Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, was forced to answer questions about his controversial travel to China and misstatements about those trips during Tuesday night’s debate. 

Walz has said he was in Hong Kong during the deadly Tiananmen Square protests in the spring of 1989. But Minnesota Public Radio and other media outlets are now reporting that Walz actually did not travel to China until August of that year. 

CBS News moderator Margaret Brennan asked Walz to explain the discrepancy. 

COMER SUBPOENAS DHS FOR RECORDS RELATING TO WALZ’S ALLEGED TIES TO CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY

“Look, I grew up in a small rural Nebraska town, a town that you rode your bike with your buddies till the streetlights come on, and I’m proud of that service,” a visibly shaky Walz said. “I joined the National Guard at 17, worked on family farms and then I used the GI bill to become a teacher.” 

Walz said that, as a “passionate young teacher,” he had “the opportunity in the summer of ’89 to travel to China — 35 years ago.

“I came back home and then started a program to take young people there. We would take basketball teams. We would take baseball teams. We would take dancers. And we would go back and forth to China,” Walz said, noting the trips were “to try and learn.” 

“Look, my community knows who I am. They saw where I was at. I will be the first to tell you I have poured my heart into my community, and I’ve tried to do the best I can, but I’ve not been perfect,” Walz continued. 

“And I’m a knucklehead at times.”

Walz said his commitment “from the beginning” has been to “make sure that I’m there for the people.” 

“Many times, I will talk a lot. I will get caught up in rhetoric. But being there, the impact it made, the difference it made in my life, I learned a lot about China,” Walz said. “I hear the critiques of this.” 

Walz said he would “make the case that Donald Trump should have come on one of those trips with us.” 

“I guarantee you he wouldn’t be praising XI Jinping about COVID. And I guarantee you he wouldn’t start a trade war that he ends up losing,” Walz said. “So, this is about trying to understand the world. It’s about trying to do the best you can for your community, and then it’s putting yourself out there and letting your folks understand what it is.

“My commitment, whether it be through teaching, which I was good at, or whether it was being a good soldier or was being a good member of Congress. Those are the things that I think are the values that people care about.” 

But Brennan pushed back, reminding Walz of the question and again asking him to explain the discrepancy. 

“All I said on this was, as I got there that summer and misspoke on this,” Walz said. “So, I will just — that’s what I’ve said. So, I was in Hong Kong and China during the democracy protests, went in and, from that, I learned a lot of what needed to be in in governance.” 

Walz’s ties to China have come under the microscope since he became Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. 

HOUSE OVERSIGHT INVESTIGATING WALZ OVER ‘LONGSTANDING CONNECTIONS’ TO CHINA

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., launched an investigation into Walz’s alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party. 

Comer revealed that Walz has “engaged and partnered with” Chinese entities, making him “susceptible” to the CCP’s strategy of “elite capture,” which seeks to co-opt influential figures in elite political, cultural and academic circles to “influence the United States to the benefit of the communist regime and the detriment of Americans.” 

Comer has pointed to reports that Walz, while working as a teacher in the 1990s, organized a trip to China for Alliance High School students. The costs were reportedly “paid by the Chinese government.” 

TIM WALZ SAID HE WENT TO CHINA ‘DOZENS’ OF TIMES, NOW HIS CAMPAIGN SAYS ITS ‘CLOSER TO 15’

Comer is investigating Educational Travel Adventures, Inc., a private company Walz created in 1994 that was led by Walz and coordinated annual student trips to China until 2003. 

The company reportedly “dissolved four days after he took congressional office in 2007.” 

Comer said Walz has traveled to China an estimated “30 times.” 

Comer has issued a subpoena to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, compelling him to produce DHS records related to Walz’s alleged ties to the CCP. 

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Walz, meanwhile, during a congressional hearing in 2016, said he had “been to China dozens of times.”

“I’ve been there about 30 times,” Walz told an agriculture-focused publication in 2016. 

However, a Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson recently told Minnesota Public Radio the number was “closer to 15 times.” 

Vice presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz sparred on the issue of immigration in their debate Tuesday night, and Vance called out the immigration policies of VP Kamala Harris. 

