--- title: The VP Debate Shows How Performance Shapes Our Democracy description: Politics is, oftentimes than not, theater—and that serves its own vital purpose, writes Julia Sonnevend. canonical: https://time.com/7028008/vp-debate-political-theater-essay/ author: Julia Sonnevend article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-10-02T18:50:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T07:47:22.864Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The VP Debate Shows How Performance Shapes Our Democracy og:description: Politics is, oftentimes than not, theater—and that serves its own vital purpose, writes Julia Sonnevend. og:url: https://time.com/7028008/vp-debate-political-theater-essay/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd971f51899ebfe5e/698a5bc209208fa32c41db1a/Walz-Vance-Debate-Oct-2024.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Walz-Vance-Debate-Oct-2024 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The VP Debate Shows How Performance Shapes Our Democracy twitter:description: Politics is, oftentimes than not, theater—and that serves its own vital purpose, writes Julia Sonnevend. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd971f51899ebfe5e/698a5bc209208fa32c41db1a/Walz-Vance-Debate-Oct-2024.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The VP Debate Shows How Performance Shapes Our Democracy > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=c85cdb07-278f-41cb-9cfe-feeb2c871d2b&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The Biggest Moments From the VP Debate Between Tim Walz and J.D. Vance [Watch (HLS stream): The Biggest Moments From the VP Debate Between Tim Walz and J.D. Vance](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/OFFtFXON.m3u8) (2:54)  _Published 2024-10-02. Vice presidential candidates Tim Walz and J.D. Vance faced off in their first and possibly only debate Tuesday night, just five weeks ahead of Election Day in a closely contested race._ by [Julia Sonnevend](https://time.com/author/julia-sonnevend/) ## Julia Sonnevend Oct 2, 2024 6:50 PM UTC Vice presidential candidates Tim Walz and J.D. Vance faced off in their first and possibly only debate Tuesday night, just five weeks ahead of Election Day in a closely contested race. by [Julia Sonnevend](https://time.com/author/julia-sonnevend/) ## Julia Sonnevend Oct 2, 2024 6:50 PM UTC What are Vice Presidential debates for? In the frenzy of deciding what to think after a debate that basic question often gets lost. Debates generate a distinct news cycle as mainstream media plan for, cover, and finally discuss and fact-check the event. Researchers are divided in how to interpret these cycles. One side says: this is all [pseudo-events](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/16085/the-image-by-daniel-j-boorstin/), generated for the media, by the media. Manufactured sites, imagined to be authentic. The other side argues, no, these debates are [media events ](https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674559561)that bring societies together in a common viewing experience, offering a chance to discuss core values and particular policies, ultimately generating social cohesion. The [J.D. Vance-Tim Walz VP debate](https://time.com/7027572/vance-walz-debate-top-moments-quotes/) was both. A maddening amount of punditry combined with moments when we had chances to consider what topics, delivered by whom, should define who we are as a nation. And as Americans watched on, the debate gave a glimpse into how much American politics relies on the power of performance to shape the way we move forward as a democracy. There was more real policy talk in this debate than in the Harris-Trump face-off, with more in-depth discussions, but the cracks of the Democrat’s VP selection were on full display. The Democrats chose Walz to be likeable and [charming,](https://time.com/7009138/tim-walz-authenticity-charm-essay/) to be the coach-teacher-veteran combo we would like to enjoy as our next-door neighbor or even sip a beer with, even if his stories become annoying. They picked him due to his every day, bubbly, friendly-uncle-like political character that looked particularly relatable in short-video format. Walz was not chosen for his command of policy or professional debating skills. If you want a perfect debater, you pick Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. Democrats consciously made the choice that’s not what they prefer. The results were visible, if unsurprising. **_Read More:_**[_Vance Outperformed Walz in a Debate Unlikely to Shift the Race_](https://time.com/7027568/vance-walz-debate-analysis/) Vance, on the other hand, managed to emerge from “weird” to “slick,” largely erasing Walz’s innovative vocabulary (again, unsurprising from an experienced debater of Yale Law School, who was eager to move on from the [“childless cat ladies”](https://time.com/7003456/jd-vance-childless-cat-ladies-controversy/) remark that has followed him throughout the last few weeks). He also effectively framed Harris as the current VP, not an agent of change. Depending on your political preferences you might perceive Vance either as a capable, sociopathic liar (for Democrats) or a ready-to-be President Republican for a post-Trump era (for Republicans). Of course, the most important would be to know what those in the center think. Will they recall Vance’s smooth delivery, consciously “friendly” pink tie, or his inability to answer who won the 2020 elections? Will they remember Walz’s nervous, struggling, why-I-am-even-here moments or his strongest performance on January 6th? Or that, except for Iran’s missile attack on Israel, there were no global political topics, not one question about Ukraine? It remains