Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign cut into former President Donald Trump’s attacks on Minnesota Governor and Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz’s handling of protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, invoking Trump’s own praise-filled words from 2020.
Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday that “Tim Walz let Minnesota burn,” an accusation stemming from Walz’s response to protests erupting in 2020 over the police killing of Floyd and subsequent fires, many of which were pinned to arson attacks conducted by right wing counter-demonstrators.
Trump and Republicans’ calls for heavy police and military action against protestors, and even use of excessive force, differed significantly from Walz’s, who delayed deployment of the National Guard until days after protests began, spurring an immediate attack on his candidacy as vice president.
Trump’s attacks were seemingly undercut, however, as the Harris campaign uncovered audio on Wednesday of Trump praising Walz as an "excellent guy" with an "incredible" response to protests.
Unearthed audio: Trump tells Tim Walz in 2020 he is “very happy” with his handling of George Floyd protests: “I fully agree with the way he handled it... [Tim Walz is an] excellent guy”
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 7, 2024
(Trump is now trying to criticize Walz over the same issue) pic.twitter.com/5Ii1EhBZo4
“I totally agreed with the way he handled it the last couple of days,” Trump said in a 2020 phone call. “Tim Walz, again, I was very happy with the last couple of days, Tim.”
Walz, who responded by saying that “our city is grieving,” expressed on the call that his decision to mobilize the National Guard was coupled with a plan to engage civic leaders and protestors.
The rebuttal comes amid Walz’s debut as Harris’s VP nominee, which has seen the pair headline rallies in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and raise tens of millions of dollars in donations, as reports indicate that Walz’s popularity eclipses that of Trump’s running mate, JD Vance.