“First of all, the gross majority of what we need to do to the southern border is just empowering law enforcement to do their job,” Vance said during the Tuesday night debate on CBS during a discussion on the Haitian migrant surge in Springfield and immigration overall. 

“I’ve been to the southern border more than our ‘border czar’ Kamala Harris has been. And it’s actually heartbreaking because the Border Patrol agents, they just want to be empowered to do their job.”

Vance continued by saying that, “of course, additional resources would help,” but that the issue is mostly about the Biden administration not empowering law enforcement to say “if you try to come across the border illegally, you’ve got to stay in Mexico” and “go back through proper channels.”

TIM WALZ SAID HE WENT TO CHINA ‘DOZENS’ OF TIMES, NOW HIS CAMPAIGN SAYS ITS ‘CLOSER TO 15’

“Now, Gov. Walz brought up the community of Springfield, and he’s very worried about the things that I’ve said in Springfield,” Vance said. “Look, in Springfield, Ohio, and in communities all across this country, you’ve got schools that are overwhelmed. You’ve got hospitals that are overwhelmed. You’ve got housing that is totally unaffordable because we brought in millions of illegal immigrants to compete with Americans for scarce homes.

“The people that I’m most worried about in Springfield, Ohio, are the American citizens who have had their lives destroyed by Kamala Harris’ open border. It is a disgrace, Tim, and I actually think I agree with you. I think you want to solve this problem, but I don’t think that Kamala Harris does.”

Walz repeatedly made the case that Trump shut down the Senate immigration bill earlier this year that VP Harris has said she will sign in a move he believes would have made strides at the border.

UNEARTHED PHOTO SHOWS TIM WALZ APPOINTEE DECORATED HOUSE WITH POSTERS OF MURDEROUS COMMUNIST DICTATORS

“It is law enforcement that asked for the bill,” Walz said. “They helped craft it. They’re the ones that supported it. It was because they know we need to do this. Look, this issue of continuing to bring this up, of not dealing with it, of blaming migrants for everything.

“On housing, we could talk a little bit about Wall Street speculators buying up housing and making them less affordable, but it becomes a blame. Look, this bill also gives the money necessary to adjudicate. I agree it should not take seven years for an asylum claim to be done.

“This bill gets it done in 90 days. Then, you start to make a difference in this, and you start to adhere to what we know, American principles. I don’t talk about my faith a lot, but Matthew 25:40 talks about to the least amongst us, you do unto me. I think that’s true of most Americans. They simply want order to it. This bill does it. It’s funded. It’s supported by the people who do it, and it lets us keep our dignity about how we treat other people.”

Vance referred to the Biden-Harris record on immigration as a “disgrace.”

“Look, what Tim said just doesn’t pass the smell test,” Vance said. “For three years. Kamala Harris went out bragging that she was going to undo Donald Trump’s border policy. She did exactly that. We had a record number of illegal crossings. We had a record number of fentanyl coming into our country.

“And now that she’s running for president or a few months before, she says that somehow she got religion and cares a lot about a piece of legislation. The only thing that she did when she became the vice president, when she became the appointed border czar was to undo 94 Donald Trump executive actions that opened the border. This problem is leading to massive problems in the United States of America. Parents who can’t afford health care, schools that are overwhelmed. It’s got to stop. And it will when Donald Trump is president.”

A Harris campaign official told Fox News Digital that its focus group of undecided voters watching the debate reacted more strongly in favor of Walz’s comments.

“Overall, Gov. Walz outperformed JD Vance in the immigration section, and the highest rating for Gov. Walz of the night so far was when he reminded viewers of Donald Trump’s failed promise to build a wall, only building 2% of it,” the campaign said. 
 

Republican lawmakers and top voices reacted as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance faced-off in New York City.

“Senator JD Vance spitting the cold hard TRUTH on the debate stage,” Trump 2024 national press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X. “Total domination and we are only 20 minutes in.”

The debate in New York City on CBS News was Walz and Vance’s only debate prior to the monumental election on Nov. 5.

