US vice presidential candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties faced off at a televised debate in New York on Tuesday, ahead of the presidential election on November 5.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is the running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee. Ohio Senator JD Vance is running on the ticket with the Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump.

The debate started with a question from the moderator about the escalating crisis in the Middle East, with Walz and Vance focusing on diplomacy.

Walz argued that steady leadership from the US president is going to matter. He said Harris has the leadership, understands the importance of allies for the United States and has the calmness needed to bring the allies together.

Looking back on Trump's term as president, Vance said Trump delivered stability in the world. He said the former president did so by establishing effective deterrence.

On the economy, Vance referred to current inflation and soaring housing costs in the country. He questioned why Harris had not done more to address these issues, saying that if she "has such great plans for how to address middle-class problems," she should do them now, "in the job the American people gave her three and a half years ago."

Walz countered that Trump's failure to deal with the coronavirus pandemic led to the collapse of the US economy. He said the Inflation Reduction Act enacted by the Democratic administration created 250,000 more manufacturing jobs.