Tim Walz, JD Vance stand by Israel in VP debate but spar over Trump’s ability to contain Iran

Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz both expressed unstinting support for Israel during a vice presidential debate that took place just after Israel came under Iranian assault.

But the two men tussled over whether Donald Trump, the former president who is the Republican presidential nominee, would be as reliable a steward of the U.S.-Israel relationship as President Joe Biden has been. On Tuesday, Biden sent in reinforcements to help counter the Iranian onslaught and warned of “severe consequences” for Iran.

In their first question, the debate’s moderators asked whether the candidates would back Israel were it to strike Iran preemptively in an effort to set back its nuclear program.

Walz, the Democratic nominee and running mate to Vice President Kamala Harris, did not directly answer but emphasized that “steady leadership” from the United States would be essential in confronting the threat posed by Iran.

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Walz pivoted to an attack on Trump. Referring to last month’s presidential debate, in which Trump dwelled on perceived personal slights, he said, “It’s clear, and the world saw it on that debate stage a few weeks ago: A nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment.”

Walz quoted an array of Trump associates — including Vance, in remarks he made before he got close to Trump — as saying Trump was unfit to maintain diplomatic alliances because he was fickle. In Harris, Walz said, “We’ve seen a calmness that is able to be able to draw on the coalitions to bring them together, understanding that our allies matter.”

Vance, in his reply, defended Trump’s record in his first term and charged that policies advanced by Biden and Harris had emboldened Iran.

“Donald Trump actually delivered stability in the world, and he did it by establishing effective deterrence people were afraid of stepping out of line. Iran, which launched this attack, has received over $100 billion and unfrozen assets thanks to the Kamala Harris administration,” Vance said. It was not clear what he was referring to. Iranian assets held by Korea totaling $6-7 billion were released for humanitarian use as part of a deal releasing U.S. citizens held in Iran.

Vance also directly answered the question about a preemptive strike. “It is up to Israel what they think they need to do to keep their country safe, and we should support our allies wherever they are when they’re fighting the bad guys,” he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mulled a preemptive strike against Iran’s nuclear program more than a decade ago. Israel has said it plans to respond to Tuesday’s missile attack.

In his rebuttal, Walz defended the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, reached under President Barack Obama, which traded sanctions relief for restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program. Israel opposed the deal. In 2018, Trump abandoned the deal unilaterally in a move that he cites as evidence of his pro-Israel bona fides. Democrats say Trump’s quitting the deal accelerated the threat posed by Iran.

“We had a coalition of nations that had boxed Iran’s nuclear program in the inability to advance it,” Walz said. “Donald Trump pulled that program and put nothing else in its place. So Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than they were before because of Donald Trump’s fickle leadership.”

Walz barely alluded to the Palestinians and their dire circumstances in the Gaza Strip in the war that ensued after Hamas invaded Israel a year ago, instead focusing on the threat Israel has sought to crush.

“Let’s keep in mind where this started. October 7, Hamas terrorists massacred over 1,400 Israelis and took prisoners,” he said. “Israel’s ability to be able to defend itself is absolutely fundamental. Getting its hostages back, fundamental. And ending the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”