The New York Times analyzed patterns in Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate between Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Senator JD Vance of Ohio. We tracked the candidates’ speaking time, breaking it down by issues and measuring how many minutes each side spent on the attack.
Minutes of speaking time and length of attacks
The debate was scheduled to last 90 minutes. Here’s how the candidates used their time with the microphone.
Attacking each other and the presidential candidates
Microphones were muted only briefly during the debate.
The debate, which took place in New York City, was the only matchup between Mr. Walz and Mr. Vance. It gave the men their last prime-time opportunity to argue in defense of their ticket and to serve as an attack dog, a role often expected of running mates.
But the presidential nominees themselves have not shied away from lobbing personal attacks, as last month’s debate showed.
Total speaking and attack time from the September presidential debate
Trump
With polls consistently showing a tight race, both campaigns were hoping to use the debate as an opportunity to reach undecided voters just 35 days before Election Day.
Which issues were discussed the most?
How much time the candidates spent speaking on 15 key issues and how much they spent attacking their opponent on those topics, sorted by combined time spent.
How tonight’s attacks compared with previous debates
Percentage of time the candidates spent attacking each other’s policies and character.
