The VP debate was a return to the politics of yesteryear—except on Truth Social

Minutes before the start of the debate vice presidential debate, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump made a commitment of nonpartisanship. “We’re going to keep it very straight, see how they do,” he said in a video posted to Truth Social, the social platform he owns. “We’re going to say good and bad about both. If JD [Vance] makes a mistake, we’ll say ‘bad,’ and if [Tim] Walz says something great, we’ll say ‘that was pretty good.’” 

That balance dissipated mere minutes into the (shockingly cordial) debate, when Trump began spewing vitriol across his Truth Social account. With that, much of the rest of the app joined him. By the end of the event, there was clear consensus: Gov. Walz and the two CBS moderators were villainous liars, while Sen. Vance was a glowing hero. 

Truth Social users mocked Walz and the CBS moderators ceaselessly 

From the start of the debate, Truth Social users were quick to point out each and every misstep from Walz. When he swapped Iran for Israel in one sentence, one user said Walz was “stumbling and bumbling.” Later, when Walz called himself a “knucklehead” for a past misstatement, Truth Social users jumped on it: “No Walz! You’re [a] knucklehead ALL THE TIME!” Users also relished in Walz’s statement that he had “become friends with school shooters.” 

Trump himself formed one of the common lines of attack: that Walz was taking too many notes. Per Trump’s Truth Social post, the notes were “to keep [Walz’] brain intact.” He would go on to post more about Walz’s note-taking throughout the night, which flurried off into broader attacks across the platform. “He took more notes than a scientist after the Chernobyl accident!” wrote @o_r. 

Trump has struggled to come up with a nickname for Kamala Harris: He’s called her “Lyin’ Kamala,” “Laffin’ Kamala,” “Crazy Kamala,” and even the short-lived “Kamabla.” But for Walz, one has stuck: The chauvinistic “Tampon Tim.” This moniker ran laps around Truth Social throughout the debate. “VANCE WILL DEFEAT TAMPON TIM!,” one user posted. Another: “Is Tampon Tim going to come out like a raving lunatic?”

Emasculating Walz, and throwing sexist and homophobic jabs his way, was popular throughout the night. One user called him “weird” and “closeted.” Another said that Vance was debating “three women” (Walz and the two female CBS moderators). The term “pedophile” came up, which Trump and the alt-right has been using to reference trans people. 

And, after a back-and-forth surrounding Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, Truth Social users took to bashing moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan as well. “Bad idea CBS! Not a good look for you,” @ErinR22 wrote. Many focused on how, in a statement before the debate, CBS said that the moderators would not be fact-checking. “Took CBS 28 minutes to break their own rules. Of course, they did so to favor #ComradeKamalaHarris,” wrote @stephenmevansiii.

Of course, Trump had already come out against the CBS moderators two minutes into the debate: “Both young ladies have been extremely biased Anchors!”

On Truth Social, JD Vance was a truth-teller

Vance was a controversial pick to be Trump’s running mate. Within days, many Republicans soured on him; Ben Shapiro asked whether Vance should have been chosen in the first place. Kellyanne Conway said that Trump should take another debate with Harris merely so Vance wouldn’t get the “last word.”

But, on Truth Social, almost all negativity toward Vance evaporated. He turned into the golden boy of the MAGA movement, with digital cheerleaders shouting things out like, “Get him, JD!” Others marveled at how “sharp” and “superior” he was, pointing out his prowess as a debater: “​​JD Vance is good, he’s tough on facts but at the same time is killing Walz with kindness,” wrote @American_Woman. 

Throughout the debate, Vance would give the camera glimpses of sarcastic side-eye. Users on X made fun of this, hypothesizing that Vance was wearing eyeliner. But, on Truth Social, these facial expressions were lauded: “That Vance side eye and smirk have me hoping for a scooby doo reveal moment. I’m thoroughly entertained,” wrote @PixyDirt.

Ironically, it was that same “smirk” that had Truth Social users mad at Harris mere weeks ago.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91201232/the-vp-debate-was-a-return-to-politics-of-yesteryear-except-on-truth-social?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss