'Not the finest hour': Joe Biden's surrogate Tim Walz reflects on president's debate performance

ATLANTA, GEORGIA: President Joe Biden's surrogate, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, defended the president's candidacy on Friday, June 28.

This defense came despite Walz's repeated acknowledgments of Biden's "bad" performance at the CNN presidential debate.

Tim Walz on Joe Biden's presidential debate performance

During an appearance on CNN on Friday, Gov Tim Walz addressed the criticism head-on, acknowledging the debate's challenges for Joe Biden.

"He had a bad night last night. I hate these debates. I've been through dozens of them myself, but they're performative," Walz stated according to Fox News.

"Donald Trump is a performer. I'll admit it, he's entertaining… but that's not governing, that's not what it takes to get things done," the governor added.

With a raspy voice and delivering rambling answers, Biden struggled during portions of Thursday night's debate.

Walz was pressed further on Biden's inability to convince the American people in 90 minutes that he was "up to the task" for another four years.

"Certainly not the finest hour," Walz responded according to Fox News.

"But at the end of the day we understand this is about two visions in America. One that's a decent man in Joe Biden that cares about what happens to the middle class," he said. "Then there's Donald Trump."

"We know what that looks like. The lie after lie doesn't change the fact that that presidency did not serve this country well," he added.

Tim Waltz says Joe Biden is getting 'another opportunity' next debate

Gov Tim Waltz said Joe Biden will get another chance in the next interview.

"Look, I hear the concerns on this," Walz continued. "The president is going to get another opportunity to do this. We all have these days."

"Not every broadcast is perfect. Not everything that we do on it is where we want it. But we got to come back and make the case because the contrast is too great," he said.

Looking ahead to the next and final presidential debate in September, Walz said Biden needs to stress that Trump "is not there to deliver" policies that help the American people.

"Joe Biden has done that, delivering on infrastructure, delivering on what we need, and he needs to come back – I'll give you that – he needs to come back and make the case," Walz said.

Internet says Joe Biden has 'never had a finest hour'

Netizens' reactions varied, with some questioning Joe  Biden's preparedness and fitness for the presidential office.

"If this is what Biden does after a week of intense prep, imagine what he is like in a spontaneous moment," one X (previously Twitter) user asked.

Another reacted, "Joe Biden in all of his years in elected office has never had a finest hour or moment or anything."

"In his defense, he only had one week out of the public eye to prepare," wrote one individual.

"Jimmy Carter is laughing, knowing that he's not the worst anymore," jokes another person.

"This ain’t about one bad night. We are being lied to about his condition. Trump the Con Man and Biden need to step down. The American people are fools," another individual critiqued.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.