“Tim Walz is as radical as they come on the issue of immigration,” Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., wrote on X. “As governor of Minnesota, he supported free health care, free college tuition, and driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants. Innocent Americans have been assaulted & murdered because of this border crisis.”

VANCE, WALZ FACE OFF ON BORDER, CLIMATE CHANGE AND ABORTION DURING VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

The debate began with CBS News moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan asking the candidates about their Middle East policy after Iran attacked Israel with a massive missile barrage.

“Tim Walz’s answer on Israel was incomprehensible. Like Kamala–Walz has no idea what he is talking about,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wrote on X. “Kamala and Walz would make the chaos in the Middle East worse.”

“Iran rained missiles down on Israel TODAY, 1,350 days into Kamala Harris’ tenure as Vice President, so naturally Tim Walz says it’s Donald Trump’s fault,” Trump campaign senior adviser Tim Murtaugh wrote on X. 

“JD knocks it out of the park with first question!!! Tim Walz implodes on first question in presentation, communication, and substance,” Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., wrote on X. 

Republican voices highlighted the Kamala Harris campaign’s immigration policy. Immigration is a top issue for American voters this year, as a record number say the situation at the southern border is a major problem or an outright emergency, according to the latest Fox News national survey. 

“Law enforcement has been attacked. Deadly fentanyl has taken the lives of thousands of Americans,” Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott wrote on X. “Kamala Harris & Tim Walz support open border policies. They will make the border crisis WORSE.”

FOX NEWS TOP TALENT REACT TO CBS NEWS VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

“How can Tim Walz pretend Kamala is tough on the border when she allowed more than 16,000 sex offenders and 13,000 murderers to cross the border?” Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote on X. “A vote for Kamala and Tim Walz is a vote for open borders.”

The candidates turned their attention to abortion, with Republicans criticizing Walz’s abortion stance.

“He is better in our toughest issues than most republicans are on our best issues. I told you so!!!” Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X. 

“Democrats always resort to killing babies every time they are losing. And then lie and call it ‘reproductive freedom.’ There is nothing reproductive about abortion,” Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X. “Democrats view unwanted babies as a life they can throw away and call it a choice. The truth is motherhood is not something to throw away, neither are babies.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz kicked off his debate against Ohio Sen. JD Vance on shaky footing when he was first asked about his foreign policy platform in the Middle East. 

“Governor Walz, if you were the final voice in the Situation Room, would you support or oppose a preemptive strike by Israel on Iran?” CBS’ Margaret Brennan asked Walz on Tuesday evening in New York City during the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate. 

Walz thanked the moderators for hosting him before delivering a halting and stammering answer while calling for “steady leadership.”

“Iran, our I, Israel’s ability to be able to defend itself is absolutely fundamental. Getting its hostages back, fundamental. And ending the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But the expansion of Israel and its proxies is an absolute fundamental necessity for the United States to have to steady leadership there. You saw it experienced today where along with our Israeli partners and our coalition, able to stop the incoming attack,” Walz responded, taking a few pauses between words. 

ISRAEL UNDER ATTACK: IRAN LAUNCHES MISSILES, GUNMEN KILL AT LEAST 8 NEAR TEL AVIV

Earlier Tuesday, Iran launched more than 100 ballistic missiles at Israel. War broke out in Israel nearly one year ago on Oct. 7 when Hamas launched attacks on the nation.

“What’s fundamental here is that steady leadership is going to matter. 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 continued. 

GOP LEADER SAYS VANCE ‘ABSOLUTELY PREPARED’ FOR VP DEBATE SHOWDOWN WITH WALZ

Walz continued his response by taking shots at former President Donald Trump and his former administration officials. 

“His chief of staff, John Kelly, said that he was the most flawed human being you’d ever met. And both of his secretaries of defense and his national security advisers said he should be nowhere near the White House. Now, the person closest to them… said he’s unfit for the highest office. That was Sen. Vance,” Walz said, referring to Vance’s previous criticisms of Trump before he was elected to the White House in 2016.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS UPDATES ON THE VP DEBATE

Walz summed up his first response by arguing Vice President Kamala Harris has shown “steady leadership” on the world stage. 

