With no knockout blows and even agreement, Tim Walz v JD Vance felt like a flashback to a pre-Trump era
The primary aim for candidates in a vice-presidential debate is to do no harm to the name at the top of the ticket. Both JD Vance and Tim Walz passed that test with flying colours.
In fact, this debate was more substantive, policy-focused and certainly more cordial than anything we heard from the Donald Trump and Kamala Harris head to head last month.
The running mates largely listened to, and answered, questions from the moderators, rather than serving warmed-up, pre-packaged talking points.
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US election latest: Vance and Walz face off in VP debate
It felt like a flashback to a pre-Trump debate era when candidates were allowed to be civil and, shock-horror, even briefly agree with those at the opposite lectern.
The debate between Vance (L) and Waltz was much friendlier than that between Trump and Harris.
Pic: AP
Vance is the most interviewed of any of the four presidential candidates or running mates this year, regularly appearing on cable television in the US, and in the early exchanges it was telling.
He was slick and commanding, in contrast with Walz who betrayed early signs of nerves, stumbling over his words.
In Walz’s first answer about the Middle East crisis, he appeared to confuse Israel and Iran twice, at one point referring to “Israel and its proxies”.
But the man from Minnesota – as he so often reminded the viewer – soon found his way, peppering his answers with appeals to “folks” at home. He stared down the camera while delivering the everyman schtick which was the main reason Kamala Harris picked him as a running mate.
“I misspoke,” Walz said when challenged on his inaccurate statement about being in Hong Kong teaching when the Tiananmen Square massacre happened (newspaper records indicate he was, in fact, in Nebraska).
“I’m a knucklehead at times,” he added as if to say – you and I are just the same, you forget your keys in the car, and I forget that I was in the Midwest and not in the midst of one of the most notorious events in recent memory.
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‘Still saying he didn’t lose election’
Team Walz may have been expecting Vance to assume his “attack dog” persona but this was a more mellow, balanced, and even likeable performance from Trump’s understudy, specifically designed to appeal to the independent voter.
He began with a thank you to the broadcaster CBS for hosting the debate and to the viewers “caring enough about this country” to tune in.
He expressed concern for the 17-year-old son of Tim Walz, who had witnessed a shooting while playing volleyball. “I didn’t realise your son had witnessed a shooting,” he said, “that’s awful.”
Even on abortion – one of the thorniest issues for Republicans – he made a decent stab at appearing moderate.
“This is about health care,” he said. I just want to “make it easier for mums to afford to have babies,” he insisted while stating he has never called for a federal abortion ban.
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Vance and Walz debate abortion
In fact, Vance has in the past expressed his support for a bill which would ban abortion nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Walz spotted his moment to seize upon the reproductive rights debate, one of the loudest rallying cries for the Democratic Party.
He retold the tragic story of Amber Thurman, a woman who died because she could not access legal abortions and timely medical care owing to Georgia’s abortion ban.
It is an incredibly powerful, distressing story and one the Democrats are using on the campaign trail to shine a light on Donald Trump’s role in overturning Roe v Wade, which gave women the constitutional right to choose.
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There were no knockout blows for either candidate and as with all vice-presidential debates, it is unlikely to shift the dial on polling or alter the momentum of the election race.
But the fact that JD Vance did so well on the undercard may just entice Donald Trump to accept the offer of another bout against Kamala Harris because – as we well know – he does not like being outshone.
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died aged 41.
In a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Friday, her family said she took her own life in the Perth suburb of Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living for several years.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said.
“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.
“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”
Pic: AP
Police said emergency services received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in Neergabby on Friday night.
“Police and St John Western Australia attended and provided emergency first aid. Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,” a police spokeswoman said.
“The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”
Sexual assault claims
Prince Andrew has denied all claims of wrongdoing. File pic: Reuters
Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.
In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.
‘An incredible champion’
Sigrid McCawley, Ms Giuffre’s attorney, said in a statement that she “was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims”.
“Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring,” she said. “The world has lost an amazing human being today.”
“Rest in peace, my sweet angel,” she added.
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Dini von Mueffling, Ms Giuffre’s representative, also said that “Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know”.
“Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” she added. “She adored her children and many animals.
“She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words.
“It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”
Ms Giuffre said at the end of March she had four days to live after a car accident, posting on social media that “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure”. She was discharged from hospital eight days later.
Raised mainly in Florida, she said she was abused by a family friend early in life, which led to her living on the streets at times as a teenager.
She said that in 2000, she met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: US Department of Justice
Ms Giuffre said Maxwell then introduced her to Epstein and hired her as his masseuse, and said she was sex trafficked and sexually abused by him and associates around the world.
‘A survivor’
After meeting her husband in 2002, while taking massage training in Thailand at what she said was Epstein’s behest, she moved to Australia and had a family.
She founded the sex trafficking victims’ advocacy charity SOAR in 2015, and is quoted on its website as saying: “I do this for victims everywhere.
“I am no longer the young and vulnerable girl who could be bullied. I am now a survivor, and nobody can ever take that away from me.”
:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
Donald Trump has met Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Pope’s funeral, Vatican sources have told Sky News.
The US and Ukrainian presidents had a “very productive discussion”, according to a White House Official, and have also agreed to hold further talks after the service.
They are among world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, who are attending the funeral of Pope Francis.
Follow live updates: Zelenskyy among world leaders joining thousands of mourners
There was applause from some of those gathered in St Peter’s Square when the Ukrainian leader walked out.
The former British ambassador to Russia Sir Tony Brenton said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy.
Trump and Zelenskyy meet for first time since Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine, and is their first face-to-face meeting after a very public row between the presidents at the White House in February.
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish Armed Forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening, in a post on X.
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US
Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine are ‘very close to a deal’ – and says ‘two sides should now meet’
Donald Trump has said Russia and Ukraine are “very close to a deal” with “most of the major points agreed” – as he called for the two sides to meet.
Shortly after arriving in Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral, the US president said high-level officials should now meet to “finish [the deal] off”.
“A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off’.
“Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!”
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Ukraine-Russia peace talks explained
Throughout the week, the US president has criticised both Ukraine and Russia for failing to agree to a peace deal.
On Wednesday, he accused Mr Zelenskyy of harming talks on Truth Social, saying “the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE”.
A day later, after nine people were killed in Kyiv after a Russian missile and drone strike, Mr Trump said: “Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”
The president and other officials have also threatened to withdraw from negotiations if no progress is made toward a deal.
It comes after Mr Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss a US-brokered peace plan for Ukraine.
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Putin-Witkoff meeting
The talks allowed Russia and the United States to “further bring their positions closer together” on “a number of international issues”, a Kremlin aide said.
Speaking earlier on the flight to Italy, Mr Trump said he hadn’t been fully briefed on Mr Witkoff and Mr Putin’s meeting – but added it was a “pretty good meeting”.
Read more:
US and Russia talks moving in ‘right direction’, top diplomat says
A ‘barbaric’ 24 hours in a ‘horrendous’ war
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Ukraine has repeatedly said it would not accept a deal conceding land or handing over sovereignty to Russia.
However, Mr Trump said in an interview with TIME magazine that “Crimea will stay with Russia,” describing the region as a place where Moscow has “had their submarines” and “the people speak largely Russian”.
“Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time,” he added. “It’s been with them long before Trump came along.”
When asked on Friday about Mr Trump’s comments, Mr Zelenskyy did not want to comment but repeated that recognising occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian is a red line.
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