Politix
Politix
Emergency Debate Pod: Tear Down This Walz
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Emergency Debate Pod: Tear Down This Walz

A nervous Tim Walz missed opportunities to shine a light on the extremism of JD Vance, Donald Trump, and the GOP—but he still probably won.
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JD Vance is the more polished debater. And whether it was because he was jittery or prepped not to take a wrecking ball to anyone except Donald Trump, Tim Walz wasn’t generally able to convey that Vance is much more extreme than he pretended to be on stage Tuesday night.

So how did he win?

In this free post-VP debate episode, Matt and Brian discuss:

  • Whether Vance’s polish is really more appealing to a general audience than Walz’s plain-spoken delivery.

  • Was Vance able to simultaneously rehabilitate his tattered image, focus on attacking Harris instead of Walz, and kiss up to Donald Trump?

  • Most importantly, will Walz’s best moment—cornering Vance who was unwilling to admit that Trump lost the 2020 election—be the defining moment of the debate that establishes Walz as the clear winner.

  • Also, what about the moderators?

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Politix
Politix
Politix is a weekly podcast about the 2024 election from Brian Beutler, Matthew Yglesias, and some occasional guests. We’ll have some good-faith disagreement, some points of consensus, and an overall effort to focus on what’s really at stake in November. Subscribe for new episodes each Wednesday and listen wherever you get your podcasts.