Amid volatile situation, Democrat vice presidential candidate Walz calls for US presence in West Asia

WASHINGTON: Amid rising tension between Iran and Israel, Democrat vice presidential candidate and Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz on Tuesday (local time) stressed the need to continue to have the US presence in West Asia.

Republican vice presidential candidate and Ohio Senator JD Vance, meanwhile, said it would be up to Israel if it wanted to launch a preemptive strike on Iran after Iran launched missiles towards Israel, reported CNN.

Iran on Tuesday launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles towards targets in Israel and the United States military coordinated closely with the Israeli Defence Forces to help defend Israel against this attack. US Naval destroyers joined Israeli air defence units in firing interceptors to shoot down inbound missiles.

Both US vice presidential candidates Walz and Vance, on Tuesday, in their first and only debate before the 2024 election in November made a pitch to Americans about why they should vote for their ticket.

Walz reiterated his running mate Vice President Kamala Harris' proposals, and Vance said former President Donald Trump is the better choice to tackle key issues.

The debate between Vance and Walz closed with a question over whether the failure of Donald J Trump to cede power after losing the 2020 election was a threat to democracy, reported The New York Times.

They debated over the issues facing American voters during the 2024 election campaign, including, West Asia, abortion, economy, immigration and climate change.

When Walz was asked about the issue of abortion during the debate, he defended his state's broad abortion-rights law and attacked former President Trump's record on the issue.

The Democratic candidate highlighted the consequences of the abortion bans that have been enacted in states across the country in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Walz defended his record on abortion as Minnesota governor and attacked Project 2025. He said his ticket is "pro-women" and "pro-freedom to make your own choice" as he promised to restore Roe v. Wade. Vance said he wants Republicans to be "pro-family in the fullest sense of the world" and called for policies that make having children more affordable and give women "more options." He also said he wants a "family care model that makes choice possible," reported CNN.

Walz took a swipe at Trump's immigration policies, pointing out that the former president successfully killed a bipartisan border deal in the Senate. Vance continued to attack Harris and the Biden administration's handling of the border, but he wouldn't answer a question about if he would support a child separation policy.

The governor repeatedly used Vance's past comments before joining the Republican ticket against him, including comments about not liking Trump. Vance defended himself, saying, he has been "extremely open about the fact that I was wrong about Donald Trump," reported CNN.

Vance, prior to accepting Trump's nomination as the US Vice Presidential nominee was very critical of the former US President. After years of criticising Trump, Vance embraced the populist ideology of the former president.

Trump selected JD Vance as his running mate on July 15 and confirmed it through a post on Truth Social.

In the Tuesday debate, Vance said the devastation from Hurricane Helene is "an unbelievable, unspeakable human tragedy" while not directly answering a question about the role climate change played. Meantime, Walz highlighted Harris' improvements on climate change and slammed Trump's previous comments that the issue was "a hoax."

Vance argued that Trump's economic plan would solve the cost-of-living crisis on his first day in office. Trump has promised to impose historic tariffs and deport millions of undocumented immigrants. Walz defended Harris' proposals and touted that his running mate believes in the middle class, pointing to the vice president's plans to make housing and homeownership more affordable and cut taxes.

The debate, hosted by CBS News, took place in New York without a live audience. Harris, announced Minnesota Governor, Tim Walz, as her running mate. Walz, 60, emerged from a list of probable candidates who had better recognition and came from politically advantageous states.

Harris secured her party's nomination for president, earning the support of 99 per cent of the 4,567 delegates who cast ballots at the Democratic National Convention recently.

This came after President Joe Biden quit the presidential race amid mounting concerns over his age, particularly after his poor show in the debate with Donald Trump in June. On the other hand, Trump, is eyeing a comeback to the White House after a bitter exit in 2020.