Democrats were “panicked” by how likable Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) came off during the vice presidential debate, an NBC journalist revealed on Wednesday.
“Meet The Press” moderator Kristen Welker said on the “Today” show that she received text messages from members of the party who expressed surprise at how well Vance was conducting himself against Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz after months of trying to paint the Republican as “weird” and a “threat” to democracy.
NBC's Kristen Welker says she "was getting texts from Democrats PANICKED" last night over @JDVance's beatdown of Tampon Tim Walz on the debate stage pic.twitter.com/qwyTelOafB
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“Vance knew his challenge was to deal with the likability factor,” Welker said. “The fact that in our poll, he’s the second-most disliked running mate in history. And so I was getting texts from Democrats — panicked, quite frankly — who were saying, ‘Wow, he’s really moderating himself on a lot of these issues. He’s the most likable he’s ever been.'”
Welker also said Democrats will try to make Vance saying he wanted to focus on the future rather than dwell on issues related to the 2020 election into a “flash point” by turning it into an ad. She added, “They believe that is going to be a way to really try to appeal to that very small sliver that is still undecided, but moderate, independent suburban voters.”
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Early surveys indicated Vance edged out Walz on Tuesday, though it remains to be seen how their performances could impact the 2024 election. Polls showed a close race leading up to the VP debate. Vance is former President Donald Trump’s VP pick and Walz is Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. As of press time, it appears there will be no more debates in the presidential contest.
“Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie noted that Walz’s effort in the debate “wasn’t a disaster, but it certainly wasn’t a tour-de-force,” and asked what people are saying about how he did against Vance.
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NBC News senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson, who appeared on the show along with Welker, said she thinks Democrats “are frustrated that he wasn’t a little bit more the Tim Walz that Kamala Harris picked to be his vice presidential nominee because he is great on television in the eyes of the campaign,” but they saw promise in the “moment” he retorted against Vance over January 6.