AFT’s Weingarten: Tim Walz Wins Debate, Vance Disqualifies Himself

ST. PAUL, Minn.—AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after tonight’s vice presidential debate between Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a former AFT member, high school social studies teacher and football coach in Mankato, Minn.:

“If you cannot say that Joe Biden won the election in 2020, if you cannot condemn the Jan. 6 insurrection, if you pretend there was a peaceful transfer of power, you are disqualified from being vice president. 

“Vance did what he does best: slickly creating ‘stories.’ He invented new fantasies to demonize immigrants, this time claiming they’re driving up housing prices. He denied his well-documented support for a national abortion ban. He even bizarrely claimed Donald Trump saved Obamacare rather than spending years trying to kill it. 

“Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz won tonight’s debate against Vance by doing what good teachers do: On every question he was asked, he offered practical solutions for a better future.

“Walz’s basic humanity and decency showed through tonight. We couldn’t be prouder of Walz, who shares our values and our commitment to the American dream. Like Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, Walz knows the path for Americans to get ahead, not just get by, is through educational and economic opportunity.

“I watched tonight’s debate in St. Paul with teachers who know Tim Walz best and who are energized and ready to do everything possible to help Harris and Walz win in November. We are traveling the country and keeping a relentless schedule until Election Day to get out the vote.

“For families and working people, this election is too important to sit on the sidelines. America wants a future of hope, not fear. That’s what Harris and Walz will deliver.”