Minneapolis – A former Republican state legislator says he has two concerns about Gov. Tim Walz’s running mate: his “poor handling of a crisis” and “how he spends money.”
Former Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka spoke about his experience working with Walz over the years, including through the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 riots.
The former lawmaker said his early experience with Walz was cooperative, but that he eventually “found himself working against him rather than working with him.”
“I don’t think he’ll be difficult to work with off the bat. He comes with, so to speak, a country charm, but that’s not how he’s trying to push his agenda. It’s more liberal,” Gazelka said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.
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Paul Gazzella, who served as state Senate Majority Leader from 2017 to 2021, spoke to Fox News Digital about his experience working with Gov. Tim Walz. (Fox News Digital)
“I don’t think he can be trusted when he’s in power, and when he has to make decisions in a crisis, they’re terrible decisions,” the former lawmaker added.
Gazelka, who served as the state’s Senate Majority Leader from 2017 to 2021, has two major concerns about Walz taking on the leadership role.
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“My concerns with him as a leader are, number one, how he’s handled the crisis so badly. And then the way he spends money. He doesn’t seem to understand the value of a dollar. And they just spend money until they’re in debt. So people need to pay attention.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks at a campaign event in Detroit on August 7, 2024. (Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)
Gazelka reflected on the 2020 riots that erupted in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd and Walz’s leadership during those tumultuous events.
“Mayor Frye of Minneapolis said to the governor, ‘We need help. We need the National Guard,’ and the governor just sat back, frozen and didn’t do anything,” Gazelka said.
She added that voters “need to know” that “when he makes rural appealing plays, it doesn’t represent rural American values.”
Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, arrive at a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (Matt Luke/AP Images)
Gazelka drew a contrast between Harris-Waltz and Trump-Vance.
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“Both camps have been very clear. They’re not picking people to run against them to get votes. They’re just pushing for either the far-left liberals who are going for socialism or Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ direction,” he said. “Trump is a strong leader. Harris is not. She hasn’t even held a press conference. She won’t go out and stand up and be herself. It makes her, and America, look weak. And that’s not what we want.”
