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JD Vance: This Is How I Knew the VP Debate Went So Well

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  October 09, 2024 9:30 AM

Last Tuesday, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) trounced Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) in the vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News. He then joined "The Ruthless Podcast" for a fishing trip in Michigan, where he shared his own thoughts about the debate "after putting this race down," as co-host Josh Holmes phrased Vance's performance.

As the fellas reiterated throughout last Thursday's special episode, what really stood out about Vance was how "authentic" he appeared. 

There was no question Walz was nervous, as evidenced by reports in the days leading up to the debate, as well as his answer to the very first question. "To me, and seeing the reaction online, the first five minutes, I think it was already over," co-host Comfortably Smug offered. 

Not only did snap polls following the debate show that Vance won, but the Republican vice presidential nominee also revealed he felt particularly good when he saw his wife, Usha.

"The debate was so much fun," Vance recalled, though he didn't know how he did at the time. "You don't really know when you're doing this, 'cause your adrenaline is going, you try not to say anything stupid, you don't actually know how it's going really. Like, I felt pretty good about it," Vance shared, which is when he mentioned his wife. 

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"But my wife comes out at the very end just sort of like this this one final, you know, segment for the the TV cameras. Gwen Walz comes and up and my wife comes up and I look at Usha's face, and I just knew. I was like, 'holy s**t, we must have done a very good job,' because Usha doesn't lie to me, and her face especially doesn't lie to me, and I knew at that minute that we had had a very good debate."

Vance also revealed that he himself was "nervous as hell," which surprised the fellas.

"I could tell he was nervous," Vance said about Walz. "But again, you can't really tell how nervous, like how you're doing. 'Cause I'm nervous as hell, right?" Vance confirmed as much with an "oh, absolutely" when various co-hosts expressed surprise. "I get nervous at these things, and so you can't really tell how it's actually going. Like, I don't think that I had said anything bad, I thought I had said in fact a number of good things, so I did feel pretty good about it."

Perhaps the most viral moment of the debate was the expression Vance gave that has been compared to Jim from "The Office," especially in contrast to Walz's wild-eyed expressions. While Vance and the fellas laughed along about how Vance's expression went "super viral" and "spawned a million viral memes," Vance didn't even realize at the time and wasn't trying to go for a particular look. 

"I wish I could take credit for it, but it's because the, I guess the timer is right by the camera," Vance explained. "I was trying to, like, you know, pay attention to what [Walz's] saying, but then you have to be ready for, like, when his time’s up because then it’s your turn to speak," Vance continued. "And so I was looking at the timer to figure when I was about to speak... it spawned a million viral memes so I'm glad they did it like that."

That Vance said he was nervous was addressed once more, as Holmes praised him and his performance. 

"It's one thing to have the right answers, which you do, and it's better when it's authentic, which it is, the thing that is so impressive about what you did in that debate is you say you're nervous, you looked so composed, your tone, your tenor, the way you were delivering it, it was like a man at total peace," Holmes offered. 

As he made clear "that conveyed," Holmes laughed with Vance about how there were 50 million people watching, with Vance quipping, "I'm glad I didn't know then!"

Speaking further about being nervous, Vance noted that "I think nerves are a good thing, actually, you know? It keeps you sharp, it keeps you focused, that's fundamentally a good thing."

Vance also addressed his winning strategy from the debate, and how he figured others expected for him to "just go after Walz" for his "dishonesty." 

When that came up, as Walz was confronted by co-host Margaret Brennan during what was perhaps his worst moment to do with lying about whether he was in Hong Kong for the Tiananmen Square massacre, Vance explained what was going through his mind during the debate. "That was the one moment where I realized 'okay he's clearly very uncomfortable,'" Vance shared, as he and the fellas laughed about how Walz certainly did not need help to mess up. 

Vance also explained what he discussed with former and potentially future President Donald Trump beforehand about the debate. The idea was to tie Walz to Vice President Kamala Harris, as people are voting for or against Harris or Trump. Unlike one's strong opinions for or against Trump or President Joe Biden, "people really don't know Kamala Harris," Vance explained.  

"Why not use this is as an opportunity to get the word out about who Kamala Harris really is," Vance said about the debate, which means he wasn't really debating Walz, but Harris. Even where Walz might not agree with Harris, Vance offered this was a chance to "highlight that as an example of [Harris'] radicalism," which he believes "ultimately was the right strategy."

Walz also provided Vance with an opportunity to remind how Harris has been the sitting vice president for close to four years, and her policies are tough to sell. 

"Do you have any idea who's been running the country for the past three and a half years?!" Vance pointed out, as he and the co-hosts laughed. Vance has been making such a point since he became Trump's running mate. 

Vance spoke about a "bait and switch" he's found "fascinating" when it comes to how well the country was supposedly doing under Biden. We certainly heard a different tune, though, once Biden was forced out of the race and replaced by Harris. "It doesn't pass the smell test for most Americans," Vance offered. "We're of course going to find out November 5, but I think it does give us a much better argument."

Another reason why Vance did so well, co-host John Ashbrook pointed out, is because he "listened" to what Walz was saying, rather than try to turn to "canned lines."

"But you were so well prepared, you knew exactly what you were going to say about every single thing, that you were able to listen to him and interact with him in a way that I think stood out for a lot of people," Ashbrook said. 

Vance indeed looked to avoid those "canned lines." This is where Harris fails, Vance added.

"So you know you definitely obviously have to hit your themes, and there are things that you want, there's a message that you want to deliver to the American people and you have to not try to get knocked off balance, but I do think it's important to actually just listen to what people are talking about and responding to, and I think it's one of the things that people really are turned off by with Kamala Harris, right? It's like you know, 'what is your specific plan to solve the inflation crisis,' and it's like 'oh, I grew up in a middle class family,' or, you know, 'I worked at McDonald's and I was really good at making the hashbrowns,'" Vance said, mocking the vice president's responses. "It's like what the hell are you talking about?!"

Vance continued by offering that "it does drive home that just being responsive is just a breath of fresh air in politics in the 21st century and so I definitely try to do that."

The "listening component" also came up in that when Walz would agree with Trump's policies, Vance would remind him, "'Oh yeah, you made a really good point here, but here's why that point has nothing to do with Kamala Harris' policies,' and that's what I kept on trying to take it back to."

That was a point Vance really appreciated the fellas noticing, since he made clear that that's "definitely something I try to do when I do these things, is just actually listen, have a conversation... like normal humans."

Even if "it sounds so unusual coming from a person running for high office," Vance offered, "I think our policies would be much better and a lot smarter and people would feel less icky about if we were actually having a conversation, which unfortunately we just don't do enough."

Vance also came off across as confident and authentic when discussing the state of the race, especially in the battleground states. 

The Republican nominee for vice president believes that they "have a chance of winning all seven" battleground states. Vance expressed they're "feeling very good" about the sun belt states, while he feels they have "a lot of work to do" in the rust belt. Being in Ohio, he's had the opportunity to travel to key swing states, nothing they're "really making a play for Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania," where he is "all the time."

Michigan, where they did their fishing trip, is indeed a critical state, "maybe the most important state," as Vance put it. This is especially since Harris may not be doing as well there as once thought. One recent poll even shows Trump with an edge over her.

The Ruthless podcast will also air an episode of Vance and the fellas from that fishing trip on Thursday.