Abby Phillip Slams Tim Walz For ‘Clear Lack of Preparation and Execution’ In Debate Round-Up

CNN’s Abby Phillip criticized Democratic running mate Tim Walz for a “clear lack of preparation” for Tuesday’s CBS-hosted vice presidential debate, claiming that Walz leaving “falsehoods unanswered” and failing to challenge attacks from Republican rival Senator JD Vance (R-OH) really “stood out.”

The debate, while civil compared to earlier presidential showdowns, saw sharp exchanges on immigration, the economy, and the 2020 election. As the dust settled, however, it was Walz’s performance under liberal commentator scrutiny.

Phillip appeared on a panel alongside network journalist Dana Bash with host Jake Tapper for post-debate analysis and highlighted Walz’s inadequate response to Vance’s more combative style: “I think we shouldn’t lose track of the fact that JD Vance came to this debate to land a bunch of punches, and he did, he landed a lot of punches in between all the niceties and all of that. And the thing that really stood out to me was that Tim Walz did not seem prepared for it.”

She continued, listing out the gaps in Walz’s performance: “He didn’t respond to a lot of the criticisms and attacks that Vance put on the table. He allowed some clear falsehoods to just go completely unanswered. He allowed JD Vance essentially to dodge on a whole host of issues on climate change, on the issue of his flip flopping on Donald Trump. He allowed Vance, initially, to claim that Trump salvaged the Affordable Care Act – it took him several sentences to get to the part of his answer Walz’ answer, where he actually responded to that.”

Bash attempted to cut in, but Phillip finished her point: “I mean, I think there was a clear lack of preparation and execution here.”

Bash, however, offered a different take, suggesting Walz was more focused on delivering rehearsed lines than engaging directly with Vance’s attacks: “I think actually it’s the opposite. I think he had too much preparation.”

“He had so many lines that he was clearly trying to say that he didn’t listen,” Bash argued.

She claimed that Walz struggled to respond to one of Vance’s key points, which targeted Vice President Kamala Harris, not Walz himself.

“I think the lack of interviews that he has done with national media, with local media, it showed he needed more reps,” Bash offered.

Watch above on CNN.