unlikely that this debate will [move the needle](https://time.com/7027568/vance-walz-debate-analysis/) for the last stretch of this election. So, then, what was this debate for? Debates model behavior and serve as reminders that both personality and policy matter. They show that politics is, oftentimes than not, theater—and that serves its own vital purpose. As we all increasingly struggle with polarization (just think of all the news articles before Thanksgiving on how to handle your unhinged relative), debates offer a chance to remember: democracy thrives on well-designed performances that we collectively reflect on and sometimes even model, especially when diverse communities gather on fragmented media platforms. That’s why perhaps the most fascinating part of the one and only VP debate was that all-in-all it was, in fact, civil. Civility is often considered old-fashioned or limiting, but it shone bright yesterday. There were acknowledged common grounds, respectful arguments, and even some level of empathy for mutual failures. As we quickly move on to the next news cycles, the VP debate showed that it is indeed possible to talk to each other even if we severely disagree. And whether we are “slick,” “weird,” or “plainspoken,” we still shake hands at the end. It should not be that hard. ## Transcript I'm Margaret Brennan in order to have Iran Israel's ability to be able to defend itself is absolutely fundamental. But what's fundamental here is that steady leadership is gonna matter. Donald Trump actually delivered stability in the world, and he did it by establishing effective deterrence. People were afraid of stepping out of line. It is up to Israel, what they think they need to do to keep their country safe. So if we actually care about getting cleaner air and cleaner water, the best thing to do is to double down and invest in American workers and the American people. And unfortunately, C Kamala Harris has done exactly the opposite. Donald Trump called it a hoax. Then joke that these things would make more beachfront property to be able to invest in. Climate change is real. Reducing our impact is absolutely critical, but this is not a false choice. We Springfield, Ohio, does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status. The economy thing. Margaret, the rules were that a fact check. And since you're fact checking me, I think it's important to say what's actually going on. We want to have. That has not been on the books. Since 1990. It's something. Gentlemen, the audience can't hear you because your mikes are cut. You're going to hear a lot from Tim Walz this evening, and you just heard it in the answer. A lot of what C Kamala Harris proposes to do. And some of it, I'll be honest with you. It even sounds pretty good. Here's what you want hear is that C Kamala Harris has already done it because she's been the Vice President for 3.5 years. She had the opportunity. If you're listening tonight and you want billionaires to get tax cuts, you heard what the numbers were. I got there that summer and misspoke on this. So I will just that's what I've said. So I was in Hong Kong and China during the Democracy protests went in. And from that, I learned a lot of what needed to be in governance. But I've also been extremely open about the fact that I was wrong about Donald Trump. But most importantly, Donald Trump delivered for the American people. My party, we've got to do so much better of a job at earning the American people's trust back on this issue, where they frankly just don't trust us. I want us, as a Republican Party, to be pro family in the fullest sense of the word. He is still saying he didn't lose the election. I would just says. Did he lose the 2020 election? Tim, I'm focused on the future. Did C Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 COVID situation? That is a damning non answer a coalition that Coma Harris has built from Bernie Sanders to **** Cheney to Taylor Swift, but there's one that Senator Vance said that does resonate with me. He said Donald Trump makes the people I care about afraid. A lot of America feels that way. She's been the Vice President for 3.5 years. Day one was 1,400 days ago, and her policies have made these problems worse. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7028008/vp-debate-political-theater-essay/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7028008/vp-debate-political-theater-essay/"},"headline":"The VP Debate Shows How Performance Shapes Our Democracy","datePublished":"2024-10-02T18:50:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T07:47:22.864Z","description":"Politics is, oftentimes than not, theater—and that serves its own vital purpose, writes Julia Sonnevend.","url":"https://time.com/7028008/vp-debate-political-theater-essay/","keywords":["politics","freelance"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd971f51899ebfe5e/698a5bc209208fa32c41db1a/Walz-Vance-Debate-Oct-2024.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Sonnevend","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-sonnevend/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd971f51899ebfe5e/698a5bc209208fa32c41db1a/Walz-Vance-Debate-Oct-2024.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Walz-Vance-Debate-Oct-2024","caption":"CBS Hosts Vice Presidential Debate","creditText":"Al Drago—Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/politics/","name":"politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7028008/vp-debate-political-theater-essay/","name":"The VP Debate Shows How Performance Shapes Our Democracy"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Biggest Moments From the VP Debate Between Tim Walz and J.D. 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