Democrats quietly fear ‘overly defensive’ and ‘manic’ Walz will blow VP debate

Democratic insiders are said to be privately voicing concerns that Tim Walz could blow crucial vice presidential debate against JD Vance because of his tendency to be overly abrupt and defensive about his record in office and his occasionally “manic” speaking style.

Walz is due to square up to the Ohio GOP senator on stage at the CBS News debate in New York City on Tuesday night and – with no further debates in the pipeline – the contest could mark the final face-off between the Kamala Harris and Donald Trump campaigns before November’s election.

But allies of the Democratic vice presidential candidate have warned Politico that there are fears that Walz’s abrupt manner of shutting down conversations and runaway manner of speaking – which one anonymous insider described as “a bit manic” – could ultimately count against him.

“He can be very: ‘That’s it I’m done,’” a second insider said of Walz’s habit of gruffly moving on from topics under discussion.

Meanwhile, a third person recalled him declaring during get-togethers: “Alright, I’ve done all the answering I’m going to do. Meeting’s over.”

Others pointed to the former high school teacher’s inexperience on the national debate stage, while another voiced fears that Harris’s own impressive performance against Trump in last month’s presidential debate has set such a high bar.

“She did so strong. She’s actually made it very difficult for Walz, because I don’t see any way that he could match her level of intensity and humor,” the insider said.

Walz has been deep in preparation for the showdown with the help of Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has been acting as Vance in practice sessions over the last week.

Walz was chosen to join Harris on the Democratic ticket in