Vice Presidential debate among Republicans on Tuesday Senator JD Vance Ohio and Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz brought together two candidates with different visions for America’s future.
Their body language was also a stark contrast to each other as Vance conveyed a sense of calmness and control over the issues, while Walz appeared nervous and overly restless at times, although later in the debate he regained his composure. managed to achieve, body language expert Carol Lieberman, MD, tells Fox News Digital.
“The thing that JD Vance had that made him most likable and most relatable was that he was authentic… You can just say it in one word. JD Vance was authentic. He did the big hand movements and all that, But they were just meant to explain what he was saying,” Lieberman said.
Top 5 clashes between Vance and Walz during debate showdown: ‘Your mics have been cut off’
Lieberman says Minnesota Governor Tim Walz at times appeared nervous and extremely anxious. (Getty Images)
“JD Vance looked very steady, like you could see him as the captain of the ship, and he wasn’t very rude, but you knew what you were going to get. Every time he looked sure of himself.. .And so you felt you would be safe with him, he provided an environment of stability,” Lieberman said.
This was in contrast to Walz, whom Lieberman said was anxious and irritable, especially at the beginning of the debate.
“With Tim Walz, he was all over the place. He was very nervous, and there were signs of lying in his body language as well. His body language was inconsistent with what he was saying. It was too much, it made you feel exhausted. And he was scared.”
Lieberman says Walz misdirected his question about being in tiananmen square For the deadly protests in the spring of 1989. Walz had previously said he was in Hong Kong during the protests, but Minnesota Public Radio and other media outlets report that Walz did not actually travel to China until August of that year.
CBS News Moderator Margaret Brennan Walz asked To explain the discrepancy. Walz initially tried to talk around the question, but eventually admitted that he “spoke the wrong way” after calling himself “an idiot sometimes.”
“He was so defensive, just beating around the bush and not wanting to admit that he lied. If he had just said that in the beginning, it would have been more honest.”
Watch: Walz was forced to correct the record on whether he was in China for the Tiananmen Square protests
Lieberman says that body language plays an important role in debate, because people are unable to give their full attention to the entire debate and some topics interest people more than others.
She says Vance, 40, comes across as the more experienced politician, even though he has only served in the Senate since January 2023, while Walz served in Congress from 2007 to 2019 before becoming Minnesota’s governor.
“(Walz) seemed like he was a new politician, like he was just trying to figure these things out. He was always looking down… I mean yes, notes while you’re talking. It’s okay to take but… he was taking notes like crazy, ‘Man, I better say this’ and ‘This is his answer.’ It didn’t really help him much, but I guess it was a nervous compensation.”
“Whereas with JD you could see the Yale debater,” Lieberman said.
“He’s obviously… practiced for many years, debating in college and as a lawyer, etc. You’ve read or heard about the practice of both of them, but if it’s coming from an authentic place , so you don’t really have to practice that much and you just say it. Whereas if you’re sneaking around, you have to do it for sure. You have to practice that you don’t say that, or you say that. And that’s how it came out.”
Republican Senator J.D. Vance supported a sense of peace and a sense of control over the issues, Lieberman says. (Ricky Cariotti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The CBS News Vice Presidential Debate showcased the two candidates’ platforms on issues such as the ongoing war in the Middle East, abortion laws, and the economic records of their respective tickets. During the 90-minute debate, there were some clashes between Vance and Walz, including the moderator turning off Vance’s microphone.
Commentators on both sides of the political spectrum largely agreed that Vance won the debate with a more stellar performance in a highly policy-driven event devoid of personal attacks. The pair were seen shaking hands and chatting immediately after the argument.
Lieberman says Vance was confident in prosecuting the case for the Trump ticket and the Republican Party was comfortable debating those issues.
“He was like ‘Let’s go, I can’t wait to do this, I’m going to do this’…He’s Trump lite,” Lieberman said. “It’s kind of this authenticity that I want to take care of America, I want to make America great again, it all happened naturally and in the end, you just wanted him to push Tim Walz away. The ‘You’re annoying me’ thing and with JD Vance you were like, ‘Okay, this is cool.'”
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Commentators on both sides of the political spectrum largely agreed that Vance won the debate with a more stellar performance in a policy-driven event devoid of personal attacks. (Reuters)
Lieberman says it appears Walz’s strategy was to largely blame Trump for a number of issues or cite Trump when responding, and when that line of response became ineffective, he appeared lost. .
“Walz was somewhat nervous, and then he began to show some signs of lying, such as, for example, shaking. Mainly his actions were inconsistent with what he said. In my opinion, these puppy dogs “Looked at Vance … he was practicing what bad things to say about Trump and it was not a good plan.”
Lieberman says Walz also had some “brain freeze moments”.
“You could call it a senior moment, he stared and you’re wondering, ‘Is he going to move on? Is there more?’ And that was very concerning,” Lieberman said.
“Over the course of 90 minutes, you’ll find yourself becoming more and more nervous, anxious, and irritable because of Tim Walz, while you were beginning to feel calm and as if things were going to be okay with JD Vance. And even You couldn’t just listen to the words they were saying and you could just be looking at them, you would feel like that.”
