A visibly shaky Walz says the world needs “stable leadership.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz started his debate against Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance on shaky ground when he was first asked about his Middle East foreign policy platform.

“Governor Walz, if you were the last voice in the Situation Room, would you support or oppose a pre-emptive strike by Israel on Iran?” CBS’s Margaret Brennan asked Walz Tuesday night in New York City during CBS News’ vice presidential debate.

Walz thanked the moderators for their welcome before giving a hesitant and stammering response and calling for “stable leadership.”

“Iran, our self, Israel’s ability to defend itself is absolutely fundamental. Getting his hostages back is fundamental. And ending the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But the expansion of Israel and its allies is an absolute fundamental necessity for the United States. to have stable leadership there. You saw it today that together with our Israeli partners and our coalition we were able to stop the coming attack,” Walz replied, with a few pauses between his words.

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Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz speaks during the vice presidential debate with U.S. Senator and Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, hosted by CBS News at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City on October 1, 2024. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Earlier Tuesday, Iran launched more than a hundred ballistic missiles at Israel. War broke out in Israel almost a year ago on October 7, when Hamas launched attacks on the country.

“What is fundamental here is that steadfast leadership will matter. It’s clear. And the world saw it a few weeks ago on that debate stage: an almost 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about audience size is not what we need in this. moment,” Walz continued.

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Walz continued his response by taking shots at former President Donald Trump and his former administration officials.

Republican vice presidential candidate Senator JD Vance (R-OH) and Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz participate in a debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on October 1, 2024 in New York City. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“His chief of staff, John Kelly, said he was the most flawed human being you had ever met. And both his defense secretaries and national security advisers told him not to go near the White House. closest to them… said he is unfit for the highest office. That was Senator Vance,” Walz said, referring to Vance’s previous criticism of Trump before he was elected to the White House in 2016.

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Walz summed up his initial response by saying that Vice President Kamala Harris has shown “steady leadership” on the world stage.

Tim Walz expressed support for single-payer health care in a 2018 debate (C-SPAN)

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“What we’ve seen from Vice President Harris is we’ve seen stable leadership. We have seen a calm that is able to appeal to the coalitions, to bring them together with understanding that our allies matter. If we see Donald Trump turning to Vladimir Putin, turning to North Korea, as the Vice President said today, we’re going to see our armed forces and our allies if we start to see that kind of volatility in holding together the coalitions forces, and there will be consequences,” he continued.

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