Vice President Kamala Harris’ The selection of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for vice president would put the Democratic governor’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread rioting in the state back in the national spotlight.
“(He) has been a disaster for Minnesota and is the most partisan governor I can ever remember,” Minnesota GOP Chairman David Hahn told Fox News Digital last week. “Going back to 2020, of course — he did nothing to try to stop the riots that were going on in Minneapolis. I think he was afraid of alienating his ‘progressive’ base, who were supporting the riots.” Kamala Harris Raising funds for rioters,
The comments came as Harris was narrowing down her shortlist for who to pick as her vice-presidential running mate, with the decision reportedly coming down to Walz and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. The vice president ultimately decided on Walz, who Democrats believe has enough experience and swing-state credentials to carry Harris’ ticket.
“Governor Walz has been a strong leader, a great partner with the (l)egislature,” Minnesota Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “We’ve worked together over the last two years for the most productive session Minnesota has had in decades, passing policies that will help Minnesotans build better lives for themselves and their families.”
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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks at a news conference for the Biden-Harris campaign during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)
“The last two years have been a shining example of how Tim Walz is adept at working in full collaboration with strong women,” Hortman said.
Meanwhile, critics point to Walz’s memorandum mandating mask wearing indoors during the coronavirus pandemic, which he implemented in 2020 and expired in 2021. The Upper Midwest Law Center filed a lawsuit calling the order unconstitutional, but an appellate court struck down the order. Ultimately, Walz sided.
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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was chosen as the running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)
Walz also set up a hotline to report residents violating COVID-19 orders. Fox 9 Minneapolis reported those days.
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Republican state Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka urged Walz to “please shut down the hotline” in a post after the hotline was set up, calling the move “unnecessary.”
“We can all show a little kindness to our neighbors as we manage our time and needs differently in our stay-at-home efforts,” the state senator said at the time.
Gazelka also noted that Walz had delayed sending the National Guard to Minneapolis after riots broke out there. Murder of George Floyd In May 2020.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (left) speaks with Blue Earth County Public Works Director Ryan Thilges. (Michael Goldberg/AP)
“I called the White House after (four) days of unbridled rioting when the governor seemed at a loss for what to do,” Gazelka wrote on Sunday on X. “I know Governor Walz and President Trump talked. I know Walz ultimately pulled out the Guard completely the next night. But Walz was (three) days too late. He had to take action because of the pressure.”
Hahn similarly said that Walz “waited three days before he could ask for the National Guard to be deployed.” He also pointed to the movement to “defund” the police. Roots in Minnesota The incident occurred following Floyd’s killing and subsequent riots in the Twin Cities.
As a result of the delayed action, hundreds of businesses in Minneapolis and Saint Paul were devastated by the destruction and had to seek help from the local government—which was in addition to the losses they had already suffered during the disaster. Pandemic-related closures.
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Charles Stotts, owner of the Town Talk Diner on Lake Street in Minneapolis, and his wife, Casey White, watch water drain from the restaurant on May 28, 2020. (Andy Rathbun/MediaNews Group/St. Paul Pioneer Press via Getty Images)
At the same time, Harris also faced criticism, particularly for a tweet in which she encouraged her followers to contribute to bail funds that were being used to help get protesters out of jail in the state.
“If you’re able, contribute to the @MNFreedomFund to help pay bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota,” Harris said at the time.
This fact did not go unnoticed by critics such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantiswho called the Harris-Walz team “the most left-wing team in American history.”
“Minnesota was ground zero for this BLM riots of 2020“Harris instigated this, and Walz sat idly by and let Minneapolis burn,” the Republican governor said on X shortly after news of Harris’ selection broke.
Walz was also accused of violating his own COVID-19 order when he attended a memorial service for Floyd, which the Twin Cities Pioneer Press reported at the time had too many people gathered too closely together to fall under the rules the governor himself was enforcing.
The governor acknowledged the service violated the order, but argued the event was necessary to help with “healing” in the community.
“To refuse to let that happen for the broader social welfare, I don’t think would have been a good decision, but as far as social distancing is concerned, we could probably have done a little bit better,” he said at the time.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has been elected governor twice since 2018 and served in Congress for 12 years.
However, criticisms of Republicans did not end even in 2021 after Covid.
In March, after Walz’s State of the State address, he described Minnesota as “the best state in the country for a child to grow up in.” He listed his goals to boost school funding, require “100%” clean energy by 2040, protect abortion rights and protect LGBTQ minors, according to the report. Pioneer Press.
House Minority Leader Lisa DeMuth Response issued The challenges facing Minnesota under Walz’s leadership first took into account the roughly $18 billion surplus in Walz’s $72 billion budget that was initially supposed to be returned to taxpayers but was instead spent on other state initiatives.
“We know that when tax relief is offered for young families … that might sound wonderful, and we appreciate that, if only Minnesota weren’t such an expensive place to live,” DeMuth said in March. “On top of that $18 billion surplus that’s now gone, taxes and fees — our state budget — were increased by another $10 billion. We grew government in a way that’s not sustainable.”
Smoke rises from a police cruiser on fire in Philadelphia on May 30, 2020, part of nationwide riots following the killing of George Floyd. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Hahn made similar comments and denounced the governor’s “appalling mismanagement” of state funds.
“He has set the state up for future structural deficits because he has put in place spending plans that will far exceed our ability to finance. … Businesses have been hurt because of him and his policies.”
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He also said kids were scoring low in statewide academic exams.
Additionally, several critics of Walz’s leadership have also noted that Increase in violent crime Violent crime is expected to increase not just in the Twin Cities but across the state starting around 2020. According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, violent crime may have decreased slightly in 2023, but it is still higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Walz’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
