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Vance and Walz Begin Cordially but End in Heated Clashes Over Trump, Jan. 6, and National Policy Issues

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Ultimately, Walz positioned himself as a champion of middle-class families, touting healthcare and affordable housing policies. At the same time, Vance remained firmly aligned with Trump, repeatedly defending the former president’s record and platform.

Published

1 year ago

October 29, 2024

Oakland Post

Republican Senator JD Vance of Ohio and Democratic Governor Tim Walz

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Republican Senator JD Vance of Ohio and Democratic Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, faced off in the only vice presidential debate of the 2024 election

on Tuesday night, which began with a measured tone but eventually escalated into a combative exchange. The debate, which CBS News hosted at their Broadcast Center in New York and Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan moderated, covered a range of important national issues, with Vance’s connections to former President Donald Trump and the January 6 uprising emerging as key flashpoints.

The debate’s early moments were largely civil, as both candidates laid out their platforms and shared their visions on topics such as foreign policy and the economy. However, tensions flared when Vance was asked about Trump’s recent comment that childcare was “not very expensive” compared to the money the country would gain from his policies. Vance explained that Trump was referring to the nation’s ability to raise funds by “penalizing companies shipping jobs overseas” and those using “slave laborers.” But Vance sidestepped when pressed on whether Trump was committed to the child tax credit, redirecting the discussion to economic penalties for outsourcing, prompting frustration from Walz.

The debate took a sharper turn when Vance was questioned about the 2020 election and Trump’s role in the January 6 insurrection. Rather than directly answering whether Trump lost the 2020 election, Vance defended the former president’s actions that day, stating, “Remember, [Trump] said that on January the 6th, the protesters ought to protest peacefully, and on January the 20th, what happened? Joe Biden became the president. Donald Trump left the White House.”

Walz responded forcefully, calling Vance’s failure to answer directly “a damning non-answer.” He continued, “To deny what happened on January 6, the first time an American president or anyone tried to overturn an election, is unacceptable. This has got to stop. It’s tearing our country apart.”

Walz also drew attention to the broader implications of Vance’s remarks, reminding voters of the violence on January 6, including a march on the governor’s mansion in Minnesota. “What I’m concerned about is, where is the firewall with Donald Trump? Where is the firewall if he knows he could do anything, including taking an election, and his vice president’s not going to stand up to it? That’s what we’re asking you, America,” Walz said, clarifying that accountability for democracy was at stake in the 2024 election.

Vance avoided direct answers on election integrity and instead pivoted to discussions of censorship, blaming tech companies for “censoring their fellow citizens” and touting Trump’s endorsements by former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He continued to defend Trump’s policies, including tax cuts and immigration, while steering clear of addressing the core issue of Trump’s role in questioning the election results.

The debate further escalated as the two candidates clashed over climate change, healthcare, and gun violence. On climate change, Walz highlighted the Biden-Harris administration’s investments in clean energy and infrastructure, citing the Inflation Reduction Act as a crucial step in addressing the crisis. “We’ve made massive investments in electric vehicles, solar technology, and job creation because we know climate change is real,” Walz said.

Vance countered by downplaying the urgency, arguing that Democrats were not serious about the issue. “If they really believed climate change was serious, they’d be doing more manufacturing and energy production here in America. That’s not what they’re doing,” he said, accusing Democrats of using climate change as a political slogan rather than implementing real solutions.

Gun violence also sparked a heated back-and-forth. Vance proposed increased school security measures, suggesting, “We need to make sure the doors lock better, strengthen windows, and add school resource officers.” Walz quickly criticized the proposal, asking, “Do you want your schools hardened to look like a fort?” He pressed for more comprehensive gun control measures, emphasizing the need to address the root causes of violence.

Ultimately, Walz positioned himself as a champion of middle-class families, touting healthcare and affordable housing policies. At the same time, Vance remained firmly aligned with Trump, repeatedly defending the former president’s record and platform.

Walz appealed to voters to choose leaders who will protect democratic institutions, saying, “When Mike Pence made that decision to certify the election, that’s why Mike Pence isn’t on this stage.” Vance, meanwhile, reflected on his loyalty to Trump, asserting that “Donald Trump delivered for the American people.”

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New Filing: Trump’s Attempts to Overturn 2020 Election Were Part of Private Scheme, Not Official Acts

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Poll Shows Support for Policies That Help Families Afford Child Care

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

Published

2 days ago

March 2, 2026

Oakland Post

By First Five Years Fund

New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

The national survey was conducted by UpOne Insight on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from January 13–18, 2026.

Key findings include:

• Parents need help: 80% of voters say the ability of working parents to find and afford child care is either in a state of crisis or a major problem.

• This is an affordability issue: 82% believe federal child care funding will help lower costs for working families — including 69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats.

• And there continues to be strong support (62%) for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families to afford safe, quality care for their children while parents work or go to school, including a majority of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 72% of Democrats.

• Support for funding child care programs remains strong: 75% believe child care funding should be increased or kept at current levels — including 75% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats.

• 74% say funding for child care is an important and good use of tax dollars, including a majority of Republicans, three-quarters of Independents, and nine in ten Democrats.

FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling said, “Voters across the country are sending a clear message: federal child care and early learning programs work. These investments help parents stay in the workforce, strengthen families, and support healthy child development. They have also long had strong bipartisan support in Congress. At a time when affordability is top of mind for families, continued federal funding is essential to ensure child care remains accessible and within reach.”

First Five Years Fund works to protect, prioritize, and build bipartisan support for quality child care and early learning programs at the federal level. Reliable, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care can be transformative, not only enhancing a child’s prospects for a brighter future but also bolstering working parents and fostering economic stability nationwide.

We work with Congress and the Administration to identify federal solutions that work for families with young children, as well as states and communities. We work with policymakers to identify ways to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care and early learning programs for children. And we collaborate with advocacy groups to help align best practices with the best possible policies. http://www.ffyf.org

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

3 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Trump’s MAGA Allies are Creating Executive Order Plan to Steal the 2026 Midterms

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

Published

5 days ago

February 27, 2026

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke