Barry Soper: ZB senior political correspondent recaps the Tim Walz-JD Vance debate

The vice presidential candidates in the US election clashed in their first and only debate ahead of the 2024 US election.

Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance faced off over the economy, abortion, immigration, the conflict in the Middle East and energy.

ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says the pair raised some interesting arguments over the future of energy and natural gas - a message some Kiwi politicians should really listen to. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
And senior political correspondent for News doorks he'd beams to
Barry Sobers in the house. Good afternoon, afternoon, Jack, you've
been watching the Deep debate?

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Well, probably not as much as you have, Jack, You've
got more time on your hands. I sort of watched
it on and off. I've got to say all afternoon.
Probably in fairness that you did as well. But there
were a couple of points that I really found quite interesting.
One was the argument over natural gas and how they
have to produce more petty. That message doesn't get through

(00:31):
to a few of our politicians in this country. And
Waltz claimed that Trump asked oil company executives to marro
Lago to ask them for campaign money. I know whether
there's a lot of truth in that. But nevertheless, much
was made of Vance's opposition to Trump's presidency, and that

(00:52):
is a great debating point because certainly Vance, before he
became the running mate of Donald Trump, was very critical
of Donald Trump. It'sizing how things can change. But I've
got to say the Minnesota Governor Tim Woltz seems to
have a constant frown, which makes him appear something of
an angry man. On the book The Ohio Senator J. D.

(01:15):
Vans says, it's like Donald Trump. He says it like
Donald Trump should say it without the verbal diarrhea. Here
and they both are. Here's Wolf's first, followed by Varnes.

Speaker 3 (01:28):
It's those that were closest to Donald Trump that understand
how dangerous he is. When the world is this dangerous.
His chief of staff John Kelly said that he was
the most flawed human being you'd ever met, and both
of his secretaries of Defense and his national security advisors
said he should be nowhere near the White House now.
The person closest to them to the Donald Trump said

(01:51):
he's unfit for the highest office. That was Senator of Vance.

Speaker 4 (01:54):
Donald Trump recognized that for people to fear the United States,
you needed peace through strength. They needed to recognize that
if they got out of line, the United States global
leadership would put stability and peace back in the world.
It is up to Israel what they think they need
to do to keep their country safe, and we should
support our allies wherever they are when they're fighting the

(02:15):
bad guys. I think that's the right approach to take
with the Israel question.

Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah, and it's very hard to pick a winner out
of these sorts of debates because they're all over the
place and away. Yeah, they're all well, these two were
very articulate, and you know, I'd prefer the Trump Harris
debate because Trump is so unpredictable. Anything that comes out
of his mouth you left gaping as a spectacle.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
It's certainly a little more much. Yes, yes, a more
memorable experience. I have picked the winners. I'm going to
year that after that. So Casey Costello has answered questions
about a link to the tobacco industry.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
Yeah, well, well, alleged links. And this is I've got
to say. Our opponents at radio in New Zealand, I've
made much of Casey Costello and papers that she's said
to have had and.

Speaker 1 (03:04):
Thet She did have those papers, She.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
Had advisory papers, but.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
That she said didn't exist, and then she said she
didn't know where they were from, and then she sent
them off to advise health officials and how to make policies.
Then she wouldn't release them. Then she was last were
doing well.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
Hang on, what they were doing was feeding the opposition,
probably coming from the labor opposition, who basically said that
the whole issues stinked like corruption, and it's a pretty
serious claim and it was run on air and labors
as Cheverril, who of course was a former health minister.

(03:38):
She said the advice from Treasury confirmed that a tax
cut was a highly unusual decision. That a tax cut
was said to be was claimed to be two hundred
and sixteen million dollars. Well, as a matter of fact,
it was well under six million dollars. That was a
budgetary amount set aside just in case Philip Morris would
have been the only the only recipient of that. But

(04:03):
for Viral's information, Philip Morris has actually stopped making the
heated tobacco product that they're hoping to bring on to
stop smoking, and that's left Costello ironically hoping the product
will remain on the market through other outlets to assist
in the fight against smoking. Yes, she is.

Speaker 5 (04:22):
This is what I'm hoping is that we do get
alternate products. This is what I want to achieve. There's
alternate products to get people to stop smoking, and if
the market is available, that there is a demand, which
I think there is because there are people who want
to quit smoking and bathing hasn't worked, and the other
tobacco magatine replacement treatments haven't worked. The Health Coalition. They

(04:43):
became fixated on the tobacco industry, not upon what we
were trying to do.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
So that's where it was being driven from. To me
was the Health Coalition as opposed to any evidential stuff.
And when you look at Japan, which is what Costello
points to, the heated tobacco product. Don't ask me what
it is because I wouldn't have a clue, but apparently
it must be much stronger than vape and for cigarette
smokers it must make it easier to get off them,

(05:10):
and let's hope it does. They've got to get eighty
thousand off to reach their target by next year, and
that's zero smoking, which is effectively five percent.

Speaker 1 (05:20):
I'm running out of time, but very quickly give us Hastings.
Counselors have turned up to a bouncy castle on their
front boarn thanks to the Textpars Union.

Speaker 2 (05:26):
Yeah. I think it was great, and of course it
was the mayor. Nineteen percent rates is the heike there.
This year they're paying youth counselors to come in and
give them a bit of advice on how to run
the council. Honestly, the bouncy Castle I thought was totally appropriate.

Speaker 1 (05:43):
Thank you very much, very appreciate your time. That's mister
Varry Soper. It is seven to five on Newstalk. S'db
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