Walz, Minnesota DFL leaders stick up for Biden after debate showing opposite Trump
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Prominent Minnesota supporters of President Joe Biden dismissed calls to replace the incumbent as Democratic nominee after a poor debate performance that heightened anxiety within the party.
Gov. Tim Walz defended Biden’s capability to lead the country and voiced frustration that more attention is being paid to debate performance than governing records. Walz also criticized Republican Donald Trump, the former president, over his answers to moderator questions.
“I think it’s clear that neither candidate had a very good night. President Biden could certainly have performed better and President Trump could tell the truth once in a while,” Walz said after a news conference on state and federal flooding response.
Earlier on a Fox News appearance, Walz said Trump might have done better in style but Biden delivered more substance.
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“Donald Trump is a performer, I will admit it. He's entertaining,” Walz said. “Sharks being shocked by batteries in boats and lathering his hair. But that's not governing. That's not what it takes to get things done.”
Walz dismissed suggestions that Biden be replaced on the ticket.
“Look, we don’t abandon our folks. We probably take a lesson from the Republicans. They won’t abandon their folks on 34 felony charges. The president is still delivering,” Walz said to Minnesota reporters.
DFL Party Chair Ken Martin stood by Biden in a post-debate statement Thursday night, calling Biden “the leader we need to continue moving forward.”
On Friday, he said on social media that the party needs to redouble its efforts. “It was not a good debate, we all agree on that. However, the stakes of this election are higher than ever for our country — let's roll up our sleeves and get to work.”
On the first day of early voting before Minnesota’s Aug. 13 primary, some Democrats said Biden’s showing was concerning to them.
Diana Cumming of Minneapolis said she is “absolutely terrified” about how November will turn out and wouldn’t mind a shakeup to the ticket. She voted uncommitted in this year’s presidential primary but said she will vote for Biden if he’s on the fall ballot.
Cumming said the debate didn’t give her reassurance.
“I just turned it on and watched about two minutes and thought I can't watch this. But he wasn't looking like he was shining brilliantly, to say the least,” she said. “He seems like he's tired. Really tired. I mean, maybe Lincoln was tired, but he could still speak. Biden needed a longer nap. And he needed better notes.”
Robbin Rouillard, another Minneapolis voter, said she isn’t giving up on Biden.
“We were disappointed in his delivery. But certainly the facts we are impressed by and still stand by his policies, and feel like he definitely is the right candidate for the future,” she said. “ I also feel like he has an A-team surrounding him.“
U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, who mounted a primary challenge to Biden before endorsing the president, didn’t respond to a phone message Friday. He posted a cryptic message quoting Mahatma Gandhi on the social platform X.
“Speak only if it improves upon the silence,” Phillips posted.
Biden and Trump are scheduled to debate again in September after both formally accept their party nominations, with Republicans meeting in July in Milwaukee and Democrats in Chicago in August..
Minnesota’s major political parties have until late August to submit the names of their presidential nominees for the November ballot.
Minnesota Republicans relished the way the debate panned out.
Party Chair David Hann said it raised huge questions about whether Biden could handle the rigors of the job for another term.
“To me it was stunning. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Hann said. “(Biden) was angry. He was confused. He was incapable of making a sustained argument. This was a debate his team wanted to have at this time.”
Hann predicted it would boost Trump in Minnesota and elsewhere, particularly among independents.
U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, the third-ranking House Republican and who is spearheading Trump’s Minnesota campaign, posted several social media messages also questioning Biden’s fitness for office.
The posts included images of Biden, saying the president appearance of being “dazed and confused is just one reason why our enemies do not fear or respect America.”
MPR News reporters Estelle Timar-Wilcox and Ellie Roth contributed to this report.