Phill Kline, former Kansas Attorney General and current law professor at Liberty University School of Law, said two very different worldviews were presented by U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) during the vice presidential debate on Tuesday evening, which Kline said “will make a difference” in the November 5 general election.
Kline said Vance “won” Tuesday’s debate, hosted by CBS, as the Republican vice presidential nominee delivered a worldview and policy standpoints based on “reason” instead of “emotion.”
“[Vance] clearly won the debate,” Kline said on Wednesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
“Vance was very disciplined in his use of reason, in his use of civility…The way [Walz] started was this constant emotionally entitled claim that my worldview is that you are a bad person and who are you to challenge it? Vance just continued to defeat that with the power of reason. It was refreshing to see that in many ways, and I believe also that the mainstream media had downplayed and redefined who Vance was, as they often do, so he had greatly exceeded expectations and probably shocked those viewers who limit their information input to the main networks,” Kline further explained.
Kline said he believes Vance’s success in the debate was due to his “belief” in his own arguments based on “reason,” adding that the Harris-Walz campaign believes in “internal truths” driven by “entitlement claims, victimization, and abuse of power.”
“[Vance] believes in his arguments because his arguments are well thought out. They’re not emotionally driven. They are driven by the power of reason,” Kline said.
“The Left can’t do that for many reasons, as they don’t even believe in truth. Their worldview is such that they believe in their own internal truth. If you don’t have a cause to reason to, a truth to reason to, it all becomes about entitlement claims, victimization and abuse of power. That’s what I saw. I saw two worldviews somewhat coming into collision, and it was refreshing to be able to hear the power of reason in what is supposed to be a reasonable discussion,” Kline added.
Kline went on to point out how Vice President Kamala Harris’ policy positions have changed over time because she and the Democratic Party have based their views on polling.
“The Harris campaign doesn’t believe what they say. That’s why you see so many changes of positions on the left responding to whatever the latest poll is to try to gain additional advantage with a demographic to win a campaign. They’re not believing what they’re telling the American people,” Kline explained.
“That’s a very frightening place to be, to get up on the national stage in a debate and not believe what you’re saying and having to adjust immediately to try to appeal to somebody. I don’t think JD Vance did that. I think JD Vance spoke what he believed,” Kline added.
Regarding Tuesday’s debate influencing voters, Kline said that while previous vice presidential debates have not typically changed voters’ minds, this year’s election is “unprecedented” and will likely affect the general election’s outcome.
“This is an unprecedented election and because of that, the traditional belief that vice presidential debates don’t make any difference is flawed. I believe it will make a difference,” Kline said.
Watch the full interview:
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