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“What we’ve seen out of Vice President Harris is we’ve seen steady leadership. 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. When our allies see Donald Trump turn towards Vladimir Putin, turn towards North Korea, when we start to see that type of fickleness around holding the coalitions together, we will stay committed. And as the vice president said today, we will protect our forces and our allied forces, and there will be consequences,” he continued. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

DEBATE DAY: Live coverage begins today at 8 p.m. ET for the Fox News Simulcast of the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate. Learn more.

What’s happening…

– Trump edges Harris in North Carolina Poll, state that hasn’t voted Democratic since 2008

– Mast demands VA fire staffers over Vance, Walz medical record breach, FBI probe possible foreign interference

–  Fox News Power Rankings: Trump maintains lead on 2 top issues ahead of VP debate

NEW YORK CITY – With a second face-to-face showdown between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump unlikely – and with a margin-of-error race with five weeks until Election Day in November – there’s a lot on the line in the vice presidential debate.

While debates between the running mates are the undercard of a White House race and have rarely moved the need much in the past, when Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democrats’ nominee, face-off on Tuesday, there will be heightened stakes.

Any major knockout blow – or agonizing misstep – could turn what’s traditionally seen as a second-tier event into an impactful showdown…Read more

HEZBOLLAH IN SYRIA: Hezbollah terrorists engaged in sex slavery, rape, mass murders of Syrians…Read more

ISRAEL ATTACKED BY IRAN: American Jewish leaders say Islamist regime will pay for missile strike…Read more

NRA VS SEN BROWN: NRA targets Sen Sherrod Brown in 7-figure ad buy in Ohio: ‘Vote like your life depends on it’…Read more

CHILD TAX CREDIT: Johnson to push for ‘strong child tax credit,’ restrictions on China investment in Wall Street speech…Read more

SHEEHY TAKES ON TESTER: Montana GOP Senate Candidate Sheehy says he was in Afghanistan while Jon Tester was ‘eating lobbyist steak’…Read more

BY THE NUMBERS: Trump edges Harris in North Carolina Poll, state that hasn’t voted Democratic since 2008…Read more

MAOIST TO THE CORE: Unearthed photo shows Tim Walz appointee decorated house with posters of murderous communist dictators…Read more

POWER RANKINGS: Trump maintains lead on 2 top issues ahead of VP debate…Read more

TRIPS TO CHINA: Tim Walz said he went to China ‘dozens’ of times, now his campaign says its ‘closer to 15’…Read more

HARRIS’ WEAKNESS: Pennsylvania survey finds Harris leading Trump narrowly, identifies her ‘biggest weakness’ pollster says…Read more

RECORD BREACH: Mast demands VA fire staffers over Vance, Walz medical record breach, FBI probe possible foreign interference…Read more

ABSENTEE VOTING: Pennsylvania absentee voting underway in some counties…Read more

DEBATE NIGHT ALLEGATIONS: Walz, Vance debate to kick off in NYC amid fresh lying allegations against Harris’ running mate…Read more

PORTS ON STRIKE: Trump blames port workers strike on ‘massive inflation’ caused by ‘Harris-Biden regime’…Read more

MUSK VS NEWSOM: Elon Musk compares Newsom to ‘The Joker’ after voter ID requirements banned in California…Read more

MIGRANT CRIME: 2 Martha’s Vineyard Illegal immigrants arrested on same day in latest ICE bust on wealthy, liberal island…Read more

NYC MAYOR: Eric Adams calls out alleged collusion of feds and mainstream media, asks judge for ‘consequences’…Read more

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Hours before the vice presidential debate, former President Donald Trump addressed a crowd at his campaign rally in Wisconsin and bashed the Biden administration over Iran’s historic attack on Israel. 

“A short time ago, Iran launched 181 ballistic missiles at Israel… I’ve been talking about World War III for a long time, and I don’t want to make predictions because the predictions always come true. We’re not going to make [predictions]… but they are very close to global catastrophe,” Trump said. “We have a non-existent president and a non-existent vice president who should be in charge, but nobody knows what’s going on.”

