Was Tuesday Night’s VP Debate The New Normal?

by Makeda Scott (she/her), FV@W Strategic Communications Associate 

Tuesday was a busy day for me and an even busier evening. After spending the day working, I attended a volunteer community meeting where all the talk was about the upcoming vice presidential debate between candidates Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz. I listened to and joined in on discussions about what we wanted to hear and what we thought we’d hear. Was it going to be a serious debate or would it be more of a comedy show? In my community many people were wondering if the VP debate was actually important. Did it even matter and would either candidate care about the issues important to us?

I live in a majority African American community and the issues we care about rarely take center stage in a debate. Issues such as affordable child care, good schools, the chance to have and maintain a job, let alone the ability to take paid leave or paid sick leave. Many of the people I know do not have employment that allows them the option of taking any kind of paid leave sick or otherwise.

So we wrapped up the meeting and I rushed home in anticipation of the debate, promising to keep in touch over text throughout the course of the night. Many of us participated in group chats as we watched. I was also on a fraternity and sorority Divine 9 Zoom webinar during the debate.

The debate started promptly at 9 p.m. EST, and what I saw was a debate stage with two cordial candidates basically debating. There was nothing out of the ordinary but there was also nothing extraordinary. Quite the opposite, in my opinion the debate was middle of the road and pretty basic. There were some fumbles and stumbles and the obvious need for real time fact checking but the fireworks to which I, like many Americans, have become accustomed in debates were absent.

This begs the question, however, is this how debates are supposed to be? It seems that we have become so accustomed to the theatrics that a straightforward debate that is cordial and polite now seems mundane. Yes, there was pontificating and going on and on to the point where the microphones for both candidates at some point had to be shut off but the name calling and calling out which has become a constant mantra in previous debates was not present on Tuesday evening. Is this something we should get used to? Will this be the norm going forward? Only time will tell.