In a surprising turn of events, Tim Walz, the unsuccessful Democratic Vice Presidential candidate, has admitted that the Democratic party may have erred in failing to recognize and address the apparent mental decline of former President Joe Biden.
This revelation came during a conversation with CNN's Jake Tapper, who questioned the party's decision to back Biden for re-election despite evident signs of his deteriorating mental health.
Tapper, in his characteristic direct manner, asked Walz, "Don't you think your party needs to acknowledge that President Biden was not up for the job of running for re-election, and that this was a major mistake?" He further added, "You all went along with the idea that he was up for it and he wasn't and everybody saw it. And the country rejected it."
According to One America News, Walz, a Democrat from Minnesota, responded by suggesting that history might indeed judge the party's decision harshly. "That very well could be the case, Jake. What I'm concerned about is learning from those lessons. I would hope we would never do it again, make a mistake, make sure we go through and get someone. But I don't know where it helps us going forward," he said.
The conversation was centered around Biden's stubborn refusal to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, despite mounting concerns over his mental fitness. Biden's insistence on staying in the race culminated in a disastrous debate against President Donald Trump in June, which effectively ended his re-election campaign.
Walz, who had previously attempted to downplay concerns about Biden's mental state, had asserted, "Yes, he's fit for office." He had also acknowledged Biden's poor performance in the debate, stating, "None of us are denying Thursday night was a bad performance. It was a bad get, if you will on that. But it doesn't impact what I believe he's delivering."
The conversation also touched upon former Vice President Kamala Harris's recent speech in California, where she seemed to adopt an "I told you so" stance. Tapper questioned the meaning behind Harris's words, given that her message had failed to resonate with voters. "What does 'I told you so' really mean here? I mean, people heard her message. They did not vote for her. She lost every battleground state. You yourself have criticized the Harris-Walz campaign for being too cautious. She may have told the American people, you know, she may have warned the American people, but she didn't do it compellingly enough to win," Tapper said.
Walz responded by acknowledging his role in the Democrats' crushing defeat, in which they failed to secure a single swing state. He also suggested that Harris had tried to warn Americans about Trump's policies. "I do think the challenge for Democrats, and this is, I think, a structural problem that's going to take a lot more thinking. Why, with all of that out there, did they not think we were any better than that? And they didn't, and I'm very concerned with the folks who stayed home," Walz said.
In her speech at the Leading Women Defined Summit in Dana Point, California, Harris had spoken about the "unconstitutional threat" posed by the Trump administration. "We're seeing people stay quiet. We are seeing organizations stay quiet. We are seeing those who are capitulating to clearly unconstitutional threats. And these are the things we are witnessing. Each day in the last few months in our country. And it understandably creates a great sense of fear. Because you know there were many things we knew would happen," she said.
Walz also clarified that he has no plans to run for president in 2028. "I'm certainly thinking about running again in Minnesota, if that's what they want. I am not thinking about running in 2028," he stated. "In this moment you're planning for 2028, you're going to get rolled by the people in the streets." This candid admission underscores the Democrats' need for introspection and strategic planning if they hope to regain the trust and support of the American people.
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