A political analysist who has moderated three Tim Walz debates says the Democratic vice-presidential nominee’s biggest weaknesses are a tendency to get emotional and “avoiding questions.”
But Blois Olson, CEO of Fluence Media, said Minnesota Governor Walz will have nowhere to hide on the debate stage Tuesday night.
AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Glen Stubbe/Morry Gash
“I think his weaknesses are that he’s emotional. We’ve seen that on the campaign stage and I saw that in the third debate that I moderated,” Olson said on CNN.
“When he is asked tough questions, when he is challenged on facts or stories or whether it was fraud in Minnesota due to Covid, he doesn’t answer the questions. He avoided them.”
Walz and Olson have been emailed by Newsweek for comment.
Walz is facing Republican vice presidential candidate Senator JD Vance tonight in New York. The debate will be moderated by CBS host Norah O’Donnell and foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan at 9 p.m. Each vice presidential nominee will have two minutes to answer questions, with the opponent having the same time to respond.
The Trump campaign said in a press call yesterday that they are not underestimating Walz’s ability, saying he’ll be very prepared for the debate.
“Walz is very good in debates,” senior campaign advisor Jason Miller said. “He’s been a politician for nearly 20 years, he’ll be very well prepared for tomorrow night for the debate. He’s not going to be the wildly gesticulating effeminate character we see at rallies.”
Former President Donald Trump called Walz a “moron” and “effeminate” on Fox Tuesday morning. However, Olson thinks Walz is just “a pro at underestimating himself and then delivering.”
Olson noted that during one gubernatorial debate he moderated between Walz and Republican Scott Jensen in 2022, Walz’s team then “wrapped him in bubble wrap” due to criticism around not opening the state quickly enough after Covid-19 and rallies after the death of George Floyd.
“He then didn’t debate much more,” Olson said. “The thing today is that he won’t be able to escape the stage.”
Walz will likely stick to lines the Harris campaign knows plays well, such as criticizing Vance and Trump’s stance on abortion. With many parts of the Harris-Trump debate now regular parts of the Democrats’ political ads, Walz may be looking to recreate similar moments in his exchange.
Olson added that the Democratic vice presidential nominee “rarely tried to get his opponents to react to his comments” during debate.
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Olson said Walz has been able to escape questions this election cycle during press conferences.
“Even when he was at the state fair last month, he really had this challenge with he got a question about the Middle East and they immediately cut it off,” Olson said. “I think he’s comfortable playing the role as vice presidential candidate, but tonight he’ll be the one who has to answer all of the questions.”
Olson did mention that Walz’s strengths are the governor’s quips and how he is “folksy.”
“He’s going to tell a good story,” Olson said. “The real question is does he try to be the moderate, middle of the road, roots in rural America Tim Walz or his he the progressive seller of progressive policies that he has advocated here in Minnesota?”
