Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, was forced to answer questions about his controversial trip to China and false statements about the trip during Tuesday night's debate.
Mr. Walz claims to have been in Hong Kong during the deadly Tiananmen Square protests in the spring of 1989. However, Minnesota Public Radio and other media outlets are now reporting that Walz did not actually travel to China until August of that year.
CBS News host Margaret Brennan asked Walz to explain the discrepancy.
Kamar Subpoenas submits records regarding Walz's alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party to DHS
“You know, I grew up in a small rural town in Nebraska, a town where I rode my bike with my buddies until the streetlights came on. I'm proud of that service,” said a visibly shaken Walz. Said. “I joined the National Guard at age 17, worked on my family's farm, and then used the GI Bill to become a teacher.”
As a “passionate young teacher,” Walz said, “I had the opportunity to travel to China 35 years ago, in the summer of 1989.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz stumped the internet Tuesday when he mistakenly said he was “friends with a school shooter” during a debate with Sen. J.D. Vance on the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate. . (Getty Images)
“I came back and started a program to take young people to the field. I took a basketball team. I took a baseball team. I took dancers. And I went to China. “They came,” Walz said. It was “try and learn”.
“Look, my community knows who I am. They've seen where I've been. I'll be the first to tell you that I've poured my heart out to my community and given my best.” “It wasn't perfect,'' Waltz continued.
“And sometimes I get sluggish in the joints.”
Walz said his commitment “from the beginning” was to “make sure I'm there for the people.”
“I'll talk a lot and a lot. Sometimes I'll get caught up in the rhetoric. But being there, the impact it had, the changes it made in my life, I learned a lot about China.” said Walz. “I can hear the criticism of this.”
“I'm going to make the case that President Donald Trump should have come on the trip with us,” Walz said.
“I guarantee you he won't praise Xi Jinping on the coronavirus. And I guarantee you he won't start a trade war that you end up losing,” Walz said. “So it's about trying to understand the world. It's about trying to do what's best for your community, and then putting yourself out there and showing people what the world is.” It's about being understood.”
“My commitment, I think, is the values that people care about, whether it's through my education, which I was good at, or whether it's being a good military member or a good legislator.”
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) debates with Tim Walz at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City on October 1, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
But Brennan pushed back, reminding Walz of the question and asking him again to explain the discrepancy.
“All I said about this was that I misspoke about this when I got there that summer,” Walz said. “So I just do that — that's what I said. So I was in Hong Kong and China during the democracy movement, and I went there and learned what it takes to govern from there. I learned a lot.”
Walz's relationship with China has come under the microscope since he became Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate.
House Oversight probes Walz over 'long-standing ties' to China
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) has launched an investigation into Walz's alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
Comer said Walz was “engaged and affiliated” with Chinese organizations, resulting in the Chinese Communist Party's efforts to co-opt elite political, cultural, and academic figures to “influence the United States.” He revealed that he has become “sensitive'' to the strategy of “capturing elites''. The state benefits the communist regime to the detriment of the American people. ”
Comer pointed to reports that Walz organized trips to China for Alliance High School students while working as a teacher in the 1990s. The cost was reportedly “paid for by the Chinese government.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, speaks with Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, in New York, CBS News Speaking at the sponsored vice presidential debate. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Tim Walz says he's been to China “dozens of times” but says his campaign is “approaching 15 years”
Comer is investigating Education Travel Adventures, a private company founded by Walz in 1994. The company, led by Walz, coordinated annual student trips to China until 2003.
The company was reportedly “disbanded four days after he became a member of parliament in 2007.”
Comer said Walz has visited China an estimated “30 times.”
Mr. Kamel subpoenaed Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, demanding that he turn over Department of Homeland Security records related to Mr. Walz's alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
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Meanwhile, Walz said in a 2016 Congressional hearing that he has “visited China dozens of times.”
“I’ve been there about 30 times,” Walz told the agriculture-focused publication in 2016.
But a spokesperson for the Harris-Waltz campaign recently told Minnesota Public Radio that number is “close to 15 times higher.”
