Sen. Jon Tester spoke out for the first time Monday about President Joe Biden's debate performance, making the Montana senator one of the latest Democrats to weigh in on the feasibility of Biden's candidacy.
Biden's performance in the June 27 debate raised questions about the president's mental acuity and left Democrats panicking. The fallout has prompted some Democrats to call for an end to his candidacy, some to explicitly stand by the president and others, like Tester, asking that the president do more to demonstrate he's capable of holding the office.
"President Biden has got to prove to the American people — including me — that he's up to the job for another four years," Tester said in a statement to KULR8. "Meanwhile, I’ll continue to do what I’ve always done: Stand up to President Biden when he’s wrong and protect our Montana way of life."
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U.S. Sen. Jon Tester speaks at the Montana Democrats' annual Mansfield Metcalf Dinner at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds in Helena on March 2.
Tester is in a tight reelection battle with Republican challenger Tim Sheehy, a first-time political candidate and former Navy SEAL. Biden's presidency has been one of the defining messages in the race for Montana's Senate seat, as Tester is one of only two incumbent Democrats running for reelection in states that Donald Trump won in 2020.
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President Joe Biden speaks to reporters on the tarmac Friday before departing at Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wis., following a campaign visit.
Biden lost to Trump in Montana by roughly 16 points, capturing only 40.5% of the vote.
The Tester campaign has seemingly made a concerted effort to put some distance between the senator and the sitting president, as the campaign is frequently promoting examples of times when Tester broke with the president.
As the Tester campaign digs a cavern between Tester and Biden, the Sheehy campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee has simultaneously been trying to create a link in voters' minds between Tester and Biden.
"Let's be clear, Jon Tester stands with Joe Biden because Jon Tester is a Biden Democrat," Sheehy said in a statement following the news Monday. "Montanans won't forget that not too long ago Two-Faced Tester said Joe Biden is ‘100% with it’ and ‘doing a good job.’ I’ll say what we’ve all known to be true here in Montana, but Jon Tester is too scared to say – Crooked Joe Biden is the worst president in American history, and it’s time to put an end to the disastrous Biden-Tester agenda.”
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