What time is the VP debate? Everything you need to know for Vance vs. Walz

The two US vice-presidential candidates are set to face off on the debate stage, just over a month before the White House elections.

Ohio Republican Sen. JD Vance will face Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz in New York on Tuesday evening.

This debate comes three weeks after a single presidential clash between Donald Trump, who chose Vance as his running mate, and Kamala Harris, who chose Walz.

Here’s everything you need to know.

The 90-minute clash will take place on Tuesday, October 1 at 9:00 p.m. EDT (02:00 a.m. BST) at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York.

It will air on the CBS TV network and stream live on platforms where CBS News 24/7 and Paramount+ are accessible.

The forum will be moderated by Norah O’Donnell, anchor of the CBS Evening News, and Margaret Brennan, who hosts the network’s current affairs show Face the Nation.

There will be two breaks of four minutes each.

The BBC will have a team of journalists in New York and Washington providing analysis, fact-checking and reaction as part of our live coverage.

The BBC will broadcast the debate live to UK and international audiences on BBC News Channel, BBC One, iPlayer, the BBC News website and app, and FAST/CTV platforms in the US.

The rules for the vice presidential debate mirror those of the Trump-Harris showdown last month, with one small difference: The microphones will be hot.

Although CBS says it reserves the right to mute candidates’ microphones, they will remain on even if it is not the candidate’s designated turn to speak.

Both will be standing, unlike the last three vice presidential debates in previous U.S. election cycles, when the candidates were seated.

Walz will stand behind the podium on stage left – the right side of the screen. Vance will stand in front of him.

Campaign aides will not be allowed to speak to the two men during breaks. Running mates will also not be allowed to bring pre-written notes on stage.

Candidates will have two minutes to answer questions from the moderators. The other candidate will have two minutes to respond. Each candidate will have one minute to refute.

CBS says it will be up to Vance and Walz to fact-check each other’s statements, although “moderators will facilitate these opportunities” during the rebuttal period.

There will be no live studio audience or opening statements.

Candidates will have two minutes for their closing statements. Vance won a coin toss and chose to have the last word.

Walz prepared with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as Vance.

He held late-night and weekend sessions and studied videos of his rival.

Vance is preparing with Republican Congressman Tom Emmer, who represents Walz’s home state of Minnesota.

He also holds sessions with his lawyer wife, Usha Vance, and with Jason Miller, Trump’s senior adviser.

It’s likely Vance will target Walz — a former public school teacher and football coach — for what Republicans say are his tough Covid policies in Minnesota, including setting up a hotline to report those breaking social distancing rules.

Vance could also criticize Walz for signing a law last year allowing tampon dispensers to be installed in boys’ restrooms in public schools.

He could also accuse Walz of misrepresenting his military record. In August, Minnesota’s governor admitted to “misspoke” when he said in 2018 that he had handled assault weapons “in times of war” while advocating for stricter gun laws on fire. Walz resigned from the National Guard before his unit deployed to Iraq.

The Minnesota governor is likely to attack Vance for some of his past comments, including call some Democratic politicians a “bunch of childless cat ladies with miserable lives”.

Walz could also go after the Ohio senator for repeatedly saying defend baseless stories about migrants eating pets in an Ohio town.

He may also seek to embarrass Vance over his leaked messages in 2020, in which he claimed that Trump had “completely failed to implement his economic populism.”

North American correspondent Anthony Zurcher makes sense of the race for the White House in his weekly newsletter US Election Unspun. UK readers can register here. Those outside the UK can register here.