New York:

US vice presidential debates traditionally have little impact on the White House race, but with Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris neck and neck, the stakes were higher than usual in New York on Tuesday.

Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance and Harris’ VP pick Tim Walls both scored points in what is expected to be their only contest, though the primary goal was always to avoid hurting their teammates’ chances.

Here are five points of discussion.

New faces

Walls, who was virtually unknown on the national stage before the summer, had set expectations low — comparing Vance’s academic record as a “Yale Law Guy” to a “public school teacher.” But it has its humble position.

It had a shaky start but improved as the conversation softened. Famously affable, Walls occasionally attempted to recount folklore but often came off defensive, abandoning his trademark Midwestern charm.

Vance, known for his rhetorical prowess, was pressed for Trump’s disappointing debate performance last month, when he was soundly beaten by Harris.

Trump missed opportunities to attack Harris on immigration and inflation — failing to frame him as a liability — but Vance managed to score points where his boss failed.

Both candidates tackled policy details — the Middle East, climate change, the economy or the fentanyl crisis — that made the debate more surprising than the Trump-Harris showdown.

weird

Walls was forced to clarify claims that he was on a teaching post in Hong Kong during the deadly 1989 pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.

“I got in there this summer and misspoke,” the governor said, calling himself a “knucklehead” who would “get caught up in the rhetoric.”

Vance, who before becoming a supporter called Trump “unfit for our nation’s highest office” and once said Trump “could be America’s Hitler” — was challenged over his remarks.

He said that they have been deceived by fake news in the media and it is wrong.

A proxy war

The real contest was between Harris and Trump, with their two stand-in tickets focusing on the sharpest attacks.

The governor of Minnesota went after Trump for ignoring the advice of scientists and economists.

“If you’re going to be president, you don’t have all the answers,” he said. Donald Trump believes they do.

He attacked Trump for bragging about avoiding taxes and urging Republicans to vote against a tough bipartisan border security bill.

Vance ripped Harris on immigration, accusing him of driving up prices, especially housing costs, by allowing millions of immigrants into the country.

Fact check, Mike Cutt

Fact-checking the debate has sparked an unusual controversy this election cycle.

CBS said it would decline to take Hopper’s Live on Air but instead directed viewers to a blog offering real-time fact-checking.

Some of Venice’s on-air facts were checked — one on man-made climate change and another on the legal status of some immigrants.

This infuriated Vance, who began to back away. Both candidates’ mics were briefly silenced as they began an unusually heated back-and-forth.

soft tone

But, without the bombastic former president, the proceedings largely resembled the election debates that preceded the Trump era: focused on policy, lacking personal attacks and a veneer of apparent civility.

There was even a tender, human moment when Walls told a shocking story about his 17-year-old son, Gus, witnessing a shooting at a community center.

Vance turns to Walls to sympathize with him.

The candidates have raised their families on more than one occasion, with Vance talking about her “three beautiful little children.”

Walls and Vance shook hands at the beginning, and again at the end of the debate when their wives joined them on stage.

(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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