Body language expert reveals how nervous Tim Walz helped JD Vance put a clinic on at VP debate

Tim Walz got one chance to make a first impression at Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate, and blew it before his opponent, JD Vance, even got the chance to speak.The Democratic Minnesota governor greeted the watching millions of Americans with wide eyes, appeared nervous and stumbled over his words, Washington, DC-based body language expert Chris Ulrich told The Post.“Out of the gate he was nervous,” Ulrich said.“He was using a lot of filler words like ‘umms’ and ‘ahs,’ which can undermine [what you say.]”Ulrich said Walz’s poor opening meant he had to work the rest of the debate at gaining back momentum.“Those first several questions are really important, because if you don’t come across powerfully in the beginning of that moment, it undermines it,” he said.

“You’re now working against that [negative impression] all the way.”The Democrat’s nerves appeared to grow more frazzled as he answered the first several questions from co-moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan, with Ulrich noting Walz’s rate of speech had spiked noticeably by the time he answered his third question.The nervous energy culminated when Walz was asked about a lie he repeatedly told about being in China during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.“The question that tripped him up the most was the Tiananmen Square incident … because he doesn’t truly answer the question,” Ulrich said.

“This is something we saw him do before, where he vaguely says he’s a knucklehead at times, and he gets caught up in the rhetoric.”Instead, Ulrich said, Walz should have addressed the situation head-on by admitting he “over-exaggerated.”The Democratic candidate later grew in confidence when it came to issues “in his wheelhouse” such as abortion and the Jan.6, 2021, Capitol riot, Ulrich said.

But his late improvement only mattered if undecided voters tuned in for the full debate.Walz was mocked by several prominent viewers for his body language d...