Live updates on the Vance-Walz VP debate: Vance thrived on the stage while Walz struggled to find his footing

Although many Republicans gathered outside the CBS studios on Tuesday were impressed by the Ohio senator's debating skills, there was one person who couldn't avoid a mention. Mike Bedigan got their views

A new poll found the debate ended essentially in a draw. CBS and YouGov released a poll immediately after the vice presidential debate that found 42 percent of people thought Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance had defeated his Democratic counterpart, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

But 41 percent thought Walz could prevail against Donald Trump's vice president. Likewise, people seemed to like the tone of the debate, with 88 percent of respondents saying the tone was generally positive.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz gave a rambling answer Tuesday night during the vice presidential debate against JD Vance when asked about reports that he falsely claimed he was in Hong Kong during the June 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in China to have been.

“All I said was I got there this summer and I misspoke, so I'm just going to say what I said,” Walz responded to the CBS anchors. “So I was in Hong Kong and China during the democracy protests… and I learned a lot about what's important in governance.”

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said Vance was “polished” and “sophisticated” but believes Walz “won.”

“One of these candidates is much more skilled than the other, a much more skilled, professional debate-style speaker, and the other candidate won,” Maddow said.

She acknowledged that Walz was unflattering when responding to criticism of the Tiananmen Square protests, but that he succeeded on “every substantive issue” such as health care, the economy, immigration, abortion and more.

“JD Vance was very polished and very skilled and Tim Walz beat him on the key points.”

At first, the Democratic debate watching party in Arlington was quiet and people were a little stressed. When Walz got going again, things got better.

CNN anchor and legal analyst Van Jones said JD Vance “lied all night.”

Jones said Vance repeated falsehoods about American energy production, Trump's past health care policies, the peaceful transfer of power in 2021 and support for a national abortion ban.

“I think Americans need to be very, very careful, this is a very, very fraudulent guy,” Jones said on CNN.

In the second half, guests lost interest in the lopsided debate and a fight almost broke out after a man told another guest that his views were “repulsive” and stormed out threatening to kick his ass .

Donald Trump's Vice President JD Vance has blamed the media for his harsh criticism of the former president in the past.

In a televised debate against his Democratic counterpart Tim Walz, the Ohio senator claimed he was misled by “dishonest fabrications” when he compared Trump to Hitler and said he had “completely failed to implement his economic populism.”

“I have always been extremely open about the fact that I was wrong about Donald Trump,” Vance said Tuesday night. “I was mostly wrong because I believed some of the media reports that turned out to be dishonest falsifications of his story.

Despite a civilized and at times even convivial vice presidential debate, Democratic nominee Tim Walz appeared nervous and unprepared at times, while his rival JD Vance worked to downplay his image of an unfeeling crank.

Ultimately, the Ohio senator's confidence, command of party lines and smooth execution left a largely positive impression Tuesday night, in contrast to that caused by several campaign controversies in recent weeks.

Vance says he likes to talk a lot. As I watched his debate appearances during his runs for Congress and governor, Walz can rattle off plenty of facts.

The downside is that he's sometimes not quick on his feet. At times it was difficult for him to answer questions about his reaction to violent demonstrations after the murder of George Floyd. He also faltered when he did not directly address the timing of his trip to Hong Kong.

It also meant he tried to deliver his rehearsed lines about abortion rather than respond to allegations about Minnesota's abortion law.