Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) maintained his support for President Joe Biden on Monday, claiming the first presidential debate on CNN generated “excitement and interest” among Democratic voters despite resulting in a “tough stretch” for Democrats.
After reports surfaced that Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) was organizing senators to convince Biden to step aside, Kaine told members of the press that Biden’s debate performance increased Democratic voters’ energy.
Kaine claimed that Democrats need “energy” and “unity” to be successful and claimed the 10 days after the debate “have created some energy in the sense of excitement and interest, which was maybe lacking a little bit before the debate, so that’s kind of an interesting thing.”
Still, the senator acknowledged, “obviously there’s division right now.”
VA Senator @timkaine refuses to say whether he’s pulling Dem Senators/House towards/away from @JoeBiden; asked of “drip, drip”
“I don’t really want to get into conversations with my colleagues”
“It’s not helpful… we need to be unified, but obviously there’s division right now” pic.twitter.com/aKLY5M6IE0
— NOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) July 8, 2024
The senator also acknowledged his previous claim that calls for the president to step down were coming solely from reporters and pundits are no longer true, but repeatedly refused to confirm whether he has spoken with colleagues about Biden’s candidacy.
“Any advice I have for the president, I’m going to share with the president; I don’t feel the need to share it beyond that,” Kaine stated. He then offered that Biden “is a person who has always put his country first over himself.”
Kaine argued, “If he believes fully that he can do this, I will respect that judgment.” He claimed, “If he has doubts about whether he can do it, he’ll level with the American public about it.”
VA Senator @timkaine on his thoughts of @JoeBiden dropping out:
“Any advice I have for @POTUS I’m going to share with the President, I don’t feel the need to share it beyond that”
“If [Biden] has doubts about whether he can do it, he’ll level with the 🇺🇸 public about it” pic.twitter.com/prxavnFKzC
— NOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) July 8, 2024
Later in the interview, Kaine claimed it was “early in this discussion in the aftermath of the debate” and suggested Biden has time to regain momentum.
Nonetheless, he said, “It’s an issue that is much bigger than my election.”
Kaine explained that he spent the past week campaigning for reelection, during which time he said Biden’s poor debate performance “came up at every event.”
He continued, “The discussion about the president is a huge issue, much bigger than my race, but again I believe this is gonna work out in a good way.”
Kaine also confirmed he would not shy away from campaigning alongside the president and Vice President Kamala Harris should they return to Virginia. Recent polls have shown Biden and Trump tied despite the Democrat carrying the state handily in 2020.
“I suspect that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will come to Virginia for events, and you’ll see me with them,” said Kaine. “I have been at events with both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in Virginia.”
Meanwhile, Republican U.S. Senate nominee Hung Cao, who will face Kaine in November, claimed the debate proved “Biden is not fit for office” and promised to “flip Virginia red” in November.
Cao wrote in a Tuesday post to the social media platform X, “we will FIRE Biden and his biggest supporter, Tim Kaine.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Tim Kaine” by Tim Kaine.
