Rep. Garcia expects J.D. Vance to ‘be nasty and lie’ during VP debate
U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), a national co-chair of the Harris-Walz campaign, told the Washington Blade during a phone interview last week that he expects Republican vice presidential candidate U.S.
Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, will “be nasty and lie” when he faces off against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) during Tuesday night’s debate.
On the other hand, the congressman has high hopes for Walz’s performance. As Vice President Kamala Harris’s main partner in their bid for the White House, “he’s going to lay out, I think, a real contrast” between the two campaigns and their competing visions for America’s future, Garcia said, as well as the “stakes about what a Donald Trump presidency could mean for the country, and how dangerous it would be.” The vice presidential candidates themselves are foils, too, Garcia said, with Vance “who pretends to be part of rural America” and the governor who “actually has been and is a part of rural America.” While both had modest upbringings in small towns, Walz served as a high school teacher and football coach in his early career while Vance was a corporate lawyer who worked in Silicon Valley as a venture capitalist for large technology firms before returning to Ohio to run for the Senate.
Garcia also noted that Walz “is such an advocate and ally for the LGBTQ+ community.” Shortly after Harris chose him to be her running mate, the Trump campaign and right-wing allies attacked his pro-trans record as governor, honing in on his decision to make menstrual products available in public schools for students in 4th through 12th grades.