MSNBC host claims JD Vance's 'mansplaining' over muted mics was 'worst moment' for him with women voters
MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace claimed on Tuesday that the "worst moment" for Sen. JD Vance in the vice presidential debate was when he attempted to "mansplain" over muted mics, and argued the moment was specifically bad for female voters.
"I actually think if you're a woman, that might be the worst moment JD Vance had, because he was going to mansplain right over that mute button. He was, and again, I don't pretend to know how everyone will react to this. I think that a lot of women, in positions of authority that should command respect just by virtue of that dynamic, will see themselves and some do, the direspect of them and talked over," she said.
Vance called out the debate moderators, CBS' Norah O'Donnell and Margaret Brennan, during the debate for fact-checking him during the debate after he brought up migrants in Springfield, Ohio. The moderators eventually muted his microphone as he was trying to talk.
She compared the moment to the debate Vice President Kamala Harris had with former Vice President Mike Pence in 2020, when Harris said, "I'm speaking."
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"There was this real belief that what he had to say was more important than the debate rules and the moderators," she said.
Wallace also praised the debate moderators for using "their mic muting power."
The Trump campaign ripped Wallace in a statement to Fox News Digital, calling her an "unhinged idiot who beclowned herself by acting like a crazy person." "She's a joke and nobody takes her seriously," Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said to Fox Digital.
Brennan interjected to correct Vance after he suggested that illegal immigrants are overwhelming resources in Springfield, Ohio.
"Just to clarify for our viewers, Springfield, Ohio does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status, temporary protected status," Brennan said.
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"The rules were that you guys weren't going to fact-check," Vance pushed back. "And since you are fact-checking me, I think it's important to say what's actually going on."
While explaining the process of obtaining legal status and tying it to a Harris-backed immigration policy, the moderators again spoke over Vance, thanking him for "describing the legal process" before they cut off his microphone as Walz attempted to argue with him.
The media criticized Walz following the debate for what they deemed was a lack of preparation.
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ABC News' Linsey Davis, who moderated the debate between Trump and Harris, called out Walz's "uncomfortable, cringey moments," and linked his debate performance to President Biden's disastrous showing at the CNN debate.
Fox News' Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.