Trump’s comments come after Israel said Iran launched 181 ballistic missiles at the country, marking the largest ballistic missile attack in history. 

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the attack was in retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Lebanon, in an Israeli airstrike late last week and the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, according to Fox News Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst.

IRAN ATTACK ON ISRAEL ‘INEFFECTIVE’ BUT A ‘SIGNIFICANT ESCALATION’: WHITE HOUSE

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned in a statement released by Iranian state media that if Israel responds to the missile barrage, “it will face crushing attacks.”

Trump accused President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of weak leadership on the world stage.

“That’s why Israel was under attack just a little while ago. Because they don’t respect our country anymore. The so-called enemy doesn’t respect our country any longer,” Trump said.

IRAN FIRES MULTIPLE MISSILE STRIKES ACROSS ISRAEL

Trump claimed Biden and Harris made Iran rich in a very short period of time.

“They have $300 billion now. They’re rich. I mean, they pay 6 billion every time they have somebody that was kidnaped, it’s always $6 billion,” Trump said.

“Iran was on the verge of bankruptcy. They had no money left. They had no money for Hamas. They had no money for Hezbollah. The people they’re fighting now, they would have been willing to make any deal. You could have made any deal. But Kamala flooded them with American cash and everything. Now, I mean, they’re flooding them with cash. It’s honestly not even believable,” Trump continued.

PENTAGON SENDING A ‘FEW THOUSAND’ PERSONNEL TO MIDDLE EAST DAY AFTER BIDEN SAID HE WOULDN’T ADD COMBAT TROOPS

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the Iranian missile attack on Israel was “defeated and ineffective” and that the U.S. military coordinated with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to repel the strikes. 

“U.S. naval destroyers joined Israeli Air Defense units in firing interceptors to shoot down inbound missiles. President Biden and Vice President Harris monitored the attack and the response from the White House Situation Room, joined in person and remotely by their national security team,” Sullivan said. 

Sullivan characterized the attack as a “significant escalation” while speaking at a White House briefing on Tuesday.

Sullivan said no deaths were reported on the Israeli side, although the White House is monitoring the reported death of a Palestinian civilian in Jericho in the West Bank.

“We do not know of any damage to aircraft or strategic military assets in Israel. In short, based on what we know at this point, this attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective. The word fog of war was invented for a situation like this. This is a fluid situation,” he said.

Many missiles were intercepted by Israel’s missile defense systems, while others did hit the ground. 

The Pentagon says the U.S. fired approximately 12 interceptors against Iranian missiles.

Fox News’ Michael Dorgan, Stephen Sorace, Liz Friden, Nicolas Rojas, Greg Norman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

It all comes down to Pennsylvania.

That is not an exaggeration.

If Kamala Harris loses Pennsylvania, Donald Trump is the 47th president of the United States.

Now you could say the same about Michigan or Wisconsin, but it especially seems that a Democratic candidate should be able to carry the Keystone State.

HARRIS CAMPAIGN ‘UNDERWATER’ IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE, DEM REP WARNS DONORS

And that’s why, in my view, Kamala should have picked Josh Shapiro, its popular governor.

I have nothing against Tim Walz, of football coach fame, but I don’t see what he’s done for the ticket. There’s a reason the campaign hasn’t let him do any solo interviews – a stark contrast with JD Vance, who is constantly doing interviews and holding press conferences.

In fact, Vance now frequently takes reporters’ questions in front of supporters, who boo the journalists, sometimes even before they start speaking.

We’ll find out whether Walz can think on his feet when he faces off against Vance in tonight’s VP debate. The most generous thing I can say is that the Coach will be rusty.

Let’s look at the latest numbers.

The Real Clear Politics average has Trump leading Harris by a miniscule margin, 48.1% to 47.9%, which of course is a statistical tie.

At 538, the micro-margin in Pennsylvania is flipped, with Harris averaging 47.9% and Trump at 47.1%, another tie.

Now imagine that Shapiro, who is more of a moderate liberal than the uber-progressive Walz, was the running mate. And let’s say Shapiro had brought in another 50,000 votes as the home-state guy. You can see where that would tip the balance.

