米副大統領候補の討論会、予想外の冷静モードで展開 時折火花も

【ニューヨークＡＦＰ＝時事】１１月の米大統領選に向けて１日、共和党の副大統領候補、Ｊ・Ｄ・バンス上院議員と民主党の副大統領候補、ティム・ウォルズミネソタ州知事によるテレビ討論会が行われた。テーマは移民、人工妊娠中絶、中東情勢などに及んだが、予想に反して比較的冷静な討論となり、共に中西部の庶民のルーツを強調している両氏が互いの意見に同意する場面も何度かあった。（写真は、米ニューヨークでＣＢＳニュースによる副大統領候補のテレビ討論会に臨む、共和党のＪ・Ｄ・バンス上院議員〈左〉と民主党のティム・ウォルズ・ミネソタ州知事）
　過去の例から、副大統領候補による討論会が投票結果を大きく左右することはほとんどないが、民主党候補として急きょカマラ・ハリス副大統領が起用されたこともあり、１１月５日の投票日を前におそらく最後の開催になると思われる今回の討論会は、より重要度が高くなったと言えるかもしれない。
　いつもはエネルギッシュなウォルズ氏は、開始当初は緊張した面持ちでたびたび言いよどんだが、次第に自信を取り戻した。一方のバンス氏は流ちょうに話を進めた。
　大統領候補による９月のテレビ討論会では、ドナルド・トランプ前大統領とハリス氏が辛辣（しんらつ）な個人攻撃を繰り広げた。今回は、そうした攻撃は影を潜めたものの、討論会には終始「ボス」の影が付きまとった。
　ウォルズ氏はトランプ氏について、「民主主義を脅かす存在であり、国際舞台で米国を率いるには不適格」だと攻撃。対するバンス氏は、ジョー・バイデン政権下での経済政策と不法移民問題に関するハリス氏の実績を批判した。
　討論会の終盤、２０２０年の大統領選でトランプ氏がバイデン氏に勝利したとする根拠のない主張を支持しているかというウォルズ氏の質問に対し、バンス氏が回答を避けた。
　ウォルズ氏は「答えをはぐらかすのは致命的」だと非難。２０２１年１月６日に支持者が連邦議会議事堂を襲撃した事件についてトランプ氏を糾弾した。
　また、移民問題に関するバンス氏の主張へのファクトチェックをめぐり、同氏がヒートアップし、マイクの音声が一時オフにされる場面もあった。
　一方のウォルズ氏も「天安門広場での事件発生時に香港にいた」とする過去の発言について問われ、この発言が間違いだったことを認めるなど、複数の厳しい質問への対応を迫られた。
　トランプ氏は討論会後、自身のＳＮＳ「トゥルース・ソーシャル」でバンス氏を称賛。「素晴らしい出来だ、ＪＤ。われわれ２人で共に米国を再び偉大にする！」と投稿した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/10/02-18:19）

US vice presidential contenders J.D. Vance and Tim Walz faced off in a surprisingly civil debate Tuesday, despite tense moments on the hot topics of migration, abortion and the threat of war in the Middle East.
Republican Vance and Democrat Walz dug into policy and avoided the bitter personal attacks that presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris exchanged during an often heated clash in September.
But the shadow of their bosses hung over the CBS debate, with Walz attacking Trump as a threat to democracy and unfit to lead America on the world stage, and Vance slamming Harris's record on the economy and illegal migration as part of President Joe Biden's administration.
A key moment came near the end, when Vance refused to say whether he backed Trump's false claims to have won the 2020 election against Biden.
Minnesota governor Walz accused him of a damning non-answer and blasted Trump over the January 6, 2021 attacks on the US Capitol by pro-Trump supporters.
There was also a fiery moment when Vance, who mostly restrained his persona as Trump's attack dog, had his microphone briefly muted when the moderators tried to factcheck him on migration.
Walz said false stories spread by Vance and Trump about migrants in the town of Springfield, Ohio dehumanize and villainize other human beings.
- 'Very radical' -
Another tough exchange was over abortion, a key issue since a Supreme Court packed with judges picked by Trump overturned the national right to abortion in 2022.
Vance accused Democrats of taking a very radical pro-abortion stance who backed what he called barbaric laws. Walz hit back saying he was pro-women.
But the debate, which is likely to be the last before the November 5 vote, featured a mostly respectful tone despite the deep ideological differences between the two men.
Vance, 40, and Walz, 60, who both claim folksy roots in the US Midwest, said several times that they agreed with each other during the debate, and shook hands at the beginning and the end.
The usually ebullient Walz had a nervy start and stumbled several times, but became more confident, while Vance gave a smooth performance.
Their fire was trained instead on their opposite running mates.
Trump came up again as the veep rivals took on the crisis in the Middle East after Iran's missile attack on Israel.
Walz slammed Trump's foreign policy record, accusing the ex-president for a turn towards Russia's Vladimir Putin and his withdrawal of the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
As much as Governor Walz just accused Donald Trump of being an agent of chaos, Donald Trump actually delivered stability in the world, Vance countered.
Walz faced some awkward questions, particularly when he was forced to admit he misspoke about whether he had been in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in China.
- 'Great job' -
Trump praised his protege after the debate, saying on his TruthSocial network: GREAT JOB JD ? We will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
History suggests vice-presidential debates rarely move the dial much. But in an election campaign that has seen Harris step in for President Biden unprecedentedly late in the game, Tuesday's contest may have added significance.
It was also a chance for Americans to be introduced to the two men who would be a heartbeat away from the presidency -- or next in line should the president step aside.
Walz and Vance both claim to be the true voice of the crucial swing states that could decide the election.
Both are military veterans with strong blue-collar credentials. Vance authored the Rust Belt memoir Hillbilly Elegy -- before going to law school and working in Silicon Valley -- while Walz is a former teacher and football coach.
The combative Vance shares Trump's penchant for courting controversy, whether by smearing Democrats as childless cat ladies or by boosting false claims that Haitians living in an Ohio town ate residents' pets.
Walz became a hit with Democrats for branding Vance and Trump weird and for his progressive politics.