Since being announced as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate on Tuesday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has faced attacks from Republicans, particularly over his handling of the 2020 George Floyd protests in Minneapolis.
Former President Trump’s current running mate, Senator JD Vance (R-OH), said Walz “allowed rioters to burn the streets of Minneapolis.”
Members of the Alabama Republican Party were also particularly vocal in their disapproval of Walz’s actions following Floyd’s murder and the public unrest that followed.
U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville said Walz “stood idly by as rioters burned Minneapolis in 2020,” and U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Saks) sharply criticized Walz for “doing NOTHING while looters destroyed his state in 2020.”
Republican U.S. Representative Robert Aderholt of Haleyville also described Walz as “a radical left-wing Democrat who, as governor of Minnesota, stood by and watched as rioters burned and destroyed Minneapolis night after night.”
However, newly surfaced footage of then-President Donald Trump shows Trump praising Walz for his response to the 2020 protests.
In an audio recording obtained by ABC of a June 1, 2020, phone call with a group of governors, including Walz, Trump called the Minnesota governor an “excellent guy” and praised his handling of the protests.
“I know Governor Walz is on the phone and we’ve spoken, and I completely agree with the way he’s handled this over the last few days,” Trump said.
Trump continued, saying, “I’ve been very pleased with the last few days, Tim. You called big numbers and the big numbers knocked them down so fast, it was like bowling pins.”
Given that Trump is leading the Republican nomination as Harris and Walz’s opponent, these comments appear to undermine the strategy of Vance, Tuberville and others seeking to damage Walz’s approval ratings among voters.
If Trump supported Walz’s actions in 2020, it will be difficult for Republicans to continue to pursue that rhetorical line without simultaneously providing Democrats with a simple and effective rebuttal.
In the fight against Walz, the Republicans will have to start their strategy from scratch, having already had to make significant adjustments after Biden was replaced by Harris at the top of the Democratic candidate list.