Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, praised Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Democratic Montana Gov. Tim Walz, saying he was “born for this fight.”
In an interview with NBC News, Floyd said spoke “At first,” Walz was “an average governor,” but when Walz told Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, lead The prosecution in George Floyd’s death showed that “he wasn’t playing.”
Floyd added that he had “nothing bad to say” about Walz and that he would “like to shake his hand.”
“At first, he seemed like just a regular governor, a politician,” Floyd told the outlet, “and then he stood up and appointed Keith Ellison as prosecutor. That let a lot of people know he wasn’t joking. He was serious.”
May 17, 2021: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announces that a bipartisan budget agreement has been reached. (Nicholas Liepins/Official Photo from the Governor’s Office)
George Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020, and his death has been ruled a homicide. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted in April 2021 of second- and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter.
Philonise Floyd went on to praise Waltz for attending the funeral of Duante Wright, who was shot and killed by former Minnesota state trooper Kim Potter, who mistook her handgun for a Taser during a traffic stop.
“I have to give him kudos for taking the time to speak at the funeral,” Floyd told the outlet. “He showed what unity means. He’s a family man with a kind heart.”
Philonise Floyd’s praise comes as Walz faces criticism and accusations of “defamation.” A video recently shared by the Harris-Walz campaign shows Walz claiming he carried a weapon “in war” even though he never served in combat.
I was in the Army for 25 years, I hunt, and I’ve voted for common sense legislation that protects the Second Amendment, but we can do background checks, we can do CDC checks, we can make sure that weapons of war that you take with you to war are the only place they’re kept.
The Harris-Waltz campaign released a statement Friday saying Waltz “made statements in error.”
Waltz has also faced criticism after a resume posted on his website listed him at a higher rank than he held when he retired.
Breitbart News reported:
Waltz served in the Minnesota Army National Guard and retired at the rank of Sergeant (E-8). However, his biography on his official website lists a higher rank in which he served briefly, but which was ultimately revoked because he did not meet all of the requirements for that rank. However, his biography suggests he retired at the rank of Command Sergeant (E-9).
On Thursday, the Harris campaign removed a reference to Walz being a “retired Army sergeant major.” Updated Waltz’s biography states that he “previously served with the rank of Sergeant Major.” Politico.
