Voters in the swing state of Michigan have been responding to Tuesday’s vice presidential debate between Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz.
Many Michiganians heaped praise on Vance, noting that he “told the truth.”
However, others noted that Walz was “too nervous” on the debate stage and came across as “phony” and “plastic.”
“He doesn’t know the topics like Vance,” one voter said of Walz.
Fox News host Lawrence Jones visited Michigan on Wednesday to speak with voters after the debate.
Jones visited Steak ‘N Egger restaurant in Muskegon after Tuesday night’s CBS News Vice Presidential Debate, where many watchers gave Vance the advantage over Walz.
“[Walz] did terrible in many respects, but he is just honest and truthful also. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about and he kind of admitted it,” one voter said.
Another voter said Walz appeared “too nervous.”
“[Walz is] phony. He’s too plastic.
“He doesn’t know the topics like Vance.”
There were some hardened Democrat voters at the diner, however, who defended Walz’s performance and argued he won the pair’s only debate showdown.
“[Walz is] very articulate. He knows his facts,” one Democrat woman said.
“JD Vance totally switched the script last night.
“He told untruths. He flipped the switch.
“He lied throughout the whole entire debate last night.
“What he said was untrue – his stance on abortion, his stance on housing, his stance on the finance – everything was was not true.”
The woman conceded that Vance’s “experience on public stages” may have impacted the number of voters and pundits giving the senator the win.
WATCH:
Tuesday’s debate covered a variety of subjects ranging from immigration to “climate change” to abortion.
The two VP candidates sought to make their introductions to American voters before Election Day.
One Michigan voter said she is voting for Vice President Kamala Harris because she likes the idea that “we get to vote every four years instead of, ‘if you vote me in, you won’t ever have to vote again.'”
Another woman voiced her support for Trump “because he’s for America, and he’s for me.
“And he’s for the unborn child.”
“If you are for the person who cannot defend themselves, then you are for the rest of us,” she said.
“And if you don’t care about those that are not able to defend themselves, you certainly aren’t going to be in charge of us or care for us.”
Meanwhile, a majority of Michigan voters in a panel on Tuesday told CBS News they believed Vance outperformed Walz in their debate.
Four out of six voters in Grand Rapids told CBS News national correspondent Jericka Duncan they felt Vance emerged victorious.
They cited his style, immigration policy, and answer on abortion.
“He was very smooth,” a Republican named Bill Mulvey, who thought Vance won the debate, said.
A Harris-Walz supporter named Arick Davis, who thought Walz won, agreed about Vance.
However, Davis told Duncan he “appreciated” that Walz provided what he considered to be more substantive answers to the moderators’ questions.
A former President Donald Trump supporter named Max Battle, who thought Vance won, told Duncan that Vance’s opinion on immigration, criticizing the policy of President Joe Biden and Harris, put him ahead of Walz.
“There are people who want to come here for a better life,” Battle said.
“And there is a legal and proper way to do that and that needs to be followed.
“You should expect that if you try to enter a country illegally, to be turned away.
“It is a mess that we have found ourselves in over the last four years with the extremely heightened immigration and families coming here, children being born here and then what are we going to do?”
A voter named Ellie Berkey, who was leaning toward Harris before the debate, appeared to confirm to Duncan that she is now more inclined to cast a ballot for Trump and Vance following the debate.
“I really liked that Vance said that he was pro-family and not necessarily pro-life or pro-choice,” Berkey said.
“It was pro-family, which I really appreciated.
“And I think you have to take a lot of considerations into account when talking about abortion.
“There’s a lot to consider,” she said.
“A lot of medical factors, no matter at what stage of your pregnancy.
“So it’s a hard one to decide for me on that one ’cause I don’t think that there was still a clear answer on what his opinion was or what their opinion will be.
“But I liked his view on it that it was more pro-family.”
WATCH:
Walz made multiple blunders during the debate.
He melted down when he faced questions about a CNN report finding that he had falsely claimed to have been in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square massacre.
He also bizarrely claimed he was “friends with school shooters” while answering a query on gun control.
A CBS News poll found debate viewers nearly evenly divided on who won the debate.
Harris is currently leading Trump by 1.4% in Michigan, according to the RealClearPolling average.
READ MORE – Tim Walz Melts Down When Asked about China Lies, Calls Himself a ‘Knucklehead’