Kamala didn’t pick Josh for two reasons. They had a rough conversation when she interviewed him, with the governor insisting on an influential role if he were to relinquish his current job. But so what? Presidents and their veeps often don’t see eye to eye. She preferred the image of Walz, hunter and fisherman, to the prospect of two East Coast lawyers.

But the more important reason is more troubling. Harris was under pressure from the anti-Israel faction in her party not to tap Shapiro, who is Jewish and a strong supporter of the Jewish state.

So the vice president effectively handed veto power to this minority faction, which basically backs the Hamas terrorists who would wipe out Israel, and would have faced a week or two of controversy as a result. I said at the time this would be a world-class mistake if she lost Pennsylvania.

The reason Harris has spent so much time in the Pittsburgh area is that the western end of the state is much more conservative than the eastern section anchored by Philadelphia. Her goal is to hold down Trump’s margin in a part of the state that he’ll easily win.

KAMALA HARRIS IS GETTING ‘OUTHUSTLED’ AND ‘OUTCLASSED’: JESSE WATTERS

One problem Harris faces right now is that she makes little news. By picking “friendly” interviewers, such as MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle, who has trashed Trump as a danger to democracy, she avoids tough questions and followups. 

Visiting the Mexican border was a smart move, not just because Trump has a major lead on immigration, but because Harris broke into the news cycle, where images can count more than words, and attempted to position herself as tougher than Joe Biden on the issue.

Otherwise, I’m just hearing chunks of her stump speech in response to questions, starting with how her mother raised her. Repetition is important in politics, but if you don’t throw in a few new lines, the press is left without a headline.

Meanwhile, Trump over the weekend called Harris “mentally impaired,” saying Biden just got old but she was born that way. He also said Harris should be impeached, and maybe prosecuted, for the way she helped run the country.

Now that is classic Trump. By using over-the-top rhetoric, he sparks a media debate about whether he’s gone too far, and that debate revolves around the words “Kamala” and “mentally impaired.” 

IN HYPERPARTISAN ENVIRONMENT, MSNBC DRAWING FIRE FOR ANTI-TRUMP, PRO-HARRIS PROGRAMMING

Harris has wisely not responded to every Trump jab. But remember, Trump benefits from negative coverage as much as positive coverage because he’s driving the news agenda.

Here’s a pool report from Harris at a West Coast political event over the weekend: “She then switched her remarks to talking about the need for comprehensive immigration reform. VP Harris remarks on the issue were very similar to her remarks in Arizona on Friday.” In other words, no news.

Think about this: Trump has been absolutely pummeled by a hostile press corps, is a twice-impeached convicted felon and carries the burden of Jan. 6. Harris has been riding an extraordinary wave of positive press, and yet she’s slipped slightly in the polls and is tied in Pennsylvania.

And there’s no question that if she loses there, the election is over.

NEW YORK – Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley is confident that Sen. JD Vance of Ohio is “absolutely prepared” for Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate showdown.

Vance, former President Trump’s running mate on the GOP 2024 ticket, will face off in New York City with Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota in the one and only debate between the two running mates.

“You look at everything he’s done since he was named as the candidate. He’s been preparing, he’s been talking with the press, he’s been out there, he’s been moving around and talking to the American voters. So, he’s very ready to have this conversation,” Whatley emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview hours ahead of the debate.

A source familiar with Vance’s debate prep told Fox News Digital that over the last month, the senator took part in a series of murder board sessions with his team, where a group of people ask tough questions and have candid discussions to help someone prepare for a difficult examination or test, or in Vance’s case, a vice presidential debate.

THE WHO, WHAT, WHERE, AND WHEN OF TUESDAY’S JD VANCE-TIM WALZ VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE 

According to the source, Vance conducted a mock debate over the past week, with Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the House majority whip, playing the role of Walz. Former Trump administration Treasury Department assistant secretary Monica Crowley played the role of one of the moderators from CBS News, which is hosting the debate in New York City.

