Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, claimed responsibility for thwarting riots as Minneapolis descended into chaos and destruction in the spring of 2020, according to recently unearthed comments.
“It’s my responsibility to make sure that doesn’t happen, and I’ll do everything in my power to make that happen.” Waltz told the media. On May 29, 2020, when asked if there was “any repeat of the unrest last night, tonight or the rest of the weekend,” he responded:
Walz said he couldn’t “guarantee” the media that violence wouldn’t continue, but stressed it was his personal responsibility to work to prevent destruction.
“Like I said, I served in the National Guard for 24 years myself. I’m surrounded by good people. We’re removing assets and, as with many of these cases, we need the help of the people of Minnesota. We need people’s cooperation to get this done. I want to acknowledge again the pain that people are feeling and the need for justice to be served,” he continued.
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Protesters throw objects into a fire outside a Target store near Precinct 3 in Minneapolis during protests over the death of George Floyd, May 28, 2020. (Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images)
Minneapolis was the epicenter of the 2020 unrest, sparked by the death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of a white police officer during a police encounter in the city. Floyd’s death sparked protests and riots calling for social justice across the country, which came as COVID-19 cases and government lockdown measures to curb the pandemic upended society in unprecedented ways ahead of the 2020 elections.
Following Walz’s remarks on May 29, 2020, riots erupted again in Minneapolis that evening, according to local media reports.
“Protesters blanketed the area near the 5th Precinct, causing extensive damage to at least seven buildings, including a U.S. Post Office, a Wells Fargo branch, a staffing agency and a Subway at a nearby shopping mall.” The Star Tribune reported. at that time.
Democratic vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks at a campaign event in Detroit on August 7, 2024. (Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)
Outlet Explained in another article “Probably the worst night” from the evening of May 29 to the morning of the following day [Minneapolis’] It was called the “worst fire ever” as apartment residents recalled jumping out of bed at 4 a.m. to find the building next door, which houses an O’Reilly Auto Parts store and Family Dollar, burning.
The riots damaged or destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in the city, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
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“Where I live now, people are disgusted by Tim Walz, but where I live now is not representative of the majority of the population of Minnesota,” Max Reimer, who moved in 2020 with his wife and two children from a neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis to a suburb about 45 minutes north of the city, told Fox News Digital in earlier comments this week.
A protester stands in front of a building that was set on fire during demonstrations over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 29, 2020. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)
“I still can’t believe there’s anyone in the state who would support him after what our residents have suffered over the past four years,” Reimer, a Republican running for the Minnesota House of Representatives, said in a statement.
Governor Walz deployed the Minnesota National Guard on May 30, and said at the time that the guard was “doing everything in its power to restore order.”
At the time, Walz said the riots plaguing the Minneapolis-Twin Cities were “no longer related to the murder of George Floyd in any way.”
Gov. Tim Walz waited several days before calling in the National Guard when riots destroyed parts of Minneapolis in 2020. (Getty Images)
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“The great cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are under attack,” Walz said. “The situation in Minneapolis is now an attack on civil society, an attempt to sow fear and disrupt our great cities.”
The move was praised by then-President Trump, who praised Walz in a call with state governors.
“What they did in Minneapolis was unbelievable. They went in and they overwhelmed people. And it happened quickly,” Trump told Walz and other lawmakers on the call.
People take their seats ahead of a campaign rally for Vice President Harris and newly selected running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, in Philadelphia on August 6, 2024. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
His comments came at a time when other cities, from Seattle to New York City, were ravaged by violence and overwhelmed by police forces, including Portland, Oregon, which saw at least 100 nights of riots and protests that summer.
Walz activated the National Guard just days after the riots began, but local residents say the Democratic governor acted too late to stop the destruction.
“I called the White House. [four] The riots continued for days as the Governor didn’t know what to do,” Republican state Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka wrote to X on July 28.[.] Waltz and the Press[ident] Trump spoke. I know Waltz ended up sending out the full Guard the next night. But Waltz [three] It was a few days too late. Maybe the pressure made him move.”
Flames erupt from a post office near Precinct 3 in Minneapolis during protests over the death of George Floyd on May 28, 2020. (Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images)
Minnesota First Lady Gwen Waltz set social media ablaze this week after footage of her speaking about her response to the riots was discovered and went viral.
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“We had another sleepless night during the riots,” Waltz’s wife told KSTP in July 2020. “We could smell the tires burning and it was real. We had the windows down for as long as we could because we felt that was a test of what was going on.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz welcomed Vice President Harris at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on March 14, 2024. (Stephen Maturen/AFP via Getty Images)
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Critics and conservatives on social media slammed the remarks as “bizarre.”
“What do you call this? Bizarre? Unusual? Strange? Unconventional? Bizarre?” wrote Noah Rothman, a senior writer for National Review Online. “It must be a description of the cathartic delight one gets from burning down other people’s property.”
Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk Comment explained “That’s strange.”
On May 29, 2020, a post office in Minneapolis caught fire. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
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Harris picked Walz as her running mate on Tuesday. The Minnesota Democrat won over other reported contenders, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. Harris rose to the top of the list of candidates after President Biden withdrew from the race amid growing concerns about her mental ability and pressure from Democrats to hand the baton to another candidate.
Fox News Digital’s Audrey Conklin and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
