VP debate live: JD Vance and Tim Walz face off in New York

Ahead of the debate, which begins in less than an hour, all systems go in New York.

There is already a lot of activity in the spin room as politicians speak to the press.

Donald Trump held a news conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and gave his vice president some advice before the debate.

“Have fun, JD, have fun,” he said.

“He's a smart guy. He was great. He was a true warrior, a top student at Yale. He’s a very brilliant guy in a lot of ways.”

“And you know, he’s a very hard worker. He goes around and isn’t afraid of the media.”

However, he said no to another debate Kamala Harris and now, Donald Trump has withdrawn from a scheduled interview.

CBS News said Trump declined to participate in an interview with him 60 minutes program for its election special, which will air next Monday.

The show typically invites both presidential candidates for separate interviews that air back-to-back before the election.

According to 60 Minutes, Trump's campaign initially agreed to the interview but later told CBS he would not appear.

When reached for comment, the former president's campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said there were discussions about the former president's participation but nothing was ever finalized.

According to CBS, the special broadcast will take place with Harris' participation alone.

On the left side of the screen we see Donald Trumpis vice president JD Vance. He has spent less time in politics than Tim Waltz – Vance was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022 to represent the state of Ohio.

He spent four years in the US Marine Corps, including about six months in Iraq in 2005 as a military journalist, and has also worked as a venture capitalist. But before he entered the Senate, he was best known as the author of the best-selling book “Hillbilly Elegy,” in which he reflected on his life and community growing up poor in rural Ohio. It's a Netflix movie now.

At 40, Vance is 20 years younger than Walz. If Trump wins the election, Vance will be the youngest person ever elected US Vice President (while Trump will be the oldest person elected President). Vance is married and has three children.

On the right side of the screen we see Kamala Harrisis vice president Tim Waltz. He is currently the Governor of Minnesota (the equivalent of an Australian Prime Minister) and has held this office since 2020.

He was elected to the National Congress after more than a decade, representing a rural district in that state. Before entering politics, he was a high school social studies teacher where he also coached football. He also served in the National Guard – part of the U.S. Army Reserves – for 24 years.

Walz is 60 years old, married and has two children.

If you've seen the previous presidential debates in between Joe Biden And Donald Trumpor Kamala Harris and Trump, you will be familiar with the format:

• The debate lasts 90 minutes, with two commercial breaks of 4 minutes each.
• After being asked a question, the candidate has 2 minutes to answer and their opponent then has 2 minutes to answer. Each candidate is then given one minute for further rebuttals. At the discretion of the moderators, candidates may each be given an additional minute to continue the discussion.
• Questions or topics were not communicated to the candidates in advance.
• There won't be any Audience.
• NO props are allowed.
• NO pre-written notes are permitted, but candidates are provided with a pen and paper.

CBS journalists Norah O'Donnell And Margaret Brennan will ask the questions.

JD Vance won a coin toss before the debate, meaning he could choose whether to make his closing statement first or second. He chose to have the final say.

You can read more about what to expect here:

America CBS News moderates the debate this time. But many other US and international broadcasters will also broadcast the debate. It is also streaming on CBS News website And YouTube channel.

In Australia, the ABC News Channel will also broadcast the debate live.

The debate begins at 11am AEST.

That's 9pm (Tuesday) in New York City, where it's taking place.

This time, it's the men vying for vice president who will be on the debate stage. Supporter of both Tim WaltzAnd JD Vanceare already gathering outside the CBS broadcast center in New York City, where the debate is taking place.

This debate is an opportunity for the vice presidential candidates to introduce themselves to American voters who may not know much about them.

While both were active in the election campaign, neither Walz nor Vance has spent a lot of time in the national spotlight.

It's just after 7pm here in DC and in New York, which means it's starting in a little under two hours.