Halfway through the mock debate, the power went out, as a strong storm slammed through the vicinity of Cincinnati, Ohio, where Vance lives and where the prep session was held. But according to the source, who shared the details first with Fox News, Vance and the team continued on, using lanterns for lighting and cellphones for timers.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS UPDATES ON THE VP DEBATE

Heading into the 2024 vice presidential debate, the 40-year-old Vance has been very talkative, sitting for scores of interviews and taking plenty of questions from reporters on the campaign trail. 

Walz, who is 60, has been much more reluctant to speak with the national news media. 

The governor was in debate camp ahead of the showdown to prepare. Walz huddled with advisers and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg – who played the role of Vance in mock debates – in Harbor Springs, Michigan, near the northern tip of the state’s lower peninsula.

Also helping out – Walz’s wife – Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz.

Asked on the eve of the showdown with Vance how his wife had been helping him with debate preparation, Walz told reporters, “She wins every one.”

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS 2024 ELECTION POWER RANKINGS SHOW

With a second face-to-face showdown between Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump unlikely – and with a margin-of-error White House race with five weeks until Election Day in November – there will be heightened stakes at the running mate debate, which is traditionally seen as a second-tier event in the presidential campaign.

“Given that we’re only likely to have one head-to-head match-up between the principal candidates and this is the last meet-up between the two tickets directly before the election, it heightens the importance and significance of this debate,” longtime Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams, a veteran of multiple presidential campaigns, told Fox News.

Most political pundits said Harris bested Trump last month in their first and likely only debate. And flash polls of debate watchers agreed. 

So a strong showing by Vance in Tuesday’s vice presidential debate could give Trump a boost. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE 2024 ELECTION

And there’s a precedent from 12 years ago.

After a shaky first debate by then-President Barack Obama against 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, then-Vice President Joe Biden’s well-regarded performance in the running mate debate against Romney running mate Rep. Paul Ryan gave the Democrats’ ticket a big boost.

Whatley, the former RNC general counsel and former North Carolina GOP chair who’s a close ally of Trump, told Fox Digital that Vance’s debate mission is to “deliver the message” to voters across the country.

Whatley argued that “if you look at the Democrats, they don’t just have messenger problems, they have message problems. The polices that they’re pushing right now are not popular with the American people…. I think on every single one of these issues, the Republican ticket is the ticket of strength, the ticket of common sense, and I feel really great about where we’re going into tonight.”

The RNC chair also said that when it comes to Vance’s game plan for the debate, “I think he’s going to talk about the issues that the voters care about and those are the issues like inflation, like the southern border, like prices at the grocery store and at the gas pump. That’s really what people care about. That’s what we’re going to talk about.”

Part of the Harris campaign’s strategy ahead of the debate is to raise expectations for Walz.

For weeks, they’ve painted Walz as a regular guy who will be facing off with the Ivy League-trained Vance. What they don’t mention is that Walz won six House races and two gubernatorial elections.

The Trump campaign’s playing the same game.

“Walz is very good in debates. I want to repeat that. Tim Walz is very good in debates. Really good. He’s been a politician for nearly 20 years. He’ll be very well-prepared for tomorrow night,” Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller told reporters on Monday.

But Trump seemed to undercut this campaign’s argument, charging in an interview with Kellyanne Conway’s Fox Nation program “Here’s the Deal with Kellyanne” that Vance is “going up against a moron. A total moron, how she picked him is unbelievable.”

Walz comes into the debate with better poll numbers than Vance.

According to the latest Fox News national poll, Walz was slightly above water with a 43% favorable rating and a 40% unfavorable rating.

Vance stood in negative territory, at 38%-50% favorable/unfavorable.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. 

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation banning local governments from requiring voters to present an ID at the ballot box in order to cast a vote – a move which sparked backlash from Elon Musk, who branded Newsom as “The Joker.”

“Wow, it is now illegal to require voter ID in California! They just made PREVENTING voter fraud against the law,” Musk wrote on X late Monday. “The Joker is in charge.”

The bill was passed by the California Assembly in August after being introduced earlier in the year by state Sen. David Min, a Democrat. Newsom signed the bill into law on Thursday. 

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The new law was in response to the beachside city of Huntington Beach passing a voter ID amendment, Measure A, in March with the support of a majority of residents which would allow the city to require voter identification, increase in-person voting sites, and monitor ballot drop boxes in local elections. The measure won at the polls in March with 53.4% approval, county election data shows.

But Attorney General Rob Bonta and California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber challenged Huntington Beach’s voter ID law, which would have amended the city’s charter to allow voter ID requirements by 2026.

In their lawsuit, Bonta and Weber argued that the city’s voter ID law “unlawfully conflicts and is preempted by state law.” 

California is one of 14 states that does not require voter ID at the polls, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

“The right to freely cast your vote is the foundation of our democracy and Huntington Beach’s voter ID policy flies in the face of this principle,” Bonta said in a statement earlier this year. 

He argued that state elections already contain “robust voter ID requirements with strong protections to prevent voter fraud.” He said the new requirements would disproportionately burden “low-income voters, voters of color, young or elderly voters, and people with disabilities.” 

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While that lawsuit made its way through the courts state, Min introduced Senate Bill No. 1174. It passed out of the State Assembly in a 57-16 vote and in the State Senate in a 30-8 vote.

The Huntington Beach City Council placed the voter ID measure on the March ballot after taking a series of hotly contested decisions on topics ranging from flag flying to the removal of books from the public library’s children’s section over concerns about the appropriateness of materials. The moves were initiated by a politically conservative council majority, which took office in 2022, and have drawn scores of residents on all sides of issues to city meetings.

Huntington City Attorney Michael Gates said in March that the passage of the amendment approved by voters was “not only permissible” but backed by the state constitution. 

Last week he vowed to continue to enforce Measure A. 

“That bill means nothing to the city of Huntington Beach,” Michael Gates said, per OrangeCountyLawyers.com. “The city is going to proceed with its voter ID laws because it has a constitutional right to do so.”

Musk’s outburst is not the first time he has sparred with Newsom.

Musk last month encouraged his 198 million X users to share an AI-doctored video of Vice President Kamala Harris after Newsom signed a bill into law banning digitally altered political “deepfakes.”

Musk said he also plans to move the California headquarters for SpaceX to Texas after Newsom signed a bill into law that will bar school districts from notifying parents if their child uses different pronouns or identifies as a gender that’s different from what’s on school records.

The Space X owner has also said Democratic states are gaining an unfair advantage over red states in elections as a result of illegal immigration since the census is based on a simple headcount of all residents, both legal and illegal. He said congressional representation and electoral votes are apportioned based on all residents instead of just focusing on citizens.

Musk has often weighed in on voter integrity and immigration matters, writing on X in March that “failure to require photo ID to vote obviously makes it impossible to prove voter fraud. That is why the far left refuses to require photo ID to vote.”

Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

North Carolina remains a dead heat in the presidential race as the November elections draw ever nearer. 

The state – which is now undergoing serious recovery efforts following the devastation of Hurricane Helene – has been consistently close in its political polling.

A new poll conducted by the Washington Post finds former President Trump leading with 50% of likely North Carolina voters compared to Vice President Harris’ 48%.

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Trump’s slim lead is within the poll’s +/- 3.5% margin of error, but the former president won the state in 2020 with a similarly tight 1.3% lead. The poll contacted 1,001 registered voters randomly selected from a statewide database.

North Carolina has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since former President Obama’s 2008 victory, but the Democratic National Committee sees the state’s Republican majority as fragile, with a possibility to tip the other way.

Because the majority of the survey was conducted before the full impact of Helene on the state, it does not reflect any possible shifts the storm may cause in public opinion.

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More than 120 people have been killed by Helene since the hurricane made landfall in Florida late Thursday before tearing a path of destruction through the interior Southeast.

The storm caused millions to suffer power outages and billions in property damage as it smashed through the southern Appalachian Mountains and into the Tennessee Valley. 

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President Biden announced Monday that he will visit North Carolina on Wednesday after Hurricane Helene ravaged the state. 

The president’s announcement comes after critics slammed him for a lack of leadership following the monster storm’s devastating impact on the southeastern portion of the country. 

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.