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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Has a Funny Definition of 'Highly Effective'

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  August 22, 2023 7:30 PM

Last week, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) went on NBC News' "Meet the Press" to beg a "moderate governor, hopefully from the heartland," to run for president as a primary challenger against President Joe Biden. While Phillips' boldness may be well-intentioned, especially when he's willing to say out loud what many other Democratic elected officials are not, there aren't really many "moderate" Democratic governors left anywhere in the country. When host Chuck Todd mentioned the congressman's own governor, Tim Walz (D-MN), Phillips said he, along with a few other suggestions, would be "great." This most recent Sunday, Walz was on the program to answer that call to action, and there's lots to unpack.

Todd and Walz discussed Biden's reelection campaign almost from the start of the segment, but even before they got to that point, it was unlikely that Walz would do anything but support the president. That's because Todd introduced him as someone who is "representing the Biden campaign" and described him at the beginning of the show as "a top surrogate for the Biden 2024 reelect." Walz would also say later in the segment how he had met with two other governors mentioned as potential Biden challengers, Wisconsin's Tony Evers and Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer, and they don't seem to be willing to run either. 

Before Todd could even complete his question about whether Walz truly thought Biden was the best candidate, the Minnesota governor jumped in to answer "absolutely." The second part of Todd's question, "is this a political expediency answer," is a good one to ask. Although, it wasn't one that Walz was willing to engage much in, unless you count him singing Biden's praises.

"Well, absolutely," Walz said once more, even claiming Biden's "been one of the most highly effective presidents we've ever seen," mentioning how he supposedly "actually delivered on" infrastructure.

The actual infrastructure package contained tons of pork and liberal priorities. As for Biden's role in it, he wasn't even involved in the final negotiations. He also delayed signing it into law. 

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When describing how he met with Evers and Whitmer, Walz mentioned the three talked "about how we're going to make sure that we win this for Joe Biden, because this is not a debate about Joe Biden's age or experience," bringing up a common concern with Biden across both political parties. 

"It's debate – about protecting the democracy," he claimed, going with a talking point used by Democrats ad nauseam. He then pointed to other priorities such as how "it's about recruiting jobs back into Minnesota. It's about being able to feed our children. So yes, I do believe the President is the best one. I believe he has delivered and his record shows that." Going on to gaslight when it comes to very real concerns Americans have, Walz claimed "anything other than that it – it is simply distraction."

Walz was only able to mention one issue, infrastructure, and even that didn't turn out all too impressive. Biden also continued to tank in the polls, even after the bill passed. 

Biden's approval rating, according to RealClearPolitics (RCP), is currently at a 41.3 percent approval rating, while 53.6 percent disapprove. He's been underwater since August 2021, around the time of the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, though that's just one of many issues that the American people have with Biden.

When it comes to a more deep dive look, Pew Research put out a release on "Assessments of Biden and his administration" in early April, just a few weeks before Biden made it official that he was running for reelection. They had surveyed Americans in late March and early April. 

"Fewer than four-in-ten U.S. adults (37%) currently say they approve of Joe Biden’s job performance as president, with six-in-ten saying they disapprove. This is little changed over the last nine months," the release noted. "Majorities of Americans continue to express skepticism in Biden’s ability to handle a number of issues, including international crises and economic policy," the release also described. 

Pew also surveyed Americans on an issue that speaks directly to that claim of "effectiveness" and his ability "to get things done." Just 38 percent of overall respondents said he is able to do so very or fairly well. 

As one can see from the averages from RCP, Biden hasn't been doing much better since. 

The gaslighting that Walz engaged in only got worse from there. The governor just kept doubling down on his talking points without being able to offer much else. 

Todd went on to ask Walz what he thinks of the fact that "fewer people want Biden to run again than even Trump to run again...what do you make of that, that Joe Biden seems to not have this groundswell of support right now? Do you think it's all age?"

Polls show that voters are concerned about Biden's age, and this includes fellow Democrats. Phillips is one of them, as revealed in an interview with The Washington Post published last week. 

Not only does Walz not think it's Biden's age, he claimed "it's our system," and he's blaming Republicans for it. "No, I think it's – I think it’s our system. I think Donald Trump and the Republican Party have poisoned it to people. No one trusts our institutions, no one trusts Congress, no one trusts any of us, because all they do is attack our families, do those types of things," Walz claimed, clearly oblivious to how Congress overall has a low approval rating, and that it's been that way for some time, regardless of if you ask Republicans, Democrats, or Independents.

"Look, at the end of the day, Democrats understand if you want to have reproductive freedoms, if you want to move towards a climate agenda that actually works, if you want decency in the White House, you’ve got one choice, and that's to vote for Joe Biden," Walz continued to offer, listing out specific far-left priorities, while also claiming that the president who failed to acknowledge his seventh grandchild until last month, despite her being 4-years-old, would provide "decency in the White House."

The child's father, Hunter Biden, has also been spending an extended amount of time at the White House, including when cocaine was found there and around the time of his ultimately failed plea deal to gun and tax charges. It's not like he is bringing any decency to the White House. 

Hunter Biden would come up later in the segment as well, during which he used a tiring Democratic talking point used at length, which is that "the Bidens love their son, but they also know that he’s got his struggles. And he's not on the ballot."

Repeating the same talking points, after once more bringing up Evers and Whitmer, Walz insisted that "the fact of the matter is, this isn't about Joe Biden's age. This is about the democracy...As we get closer to the election, they'll see that. I'm telling you, after Wednesday and whatever transpires, the craziness on that stage, people start to understand this as we get closer," he claimed, speaking of the upcoming debate.