“Walz needs to play ‘gatekeeper’ for Harris in the VP debate,” says Tim Kaine

Kaine, Democrat Hillary Clinton’s one-time vice presidential running mate, rightly followed that advice, according to a 2016 post-debate analysis. He interrupted Trump’s vice presidential nominee, Mike Pence, dozens of times, giving the impression that Pence was in control, and Kaine rattled it nervously.

Still, Kaine continued to focus on former President Donald Trump and turned away from Clinton, peppering his answers with reminders of Trump’s past controversial statements.

“You cannot allow your opponent to shoot at the top of your ticket. “You have to be the goalie and block all the shots or maybe put pressure on the other guy,” Kaine said Washington Examiner.

Kaine, who lost to Trump and Pence in a surprise upset, doubted the debate would matter on Election Day because candidates for vice president play a minor role in the campaign.

Most of the criticism was directed at Clinton, who underestimated Trump’s ability to crack blue wall states like Wisconsin.

But Kaine sees a danger in Walz spending too much time protecting his own image by emphasizing the late Sen. Joe Lieberman’s desire for civility in his 2000 debate against Dick Cheney, the Republican vice presidential nominee.

His boss Al Gore ultimately lost to President George W. Bush in November.

“Look, I was a friend of Joe’s, but his strategy was to make people like him, not to protect Gore,” Kaine said. “And so Cheney took a lot of shots at Gore during that debate, and Lieberman didn’t really protect him.”

The advice is, at its core, a reminder to play attack dog from one “nice guy” to another. Vice President Kamala Harris chose Walz in part because of his affable, Midwestern demeanor.

It also reflects the conventional wisdom that vice presidential debates, rather than helping, can hurt the ticket.

“The debate doesn’t really move anything unless you protect your top priority,” Kaine said.

Walz will face Vance on Tuesday at a precarious moment in the race. Democrats reset the electoral map when President Joe Biden dropped out, replacing him with the younger Harris instead. But Trump is still neck and neck with her in virtually every swing state.

Kaine assumes that Vance will try to stab Walz a few times to “get under his skin.” He often accuses Walz of lying about his military service.

Walz, for his part, called Vance a coastal elite over the weekend because of his work in venture capital.

But Vance has generally kept an eye on Harris, and Kaine predicted that will be his approach on Tuesday.

Kaine did not advise Walz on debate preparation. This responsibility lies with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who plays Vance in trial sessions.

Meanwhile, Vance chose House Majority Leader Tom Emmer (R-MN) as his Walz replacement.

Kaine, who is up for re-election in November, is preparing for his own Senate debate in Virginia, which will take place the day after Walz’s.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

He faces Republican Hung Cao in a race Cook Political Report The odds are clearly in favor of the Democrats.

“I’m doing a practice debate and then I’m just going to be myself,” Kaine said of his preparations.