Despite the candidates’ differences, ‘agree’ was a buzzword on the VP debate stage

A version of this story first appeared in the NPR Network’s live blog of the 2024 vice presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz. For the latest on the campaign, head to NPR’s Elections page.

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance don’t see eye to eye on much, but viewers who tuned into Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate might have been convinced otherwise.

Both candidate spokes repeatedly about being in agreement with the other, about a wide range of topics: speeding up the asylum claim system, bringing jobs back to the U.S., doing more to address gun violence, not blaming immigrants for driving up housing prices.

The word came up more than two dozen times in some 90 minutes.

Some examples:

• “It is a disgrace, Tim, and I actually think I agree with you,” Vance said at one point, referring to the strain that large influxes of migrants are taking on some communities. “I think you want to solve this problem, but I don’t think that Kamala Harris does.”
• “First of all, governor, I agree with you, Amber Thurman should still be alive, and there are a lot of people who should still be alive, and I certainly wish that she was,” Vance said later, referring to a Georgia woman who died after she couldn’t access legal abortion care.
• “And of course, our hearts go out to the families that are affected by this terrible stuff, and we do have to do better,” Vance said later about gun violence. “And I think that Governor Walz and I actually probably agree that we need to do better on this. The question is just, how do we actually do it?”
• “Here’s what I do think: That this is a good start to the conversation,” Walz said about school shootings. “I 100% believe that Senator Vance hates it when these kids — it’s abhorrent and it breaks your heart. I agree with that. But that’s not far enough when we know there are things that work.” When it was his turn to respond, Vance said: “I appreciate what Tim said, actually, about Finland, because I do think it illustrates some of the frankly weird differences between our own country’s gun violence problem [and others’].”
• “Well I’ve enjoyed tonight’s debate and I think there was a lot of commonality here,” Walz said toward the end of the night. “I’m sympathetic to misspeaking on things, and I think I might have with the senator.” Vance cut in with a chuckle: “Me too, man.”

There were some other moments of shared humanity between the two candidates, in a marked contrast to the heated tones of the two previous presidential debates.

When Walz spoke about his teenage son witnessing a shooting at a community center, Vance’s response appeared somber and sympathetic.

“I didn’t know that your 17-year-old witnessed a shooting, and I’m sorry about that and I hope he’s doing OK,” he said.

The two candidates also shook hands twice, at the beginning and the end of the debate, at which point they were joined onstage by their wives. Off-camera, Walz patted Vance on his arm and Vance gave Walz a pat on the back.