Minneapolis – A former Republican Minnesota lawmakers And the head of the state Republican Party criticized Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, telling Fox News Digital that he is a pure “partisan” and skipped town during the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots, a claim repeated by another former Walz aide.
“It was absent,” Minnesota GOP Chairman David Hahn told Fox News Digital about Walz’s leadership as downtown Minneapolis was destroyed by Black Lives Matter rioters in 2020, resulting in the destruction of hundreds of buildings and Estimated $500 million in damage.
Walz has faced criticism for waiting several days to call up the National Guard, which Hahn told Fox News Digital was a decision made for political reasons.
“They did nothing for three days, and I think that was because they were afraid of alienating the left-wing base that is the Democratic Party,” Hahn said. “They were looking at this as a protest against police violence,” Hahn said. “I think if they had called in the National Guard when it started getting out of control, that would have been seen as contrary to their narrative, that we’re just out here protesting, you know, excessive police force.”
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Governor Tim Walz waited several days to call in the National Guard during the 2020 riots in Minneapolis. (Getty Images)
“So, they did nothing for three days until it was completely out of control. And it was really unbelievable. We’re used to seeing these things on the news, and I’ve lived here most of my life and know the city very well,” he said. “It was hard to believe that all of this was going on and the governor was literally doing nothing.”
Hahn, who served as minority leader in the Minnesota Senate, told Fox News Digital that while the city was burning, he knew several people, including the then-Republican majority leader, who urged Walz to call then-President Trump for assistance.
“He wouldn’t do it,” Hahn said. “He finally did it about four days later, when it became clear the thing wasn’t going to stop on its own. So he was completely absent. He never acknowledged that it was his responsibility that he failed.”,
Hahn told Fox News Digital that four years later, the city has not fully recovered from the destruction.
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MN GOP Chairman David Hahn speaks to Fox News Digital (Fox News Digital)
,It’s still a ghost town,” Hahn said. “A couple of weeks ago, I had a meeting in downtown Minneapolis. I try to avoid going there as much as possible. It was a Tuesday or Thursday morning, 10:00 a.m. I drove there. It was like 7:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning. There were no cars. There were no people. There was no activity. It was just quiet,
Hahn continued, “There’s no place to eat. People don’t want to be around in the evening. There are sports, you know, basketball or baseball games, with people who don’t want to be downtown after dark. And at one point, Minneapolis was a really great city for nightlife. That’s not the case anymore. People are scared. Crime is out of control and there are car thefts, shootings. We’ve become a high-crime place now, which is unbelievable, and all of this is happening under Governor Walz’s watch because he has failed to try to address crime, and he has aligned himself with this police-defunding movement.”
Hahn told Fox News Digital that he, too, believes Walz is a much more partisan politician than the facts in the story indicate.
,Partisan, divisive, very spiteful, mean,” Hahn said. “He doesn’t like to be challenged. He doesn’t like people disagreeing with him, and he can get angry if he thinks you don’t agree with him enough.”
The building caught fire during the George Floyd riots. (Getty Images)
Hahn said Republicans he’s spoken to have described Walz as “the toughest person I’ve ever met.”
a former Republican state senator In Minnesota Someone who worked with Walz for several years, interviewed under anonymity to speak more freely, echoed Hahn’s claim and shared with Fox News Digital that working with Walz was “very frustrating” and “difficult.”
“He doesn’t handle stress well. He gets very angry and shows it,” he said.
“He is very nice, very charming. Seems like a friend to everybody. But what he has done to the state and his own attitude is very treacherous,” the former MP said. “He has a veneer of extreme liberalism that is now very clear.”
When it came to making decisions, the former state senator claimed Walz “listened to even the last person who came to him.”
The Minnesotan said he’s “very concerned” about a potential Harris-Walz presidency, urging voters to “listen to what they’re saying, you can’t understand it. They just keep talking and never answer questions.”
Fox News Digital asked Hahn what’s the most important thing people should know about Walz’s tenure as governor, now that Walz has become the vice presidential nominee and is being introduced to a whole new national audience.
,“I hope that gets across that Governor Walz is partisan and he’s politically on the left, and he’s not a moderate and he’s not willing to work with people who disagree with him,” Hahn said.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks during a campaign event in Detroit, Michigan, on August 7, 2024. Kamala Harris and her newly elected running mate have been campaigning across the country this week. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“I think his record as governor has not been good for the people of the state. His allies are the left-wing political base, the public employee unions. That’s his base. That’s who he serves. But for most of us who are just trying to live our lives, take care of our families, start businesses, it’s tough for them and he doesn’t seem to have much empathy for that.”
The Harris Walz campaign pointed Fox News Digital to a recent incident. Fox Op-Ed One Republican who worked with Walz praised his bipartisan approach, with other quotes from his former colleagues describing him as someone who works collaboratively with both parties.
The campaign also pointed out that Audio Detected In an interview first reported by ABC News, Trump said he was “very pleased” with Walz’s handling of the riot and called him “a good person.”
The Trump campaign told ABC News that these comments were made after Walz sent in the National Guard.
