Tim Walz is “nervous” about facing J.D. Vance in next week’s vice presidential debate as he hunkers down this weekend to prepare for Tuesday’s showdown.
The Democratic presidential candidate has expressed concerns to friends that he fears he will let Kamala Harris down, people close to him said CNN.
Adding to the pressure is the fact that the debate will likely be the last major showdown between the two presidential tickets before the Nov. 5 election. Harris has accepted CNN’s offer for a new presidential debate, but Donald Trump has not.
That’s why Walz has enlisted some help to prepare: Pete Buttigieg, who plays Vance in mock debate sessions. Buttigieg has his limits when it comes to embodying the Republican senator from Ohio: he won’t grow a beard.
Buttigieg has a polished on-camera persona and is a frequent guest on Fox News, where he spars with conservative anchors.
Tim Walz is said to be ‘nervous’ about Tuesday’s vice presidential debate
Participants will hold a debate camp in northern Emmet County on Michigan’s northern peninsula.
CBS News will host the showdown Tuesday night at 9 PM ET in New York City. It is scheduled to run 90 minutes with no studio audience. It is moderated by Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan.
There will be no opening statements, but there will be closing statements. CBS News said it reserves the right to mute the candidates’ microphones, but otherwise they will be hot.
In his interview with Harris for the vice presidential slot, Walz warned her that he is a poor debater.
“He’s a strong person,” Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar told CNN about her state’s governor. “He’s just not a lawyer-debater. It’s not like he dreamed of debates when he was in first grade.”
Vance, on the other hand, went to Yale and honed his debating skills at the Ivy League university.
Walz’s allies worry that the Republican running mate will weaken Walz’s funny dad persona and make the Democratic running mate look like an idiot or an excessive liberal vouching for another liberal.
Republican Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, who is helping Vance prepare for the debate by playing Walz, previewed their line of attack on Sunday.
Walz is “like Gavin Newsom in a flannel shirt,” Emmer told ABC’s This Week.
Emmer also spoke to DailyMail.com last week about preparations for the debate.
“I went through all his debates in the last month,” he said in an exclusive interview. “If I do my job, JD will expose him.”
“I’ve actually spent the last month studying all the things Tim Walz has done, how he’s trying to portray himself as something he’s not.”
“When the senator and I are talking, that’s exactly what I’m going to show him and he’ll know how to deal with that ‘Minnesota Nice’ fraudster personality.”
JD Vance, the Republican running mate, honed his debate skills at Yale University
Pete Buttigieg plays JD Vance in practice sessions to prepare Tim Walz for the debate
Walz, a former football coach, does have a plan: skip Vance and go straight to attacking Trump.
The Minnesota governor will use his sympathy to hammer Vance on “Project 2025” and “sell his soul to Donald Trump.” CNN reported.
Maybe he’ll even borrow from Harris’ playbook. As she prepared for a vice presidential debate — before Joe Biden dropped out — she planned to ask Vance what promises he made to Trump so the former president wouldn’t send an angry mob after him like Mike Pence on Jan. 6 experienced.
After the vice presidential debate, Harris and Walz will campaign together via a bus tour of central Pennsylvania, according to the campaign.
Wednesday’s visit will mark the first time Harris and Walz have campaigned together in central Pennsylvania. They will make several stops along the way to meet voters.