Students packed a “watch party” at the Martin Institute Tuesday night as JD Vance and Tim Walz squared off in their only scheduled debate. The candidates debated a range of topics, including immigration, the housing crisis, and threats to American democracy.
The Stonehill College Democrats hosted the watch party, held in Martin 105. The president of the group, Jon Cook ‘25, said the event was important.
“These are typically the biggest events we hold as Stonehill Dems,” he said.
The Stonehill College Democrats, which include Emily Ferro ‘26, the social media manager, Ray Hamilton ‘26, the treasurer, and Nicholas Tarquinio ‘26, joined Cook as he spoke on the importance of the event to the club, and the importance of holding watch parties for the Stonehill community.
“These events are important to us because productive democracy depends on an informed electorate, and I’m glad that we at the Stonehill Democrats have an opportunity to provide that for Stonehill students, regardless of their political affiliations,” he said.
Professor Rob Rodgers, a faculty member in the Political Science department, said it was important to host a watch party for students on campus.
“One of these two individuals is a heartbeat away from the presidency… the vice president is always in a position to be the standard bearer for their cause if their running mate steps aside. We also can get a better sense of the positions of the campaigns - a lot of people want a deeper, richer level of engagement with the issues at hand, and I think we saw that tonight,” Rodgers said.
During the debate, Vance and Walz had an amicable standoff on a multitude of issues, the most contentious being whether Trump’s response to losing the 2020 election was a threat to democracy.
Vance argued that Trump wished for a peaceful protest of the results.
“Look, what President Trump has said is that there were problems in 2020, and my own belief is that we should fight about those issues, debate those issues peacefully in the public square and that’s all I’ve said…Remember, (Trump) said that on January the sixth, the protestors ought to protest peacefully,” he said.
In response, Walz challenged Vance to state whether Trump lost the election, to which Vance gave a noncommittal reply.
“I am focused on the future,” Vance said.
Walz responded succinctly, saying “That is a damning non-answer.”
The candidates, according to the New York Times, spent a combined 17 minutes and 33 seconds attacking both each other and their running mates during the debate, but a respectful candor was kept between the candidates for a large majority of the debate, with both Vance and Walz often stating their agreement for points that the other candidate raised.
A moment of compassion was also shared between Vance and Walz as the pair debated gun violence and school shootings in America. Walz revealed to the public a personal family anecdote.
“My 17-year-old son was a witness to a shooting while at a community center playing volleyball,” he said.
Vance showed sympathy for Walz and his family, stating, “That’s awful,” quietly into the microphone directly after Walz's anecdote. He also expressed further empathy for Walz and his family.
“Tim, first of all, I didn’t know your 17-year-old witnessed a shooting. I’m sorry about that and I hope he’s doing okay. Christ, have mercy,” he said.
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