidential debate between Senator JD Vance and Governor Tim WalzCredit: Getty

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Joe Concha at Fox Business Network Studios on October 18, 2023 in New York City