Donald Trump praised Tim Walz’s handling of the civil justice protests in Minnesota in 2020, according to a newly resurfaced recording. The comments, originally made during a June 1, 2020, conference call, have resurfaced just as Republicans are attacking Walz, now the Democratic vice presidential candidate, for his response to the unrest.
Trump’s 2020 Praise Contradicts Current GOP Criticism
In the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, civil unrest erupted nationwide, with Minnesota at the epicenter. During a conference call with state governors, Trump praised Walz’s approach to handling the situation, saying, “I fully agree with the way he handled it the last couple of days.” He went on to commend Walz’s decision to deploy the National Guard, describing it as effective: “You called up big numbers and the big numbers knocked them out so fast it was like bowling pins.”
Despite this praise at the time, the Trump campaign and other Republican figures are now using Walz’s response as a major point of criticism. Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance claimed during a rally that Walz “allowed rioters to burn down the streets of Minneapolis,” and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) echoed similar sentiments on social media. The Trump campaign has also tried to downplay the former president’s earlier praise, with campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt suggesting that Trump’s comments were grudging acknowledgment rather than genuine praise.
The Timeline of Events in Minnesota
The resurfaced recording sheds light on the timeline and nature of Walz’s actions during the unrest. As a retired guardsman, Walz deployed the National Guard via executive order more than seven hours before Trump made any public statements about the situation. Despite this, Walz faced criticism from Republicans for allegedly delaying the deployment after Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey requested assistance.
At a recent rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Trump falsely claimed that he had sent the National Guard to respond to the unrest because Walz had failed to do so. This claim is contradicted by the fact that Walz had already activated the Guard before Trump’s public threats.
GOP Struggles to Reconcile Past and Present Narratives
The resurfaced comments present a challenge for Republicans, who are attempting to use Walz’s 2020 response as a central attack in the current campaign. The Harris-Walz campaign has yet to respond to the controversy, but the contradiction between Trump’s past praise and the current GOP narrative is likely to be a focal point in the ongoing political discourse.
COMMENTS