The presidents of UA College Republicans and UA College Democrats both said that their candidate laid out a compelling vision for America’s future during the vice presidential debate Tuesday.
Riley McArdle, president of UA College Republicans, and Braden Vick, president of UA College Democrats, both said that the nominees focused more heavily on policy than their counterparts did in September’s presidential debate.
“I think the Vice Presidential Debate was much more substantive than last month’s Presidential debate,” McArdle said in a text message. “Neither candidate really got caught up in personal attacks, which I think the American people really appreciate.”
Vick agreed, saying that the debate ran smoother with fewer interruptions, calling it a “pleasant, if boring night.”
“I’m not sure if there was a stronger policy focus than the fact that the platitudes were a LOT clearer yesterday, and you could understand how both candidates wanted to be portrayed,” Vick said in a text message.
Both had critiques of the debate moderators.
Vick thought that CBS missed the mark with a few of their questions, while McArdle disagreed with the moderators’ fact checks and believed they were biased against Vance.
“One thing I think the moderators missed in particular was Social Security and Medicare. Vance wants to fund it through more Americans being in the workforce, and I would be interested to hear how Vance would achieve that,” Vick said.
McArdle said he thought that the moderators asked good questions, but he criticized them for fact-checking some of Vance’s statements while not pushing back on Walz’ claims about former President Donald Trump and Vance supporting Project 2025, which both have denied.
A CNN review found that at least 140 former Trump staffers had a hand in Project 2025.
McArdle also said voters should remember Walz’s verbal gaffes.
Walz mistakenly said he had built friendships with school shooters when discussing gun violence in America and called himself a “knucklehead” for sometimes misspeaking and misrepresenting his positions.
“I think that, at a time when Iranian missiles are raining down on Israel, China is eyeing an invasion of Taiwan, our supply chains are being interrupted by union strikes, and much of the southeast is literally under water, the last thing Americans need is a pair of ‘knuckleheads’ in the White House,” McArdle said.
Vick focused on Walz defending abortion rights and supporting gun-control measures. Vick also said that Vance refusing to acknowledge that Trump lost the 2020 election was one of the most impactful moments of the debate, echoing Walz’s words and calling it a “damning non-answer.”
The two students had vastly different opinions on Vance’s performance.
“The University of Alabama College Republicans are extremely proud of Senator Vance’s debate performance against radical leftist Tim Walz on Tuesday night,” McArdle said, adding that he believed Vance won the debate. “Senator Vance is a great asset to the Trump campaign, and we look forward to seeing him sworn in as Vice President in January.”
Vick had a dimmer view of Vance’s night.
“Vance is a very good liar,” Vick said. “He really wants you to think he’s normal and like us. He isn’t. At all.”
The vice presidential debate comes as Vice President Kamala Harris is pushing for a second presidential debate with Trump.
McArdle and Vick both said that another presidential debate would be good, but McArdle said he didn’t care much about it.
“I would want another debate, should one happen, to be less heavy on personal attacks and more focused on policy differences,” McArdle said.
Vick was more enthusiastic, advocating for Trump to debate Harris Oct. 23rd on CNN.
There are currently no plans for another presidential or vice presidential debate. In a post on his Truth Social network, Trump said that it was too late for another debate and “votes are already cast.”
