Tim Walz vs JD Vance: Top memes and jokes from VP debate

In a highly anticipated event ahead of the November 5 election , US Senator JD Vance , Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump 's vice-presidential pick, faced off against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz , running mate to Democratic candidate Kamala Harris , in a nationally televised debate on Tuesday.

The debate, which drew significant attention from viewers across the nation, sparked a flurry of reactions on social media platform X, where netizens and famous personalities shared memes , jokes , and witty commentary to express their thoughts on the showdown between the two vice-presidential contenders.

Donald Trump took a jibe at Tim Walz on his social media platform Truth Social, calling Kamala Harris' vice-presidential candidate "dumb."

Trump actually posted this on Truth 🤣 pic.twitter.com/PNMV9QUBrK

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 2, 2024

English media personality Piers Morgan claimed that JD Vance won the debate easily, praising him as confident. In contrast, Morgan criticised Tim Walz, calling him a "knucklehead."

Just watched the VP debate..
JD Vance won easily with a very confident & impressive performance. Walz was awful - a weak, nervy, self-admitted knucklehead. Looks to me like Trump made a much better VP pick. pic.twitter.com/DRwuqn1Esb

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 2, 2024

Another user on X shared a picture of Nancy Pelosi on a call, humorously captioning it, "Sell Walz, buy Vance."

"Sell Walz, buy Vance" pic.twitter.com/L2t2tzyNKB

— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) October 2, 2024

A user shared a clip from the debate in which JD Vance claimed that Kamala Harris enabled Mexican drug cartels to operate freely in the country. In the clip, Tim Walz was seen nodding his head as Vance made the statement, prompting mixed interpretations of his reaction.

JD VANCE: "I said that [Kamala] enabled the Mexican drug cartels to operate freely in this country!"

WALZ: *nods head in agreement* pic.twitter.com/flAeg60IEy

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 2, 2024

Political commentator Ben Shapiro took aim at Tim Walz, highlighting a moment when the moderator questioned the governor about inconsistencies regarding his time in China. Shapiro noted that Walz failed to provide a proper answer, instead deflecting the inquiry with a dismissive response.

Moderator: Governor Walz, why did you lie about when you were in China?

Walz: I'm just a country boy knucklehead, aw shucks.

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 2, 2024

Former US Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Public Affairs Monica Crowley claimed on X that Walz "befriends school shooters."

So far, we’ve learned that Tim Walz refers to himself as a “knucklehead” who befriends school shooters

— Monica Crowley (@MonicaCrowley) October 2, 2024

YouTuber Amala Ekpunobi shared an animated cartoon image of Pinocchio mocking Tim Walz for his statements.

“I’m just a knucklehead. Sometimes I get caught up in the rhetoric.” Tim Walz pic.twitter.com/GrNIh479zj

— Amala Ekpunobi (@amalaekpunobi) October 2, 2024

American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy commended Trump’s vice-presidential selection while criticising Kamala Harris's choice, attributing it to her insecurity.

Trump picked a VP who has independent thoughts & can hold his own under fire. Kamala *could have* picked any one of a number of capable Democrats as VP but refused to do so, likely due to her insecurity. And the machine went along with it because they’d rather have a VP they can…

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) October 2, 2024

Collin Rugg posted on X that when Tim Walz was confronted about his inaccurate claim of being in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square protests, he acknowledged being a "knucklehead" after a lengthy self-defence.

JUST IN: Tim Walz turns into a stumbling mess, calls himself a 'knucklehead' after he was confronted about the lie that he was in Hong Kong in 1989 during Tiananmen.

After going on a 2-minute rant about how good of a guy he is, Walz finally answered the question.

Walz has… pic.twitter.com/rJ324rYytH

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 2, 2024

Donald Trump shared an image on his Truth Social platform featuring a board that read "Trump and Vance for 2024," accompanied by a humorous subtitle stating, "Not friends with school shooters."

We don't deserve him pic.twitter.com/zegwgTImwj

— Michael Malice (@michaelmalice) October 2, 2024

The memes and jokes reflect a similar atmosphere to when Kamala Harris and Donald Trump debated in a televised presidential debate ahead of the 2024 elections. Supporters of both candidates praised their favourites while criticising their rivals. The JD Vance and Tim Walz debate also played a crucial role in shaping perceptions about the potential winner of the 2024 US presidential election, whether it be Democrats or Republicans.