US vice-presidential debate as it happened: J.D. Vance, Tim Walz face off for first time in New York

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To recap, here are the major moments from the debate between Republican nominee J.D. Vance and Democratic nominee Tim Walz:

• Vance defended his previous stance criticising former US president Donald Trump, saying he has been “extremely open about the fact that I was wrong about Donald Trump”.
• There was tense debate over abortion, as Vance claimed the Democrats were “pro-abortion”, to which Walz replied: “No, we’re not. We’re pro-women. We’re pro-freedom to make your own choice.”
• Walz directly asked Vance if Trump lost the 2020 election, which Vance refused to answer, saying: “I’m focused on the future.”
• Republicans began attacking Walz for appearing to misspeak when he said: “I’ve become friends with school shooters”. His campaign said he meant to say he had become friends with the families of school shooting victims.

Republicans are attacking Tim Walz for saying he had “become friends with school shooters”.

During a question about gun control, Walz said he had met families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims before appearing to misspeak.

“I’ve become friends with school shooters, I’ve seen it,” he said.

“Look the NRA, I was an NRA guy for a long time, they used to teach gun safety. I’m of an age where my shotgun was in my car.”

Republicans have since attacked Walz, as The New York Times reports Walz’s campaign team says he misspoke and meant to say he had become friends with families of school-shooting victims.

During the debate, Democrat Tim Walz directly asked Republican J.D. Vance if former president Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.

Towards the end of the debate, Walz said: “I think there’s a lot of agreement, but this is one that we are miles apart on. [The Capitol riot] was a threat to our democracy in a way that we had not seen and it manifested itself because of Donald Trump refusing to say [he lost the election]. He is still saying he didn’t lose the election.”

Walz then asked Vance: “Did he lose the 2020 election?”

Vance responded: “Tim, I’m focused on the future. Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 COVID situation?”

Walz: “That is a damning non-answer.”

Watch the full clip of the exchange below.

Going into this debate, most folks thought it would be a bare-knuckled brawl.

After all, J.D. Vance and Tim Walz have spent weeks sniping at each other from afar, with Vance branding Walz as a “dangerous liberal” and Walz portraying Vance as a “weird” extremist.

But this has been a very civil and policy-focused night – and at some points, the men were even gushing.

“I’ve enjoyed tonight’s debate, and I think there was a lot of commonality here,” Walz said while answering a question about the threat to democracy.

Soon after, Vance replied: “I hope that we win, and I think we’re going to win, but if Tim Walz is the next vice president, he’ll have my prayers, he’ll have my best wishes, and he’ll have my help whenever he wants it.”

The debate turns to the soaring cost of housing and rent, noting that there’s a shortage of more than 4 million homes in the United States.

Vice President Kamala Harris has promised $25,000 down payment assistance for first home buyers and a $10,000 tax credit.

She’s also promised to build 3 million new homes.

Walz is asked where these homes will be built, which he doesn’t quite answer, but rejects the notion that handing out that kind of money will simply drive up prices further.