Ask House Majority Whip Tom Emmer about Gov. Tim Walz, a fellow Minnesotan and Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate. The five-term Republican lawmaker jokingly opens fire.
Emmer, 63, said of Walz, 60, “I had no idea Tim Walz and I were the same age. He looks so much older.”
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Emmer responded to a question about whether he was playing a role as Minnesota governor in preparing for a debate with Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio. was. The two are from the same state and are similar in age.
Emmer, a former college hockey player, lawyer, and No. 3 Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, said he had not yet held a mock debate with Vance (as of Thursday afternoon when he spoke to Fox News Digital).[asofThursdayafternoonwhenhespoketoFoxNewsDigital)conductedamockdebate[asofThursdayafternoonwhenhespoketoFoxNewsDigital)conductedamockdebate
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Republican vice presidential candidate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, speaks to supporters during a campaign event at the Northwestern Michigan Fair grounds on September 25, 2024 in Traverse City, Michigan. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“We're going to get together at some point,” he said, declining to provide specifics or specifics about a mock session with Vance ahead of Tuesday's vice presidential debate in New York City.
But Emmer, who led the House Republican Campaign Committee in the 2020 and 2022 cycles, had a number of criticisms of Harris and Walz.
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“I'm honored to be asked to play a small role in helping JD and President Trump expose the failures of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.”
Emmer claims, “The most difficult thing about playing Waltz…is lying with a straight face, because that's his job. He's good at the debate game, but there's no substance to it. There's a lot of air.” did.
House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer (Minnesota) faces Republican presidential candidate former President Trump and Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Speak at featured rallies. 27, 2024 in St. Cloud, Minnesota. (Steven Maturen/Getty Images)
Emmer and Walz served in the House of Representatives for four years before Walz won the Minnesota gubernatorial election in 2018.
“I know him probably as well as or better than most people on the Republican side, and I can tell you that we can't afford four years of a white Harris-Waltz administration. “It's about the people knowing better than anyone else,” Emmer emphasized.
And Emmer said, “It's very clear today that Tim Walz, who was here in Congress, was literally a fraud. Since then, he has been successful. It's clear to people in metropolitan Minnesota that he has little interest in them.
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“It's not been reported enough, but under Walz, Minnesota's taxes have skyrocketed. Violent crime has increased everywhere, and conditions in our communities have gotten worse,” Emmer said. “No amount of good policy in Minnesota can make up for Tim Walz's failed policy record.”
Emmer claimed that “Waltz is an empty suit who has worked to turn Minnesota into Harris' home state of California. … This man is Gavin Newsom in a flannel shirt.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the Democratic Party's 2024 vice presidential candidate, speaks on stage at the Harris Walz campaign rally at Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, September 21, 2024. (Caroline Gutman of The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Republicans aren't doing that. carried Minnesota This is the first presidential election since President Richard Nixon's landslide reelection in 1972, more than half a century ago. It was the only state that President Reagan lost in a re-election landslide in 1984.
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Asked if Minnesota was in the running for president, Emmer said: “Is Donald Trump close enough to a chance to become the first Republican presidential candidate to win Minnesota since 1972? The answer is: I think the answer is yes.”
Emmer pointed out that polls suggest that Harris' support for Trump in Minnesota has declined since she named Walz as her running mate early last month. did.
“He's not popular in Minnesota. I think they did Minnesota an advantage by selecting Tim Walz,” Emmer argued.
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