The 2024 election is just around the corner. With less than three weeks left until the citizens of the United States cast their ballots for the next president, presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are putting in every effort to try and sway voters in a predicted tight race. The vice presidential debate on Oct. 1 signified a turning point in recent politics as the debate provided Americans with an informative framework on Republican and Democratic policies, established a diplomatic and respectful atmosphere, and shed light on the future of the American nation.
In anticipation of the vice presidential debate, many Americans expected it to consist of the same behavior that has occurred in recent years. In 2020, the debate between Vice President Mike Pence and the Democratic nominee, Harris, followed a similar path to the presidential debate between President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Pence interrupted Harris, and she called him out. Both sides, also, failed to shed new insight into either side’s positions.
Flash forward to the present day. 2024 has been no normal year in politics. Presidential candidate Trump faced an assassination attempt twice! Biden dropped out of the presidential race after a horrific performance in the presidential debate on June 27, which was the earliest debate to occur before a presidential election in American history. Harris took his place. What seems straight out of a telenovela, is America’s reality.
The 2024 presidential debate on Sept. 10 felt comical. With a revival of memes, the debate led many Americans to feel more pessimistic about the future political state, until the vice presidential debate.
According to William Galston and Elaine Kamarck of the American think tank Brookings, what made the vice presidential debate so different and surprising in comparison to the past few years of presidential debates was how both candidates “refrained from personal attacks and even found surprising areas of agreement.” Both candidates upheld a calm demeanor and sounded reasonable on issues that tend to result in disagreement and bickering.
Typically, the vice presidential debates have little to no impact on determining the next presidential candidate. However, this debate signifies a change as the vice presidential debate could end up impacting the upcoming and uncomfortably close election. For the first time in history, the vice presidential debate will not be followed by a presidential debate. The formal exchange between the two candidates will likely resonate for years to come.
Washington and Lee University students have their own opinions on the debate, expressing hope for the future. David Lee, ’28, stated that “Vance was more coherent. The debate was a breath of fresh air. They talked about policy, bread and butter issues, and that is what every American needs to hear that night. It rejuvenated my faith in American politics.” David’s opinion reflects most Americans’ feelings about the debate.
While the two candidates and their parties stand for completely opposing views, a middle ground was sought and presented. At one point, Vance gave his sympathies to Walz, after learning that his son had witnessed a shooting. The two men started off the night with a handshake and gave smiles periodically to one another during the debate. While neither side was perfect, the political landscape felt anything but hostile – for once!
Taking the center stage of the debate included issues of the economy, immigration and abortion. Vance upheld his beliefs in leaving abortion up to the states and criticized the current economic state of the nation, while Walz spoke firmly on gun control and making abortion legal. No matter the sharply contrasting viewpoints, the two candidates found a middle ground, and they did so politely. In a time of constant political turbulence, the vice president candidates delivered professionalism. Even though the political landscape has been redefined, often negatively, the debate showed American citizens a turnaround. Establishing a changing ideal of civil and intellectual interaction, the 2024 vice president debate mattered in reminding the United States that all hope is not lost.
