September 27, 2024
Vance verses Walz.
We are getting our first and only vice-presidential debate next Tuesday and today – we learned the rules both candidates have agreed to.
Senator JD Vance the running mate of former President Trump and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz the running mate of Vice President Harris will face off on CBS for 90 minutes. Next week from CBS’s broadcast center in New York.
Both candidates will be standing at podiums. Governor Walz will be standing on the right side of your screen and Vance will be on the left side of your screen. Which is exactly how Harris and Trump appeared during their debate.
There will be no opening statements.
There will be two commercial breaks of four minutes each.
There will be no studio audience.
Campaign staffers are not permitted to interact with Walz or Vance during commercial breaks and candidates are not allowed to have props or pre-written notes on stage. They will be given a pen, a pad of paper and a water bottle.
CBS says unlike the presidential debates, the microphones will be *on* the entire time during the VP debate. However, CBS indicated that they reserve the right to mute a candidate’s microphone in necessary.
Much like the Harris/Trump debate, each candidate will get two minutes to answer the question. A slight difference here, the other candidate will get two minutes to respond. Then each will get 1 minute for additional follow ups. Then the moderator can add one more minute per candidate for further clarification.
Speaking of moderators – CBS evening news anchor Norah O’Donnell and Face the Nation’s moderator Margaret Brennan will be asking the questions and follow-ups.
And I know you want to know about fact checking – but CBS did not specifically indicate that the moderators would be doing that. In fact, CBS said nothing about fact checking so you can assume that it will be the responsibility of each candidate to fact check his opponent.
You can watch the Walz Vance debate on Tuesday, October 1st at 9 p.m. eastern on CBS and CBS’s live stream and paramount plus. It will also be simulcast on most major news networks.
Read more from CBS here.
