JD Vance gave an accomplished performance at last night’s debate, with even Democrat politican Pete Buttigieg describing it as “polished”. Farah Stockman of the New York Times managed to stretch to, “Vance did an excellent job of impersonating a decent man”.
Having experienced a media onslaught like perhaps no vice-presidential candidate before, Vance faced the challenge of shaking off the label of “weird” to overcome the appeal of Tim Walz, the popular “Minnesota dad”.
Ultimately, Vance has been judged to have triumphed by most commentators, though it appeared closer among the public: a CBS/YouGov flash poll of 1,630 viewers who watched the debate revealed a close contest, with 42 per cent believing Vance won and 41 per cent supporting Walz as the victor.
