While Donald Trump's allies are desperately trying to find information about Tim Walz, the new vice presidential pick after Kamala Harris — with many criticizing Walz's handling of the 2020 protests in the wake of George Floyd's killing — Trump himself praised the Minnesota Democrat at the time.
On Tuesday, Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, claimed that Walz was “cheering on” rioters in Minneapolis while the city was “burning.” The false claim was echoed in a press release from the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee, and the MAGA Inc. super PAC, according to NBC News. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) wrote on Twitter that Walz “allowed rioters to burn Minneapolis to the ground in 2020,” while House GOP Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) tweeted that Walz “supported the Black Lives Matter defund the police campaign that burned cities to the ground.”
Despite Republicans' condemnation of Walz, audio obtained by ABC News shows Trump telling a group of governors during a phone call that he was “very happy” with the Minnesota governor for bringing “large numbers” of law enforcement to the city and pointed to his leadership as an example for others to follow.
“I know Governor Walz is on the phone, and we spoke, and I agree completely with the way he’s handled it over the last couple of days,” Trump said in the June 1, 2020, call, adding that Walz was “an excellent guy.”
“I've been very happy with the last few days, Tim,” Trump continued. “I've been calling in big numbers, and the big numbers have been knocking them out very quickly, like they're bowling.”
Elsewhere in the call, Trump confirmed that he encouraged Walz to call up the National Guard, commenting, “I said, 'You should use the National Guard in large numbers.'” A spokesperson for the Harris-Walz campaign said that was not true, according to ABC News.
Despite his positive feelings at the time, Trump called Harris’s choice as his running mate a “shocking choice.” During an interview on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday, Trump said, “I never thought that was the person that would be chosen.” The former president called Walz “a very liberal guy,” adding, “I couldn’t be happier.”
Trump also claimed that Walz was as liberal as Bernie Sanders. But as The Hill noted, Walz’s voting record shows he is more moderate than the independent senator from Vermont.
