The vice presidential debate between Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) and Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) covered significantly more policy than recent debates and left many viewers with more and maybe some new questions.
Prior to and during the debate, people across the country were searching on Google about various topics at the center of the presidential election, including crime, social security, and abortion.
Google Trends also found several specific queries that were widely searched during the 90-minute debate on Tuesday night. Here are some of the most searched items from the debate between Vance and Walz.
‘Vice presidential debate fact check’
One of the most popular search queries was for a broad fact-check of the debate.
While the CBS News debate moderators largely avoided fact-checking, several of the few heated moments of the faceoff between Vance and Walz featured disagreements over the facts of the matter.
Several of the statements that required additional context included claims about Project 2025, Amber Thurman’s death caused by complications from an abortion pill, and migrants in Springfield, Ohio.
‘Why was the border bill rejected’
The failed border bill championed by Senate Democrats was a point of contention Walz brought up when immigration and border security were discussed.
Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and James Lankford (R-OK) negotiated the bill, but it was rejected by House Republicans and most Senate Republicans, who argued it was “dead on arrival” due to several of the provisions included.
Former President Donald Trump also came out against the bill, and Democrats have pinned the blame on the bill’s failure on his desire to keep immigration as an election issue rather than solve it.
‘What percentage of solar panels are made in China’
While discussing climate, Vance contested that Vice President Kamala Harris cares about the matter by asserting that China produces most solar panels and said that the United States should produce more of them domestically.
The International Energy Agency found in a 2021 report that China holds more than an 80% share of manufacturing of solar panels at all stages. The U.S. accounts for a fraction of the global share of solar panel manufacturing at all stages.
Abortion
During the debate, abortion was the most searched issue in all 50 states, according to a Google Trends analysis.
Minnesota’s abortion law was one of the top trending search terms, as Vance contended that the law states that a doctor is under no obligation to provide lifesaving care to a baby who survives a botched abortion.
Walz said that the law did not do that, but the legislation signed by the governor in 2023 removed language that ensured medical care be given to a “born alive infant as a result of an abortion.” Since Walz became governor, eight babies were born alive in Minnesota after botched abortions and none of them survived.
Texas’s abortion law was also a widely searched query after Walz invoked it and claimed it hampered a woman from getting an abortion after a complication with her pregnancy.
Gun violence
The topic of gun violence during the debate prompted several popular searches, including about Finland’s gun laws after Walz contrasted the U.S. to the Nordic country.
“I’ve spent time in Finland and seen some Finnish schools,” Walz said during the Tuesday debate. “They don’t have this happen even though they have a high gun ownership rate in the country. There are reasonable things that we can do to make a difference. It’s not infringing on your Second Amendment. And the idea to have some of these weapons out there, it just doesn’t make any sense.”
The rate of gun ownership in the U.S. is 120.5 civilian firearms for every 100 people, while in Finland it is 32.4 civilian firearms per 100 people, according to CNN. The report also found the number of gun-related homicides per 100,000 people in Finland was 0.2, while in the U.S. it was 4.1.
Finland’s gun laws require a person to be 20 or older to apply for a license, which requires applicants to pass an aptitude test, and all firearms must be registered, according to Reuters. In the U.S., background checks are required purchase a firearm, while the minimum age to purchase a rifle or shotgun is 18 and the minimum age to buy a handgun is 21.
One of the top questions searched was how much gun violence is perpetrated with illegal guns, and another asked if gun violence is the leading cause of death for children, as moderators asserted.
‘Paid family leave’
Child care was one of the topics discussed during the debate, with “paid family leave” specifically being one of the top searched queries.
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“Paid family leave” was most searched in Walz’s home state of Minnesota, where a law providing paid family leave will take effect in 2026. There is no national law guaranteeing paid leave to care for family.
Another top search was “why is daycare so expensive,” something both candidates said they would like to solve.
