Keller: Vance stumbles on 2020 election at debate. Will this really matter in the end?
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller's, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global.
BOSTON - Tim Walz and JD Vance kept things mostly civil during the Vice Presidential Debate Tuesday, until the Ohio senator was pressed on the GOP ticket's debunked denials of the 2020 election outcome.
Vance on 2020 election
"What President Trump has said is that there were problems in 2020, and my own belief is that we should fight about those issues, debate those issues peacefully in the public square," replied Vance. "And that's all I've said and that's all that Donald Trump has said."
Fact check: False.
Moderator David Muir asked former President Donald Trump during the Sept. 10 presidential debate, "Are you now acknowledging that you lost in 2020?"
Trump snapped back, "No, I'm not acknowledging that at all. I said that sarcastically....we said, 'Oh, we lost by a whisker.' That was said sarcastically. Look, there's so much proof."
Polls show most Americans believe otherwise, fueling persistent concerns Trump's denial was and is a threat to democracy.
"He lost this election and he said he didn't," Walz said Tuesday night.
Walz response becomes campaign ad
And Walz's rebuttal has already been turned into a Harris campaign ad.
"Did he lose the 2020 election?" Walz asks Vance.
After a moment of silence, Vance replied, "Tim, I'm focused on the future."
"That is a damning non-answer," concluded Walz.
Graphics over Jan. 6 Capitol riot images: "If we elect Donald Trump the past will be the future."
Then, Walz again: "America, I think you've got a really clear choice of who's gonna honor our democracy and who's gonna honor Donald Trump."
"It's a negative among independents," says Suffolk University pollster David Paleologos. Why would Vance go there? "He went there because he didn't want to create a news story with him juxtaposed against former President Trump."
Will this really matter in the end?
With so many issues at stake, will this really matter in the end?
There is plenty of polling that shows the threat to democracy of election denialism symbolized by Jan. 6 is a top-tier issue for most Americans. That's why the Democrats keep bringing it up and running ads about it.
And that's why former GOP candidate Nikki Haley and other Republicans have all but begged Trump to just concede he lost and move on. But he won't.