Print
Close
Gov Tim Walz says he’d 'beat the s--- out of' JD Vance in a debate rematch
By Lindsay Kornick
Published January 29, 2026
Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., insisted on Tuesday that he could "beat the s---" out of Vice President JD Vance if the two were able to debate again.
Speaking with Tim Miller on "The Bulwark" podcast, the former Democratic vice presidential candidate was asked whether he gave Vance a "little too much benefit of the doubt" and if "assuming good faith was a mistake."
"Look, I'll own it," Walz answered. "But you've been around this long enough. When you're on a ticket, you take your orders. Look, I have agency on that, meaning I could have done this, but I am a good team player. And I will say this. I never kidded anybody about debates."
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz spoke to The Bulwark's Tim Miller about his debate performance. (Tim Evans/Reuters)
Though Walz said he does not "get joy out of beating someone," he insisted that he would "beat the s---" out of Vance to call out what he described as lies.
"Yes, I would beat the s--- out of him now if I could, and I would call that out. I mean, that's just different. In verbally going at it, my argument is much better. Making the case that housing prices are up because of immigration and that we should build on federal lands, it was such a crazy thing," Walz said.
'THE VIEW' HOST ADMITS WALZ 'DROPPED THE BALL' DURING VP DEBATE: 'WASN'T IN FIGHTING MODE'
He continued, "But then when I watched him, I got sucked into that. And if you remember, this was right in that moment of eating dogs and cats. I took that bait and thought that that was the argument of how outrageous it was. That was not the argument."
Vice President JD Vance was considered the winner of the vice presidential debate between himself and Gov. Tim Walz. (Screenshot/CBS News)
Fox News Digital reached out to Vance's office for comment.
Vance was widely viewed as the winner of the 2024 vice presidential debate, with many viewers largely surprised by the cordial, bipartisan tone between the two candidates.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris revealed how disappointed she felt in Walz's debate performance in her campaign memoir, "107 Days," writing that she believed Walz was taken in by Vance’s "mild-mannered aw-shucks" attitude.
"When Tim fell for it and started nodding and smiling at J.D.’s fake bipartisanship, I moaned to Doug, ‘What is happening?'" Harris wrote.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris admitted she was disappointed in Gov. Tim Walz's debate performance in her campaign memoir, "107 Days." (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE
She added, "I reassured him that the election would not be won or lost on account of that debate, and in fact it had a negligible effect on our polling. In choosing Tim, I thought that as a second-term governor and twelve-year congressman he would know what he was getting into. In hindsight, how could anyone?"
https://www.foxnews.com/media/gov-tim-walz-says-hed-beat-s-out-of-jd-vance-debate-rematch