NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Republican challenger Hung Cao sparred over issues from illegal immigration to tariffs on foreign goods Wednesday in their only debate of the campaign.
The hourlong showdown at Norfolk State University mostly traced the contours of the nation's political fault lines. But it also included matters that resonate in Virginia and the coastal city of Norfolk, which is home to the country's largest Navy base.
Cao, a 25-year Navy veteran, criticized COVID vaccine mandates for service members and the chaotic troop withdrawal from Afghanistan when asked about the military's collective failure to recently meet recruiting goals. He also criticized diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
“When you're using a drag queen to recruit for the Navy, that's not the people we want,” Cao said. “What we need is alpha males and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat them and ask for seconds. Those are the young men and women that are going to win wars.”
Kaine, who is on the Senate Armed Services Committee, responded by saying that railing at DEI “is a red herring” and the real challenge is informing more Americans about the benefits of the military when only about 1% of the population serves in the armed forces.
“We need to do a better job of talking about the G.I. Bill and other benefits as well as the tremendous leadership training that you get in the military,” Kaine said.
Another subject was former President Donald Trump's proposal to place more tariffs on imported goods.
“What we need to do is not tax our industry here," Cao said. “What we need to do is tax other countries bringing in goods.”
Kaine criticized Trump's proposal.
“The Trump tariffs would be a massive tax that would cause prices on all of these items that are imported to go up,” Kaine said. “On that, I differ strongly from my opponent.”
Asked whether he would support mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, Cao did not answer directly but said: “If you came here illegally, you've basically screwed up the whole system.”
Cao, whose family fled Vietnam in the 1970s, said they waited seven years for their naturalization papers.
“You can't jump the line,” Cao said. “I mean, you go to Costco and jump the line, what do you think is going to happen? You can't come here and expect the American dream if you're not willing to obey the American laws and embrace the American culture.”
Kaine said he has never supported amnesty for immigrants who are in the country illegally but mass deportation would “devastate the economy.”
Kaine also criticized Republicans and Trump for failing to pass stronger border security laws.
“We recently negotiated a very tough border deal that would have put a lot of resources on the border to stop illegal immigration,” Kaine said. “President Trump asked for Republicans to oppose it, even though it was supported by the border control union.”
With Kaine's seat considered solidly Democratic, the race has not seen the kind of dead-heat polling as the national presidential contest or the high stakes drama of other Senate races such as those in Montana and Ohio, where Democratic incumbents face tough re-election bids.
Trump has endorsed Cao. And political scientists say his path to victory is narrow given Virginia’s moderate electorate, aversion to Trump in 2020 and Kaine’s salience with voters.
Kaine won his last race in 2018 by 16 percentage points, although he said he was preparing for a tough race this year. The most recent Republican from Virginia to hold a U.S. Senate seat was the late John Warner, a centrist with an independent streak who last won in 2002.
Republicans can still win statewide offices in Virginia, however: Glenn Youngkin was elected governor by two points in 2021, along with a Republican lieutenant governor and attorney general.
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia , left, debates Republican challenger Hung Cao at Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Va., on Wednesday Oct. 2, 2024. (Nextstar/WAVY-TV via AP, Pool)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Lionel Messi and Inter Miami have another trophy, along with home-field advantage throughout the Major League Soccer playoffs.
Messi scored twice in the final minutes of the first half, goalie Drake Callender stopped a penalty kick in the 84th minute and Inter Miami beat the defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew 3-2 on Wednesday night, wrapping up the Supporters Shield given annually to the team with the best regular-season record.
It was Messi’s 46th major trophy won for club or country, extending his record for the most by any men’s soccer player in history. And it is the second he has won with Inter Miami, this Supporters Shield being added to the Leagues Cup trophy the Herons claimed shortly after Messi joined the club in 2023.
Luis Suarez also scored for Inter Miami, which will open a best-of-three first-round playoff series in the final weekend of October. If the team wins that series, it would have the right to host every match it plays the rest of the season — an Eastern Conference semifinal (scheduled for Nov. 23 or 24), the East final (Nov. 30 or Dec. 1) and the MLS Cup final on Dec. 7.
Also still within reach for Inter Miami: the best MLS regular-season mark ever. Wednesday’s win pushed Inter Miami’s record to 20-4-8 this season, giving it 68 points. If the club wins its final two matches — Saturday at Toronto and Oct. 19 at home against New England — it would finish with 74 points.
New England has the single-season points record, finishing with 73 in 2021.
Messi opened the scoring in the 45th minute, taking a long pass from Jordi Alba — his longtime teammate at Barcelona, the club with which Messi won 35 of his trophies — and splitting two defenders before somehow getting the ball past Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Schulte for a 1-0 lead.
And about five minutes into first-half stoppage time, Messi struck again on a free kick from about 30 yards out. Schulte seemed fooled, and Messi squeezed the ball between the goalie and the near post for a 2-0 lead.
Diego Rossi scored in the first minute of the second half for Columbus to cut the lead in half, but it didn’t take long for Inter Miami to restore the two-goal cushion. Almost immediately after play resumed, Schulte was upended by one of his own defenders and Suarez sent a header into an empty net for a 3-1 edge.
Juan “Cucho” Hernández’s penalty kick in the 61st minute got Columbus within 3-2. But once again, the momentum didn’t last for long. Rudy Camacho was sent off for his second yellow card in the 63rd minute, meaning the Crew had to play with 10 men the rest of the way.
Didn’t matter. Columbus still created some big chances down the stretch.
A deflected ball in the 76th minute got across the box and onto the right foot of Mohamed Farsi — but his shot was blocked by Callender, who was perfectly positioned to protect the lead.
Then came more drama, when Inter Miami was called for its second handball inside the box — an automatic penalty kick — of the second half. Hernández picked the left side of the net, but Callender made the save look almost easy.
That save helped finish what Messi started.
It was the fifth two-goal game of the MLS season for Messi, who now has 17 goals in 17 league matches this season. He’s missed 15 of Inter Miami’s MLS matches in 2024, either because of commitments to Argentina’s national team or the two-month absence that he needed to recover from a badly injured ankle — an injury that happened during his nation’s run to the Copa America title in July.
Inter Miami, in MLS play this season, is now 10-1-6 with Messi in the lineup.
The Crew and the LA Galaxy entered Wednesday still with a mathematical hope of passing Inter Miami in the race for the Supporters Shield, and Cincinnati was nine points back with nine points still possible.
But now, they're all playing for second.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Columbus Crew's Rudy Camacho, left, kicks the ball past Inter Miami's Luis Suarez during the first half of an MLS soccer match Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Inter Miami's Marcelo Weigandt, right, chases Columbus Crew's Maximilian Arfsten during the first half of an MLS soccer match Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Columbus Crew's Cucho Hernandez, left, keeps the ball away from Inter Miami's Jordi Alba during the first half of an MLS soccer match Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Inter Miami's Diego Gomez, right, and Columbus Crew's Rudy Camacho chase the ball during the first half of an MLS soccer match Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi, right, dribbles the ball against Columbus Crew's Alexandru Matan during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi, right, and Columbus Crew's Alexandru Matan fight for the ball during the first half of an MLS soccer match Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi, center, tries to dribble between Columbus Crew's Alexandru Matan, left, and Mohamed Farsi during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi dribbles the ball as Columbus Crew's Alexandru Matan defends during the first half of an MLS soccer match Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
