MINNEAPOLIS — A former Minnesota Republican congressman and chairman of the state GOP has slammed Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, telling Fox News Digital that Walz is pure “partisan and abandoned the city during the Black Lives Matter riots in 2020,” a statement echoed by another former colleague of Walz’s.
“That didn’t happen,” Minnesota Republican Party Chairman David Hahn told Fox News Digital, noting that the city of Minneapolis was ravaged by Black Lives Matter rioters in 2020, with hundreds of buildings destroyed. Estimated $500 million Damage was sustained.
Walz has faced criticism for waiting several days to activate the National Guard, but Hahn told Fox News Digital that it was a politically motivated decision.
“He did nothing for three days, I think because he was afraid of alienating his left-leaning Democratic base,” Han said. “They were talking about this being a protest against police brutality,” Han said. “If he had called in the National Guard when things started to get out of control, that would have been seen as contradicting their claim that they were just protesting excessive police force.”
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Gov. Tim Walz waited several days before calling in the National Guard when riots ravaged Minneapolis in 2020. (Getty Images)
“And then the governor did nothing for three days until things were completely out of hand. I just couldn’t believe it. We were seeing these things on the news and I’ve lived here most of my life and I know this city really well,” he said. “I just couldn’t believe this was happening and the governor literally did nothing.”
Hahn, who served as Minority Leader in the Minnesota Senate, told Fox News Digital that he knew multiple people, including the then-Republican Majority Leader, were trying to urge Gov. Walz to ask then-President Trump for help as the city was burning.
“He wouldn’t do it,” Han said. “He finally did it about four days later, when it became clear this wasn’t going to stop on its own, which meant he just disappeared altogether. He never once admitted that it was his fault for failing.”“
Han told Fox News Digital that four years later, the city has still not fully recovered from the destruction.
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Minnesota Republican Party Chairman David Hahn speaks to Fox News Digital (Fox News Digital)
““It’s still a ghost town,” Han said. “I had a meeting in downtown Minneapolis a few weeks ago. I try to avoid going there if I can. It was 10am on a Tuesday or Thursday morning. I drove up. It was about 7am on Sunday morning. No cars, no people, no activity. Just silence.”“
Han continued. “There’s nowhere to eat. In the evenings, people don’t want to be in the city. There are sports games, basketball games, baseball games, and people don’t want to be in the city after dark. Minneapolis used to be a pretty good city for nightlife. But now it’s not. People are afraid. Crime is out of control, we have carjackings, shootings. We have an unbelievable high crime city right now. And this is all on the watch of Governor Walz, who has not addressed crime and has joined the movement to defund the police.”
Han told Fox News Digital that he believes Walz is a much more partisan politician than has been portrayed.
““He’s partisan, divisive, very sensitive and spiteful,” Han said. “He doesn’t like being challenged. He doesn’t like people who have opinions that differ from his, and he can get angry if he thinks people don’t agree with him enough.”
The building was set on fire during the George Floyd riots. (Getty Images)
Hahn added that Republicans he spoke to called Walz “the most difficult person ever to work with.”
A former Republican senator from Minnesota who worked with Walz for several years, and who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak more freely, echoed Hahn’s allegations, telling Fox News Digital that working with Walz was “very frustrating” and “difficult.”
“He doesn’t handle stress well. He gets very angry and he lets it out,” they said.
“He’s very kind, very charming. He gives the impression of being everybody’s friend. But he’s very dangerous in terms of what he’s done for the country and his vision,” the former lawmaker added. “He’s now wearing a mask of very obvious extreme liberalism.”
The former state senator maintained that when it came to decision-making, Walz listened to “the last person he had contact with.”
He said Minnesotans are “very concerned” about the possibility of Harris and Waltz becoming president, and urged voters to “listen to him. You can’t understand him. He does all the talking and never really answers questions.”
Fox News Digital asked Hahn what’s the most important thing people should know about Walz’s tenure as governor now that he’s the vice presidential nominee and will be introduced to an entirely new national audience.
““I hope it’s clear that Governor Walz is partisan, far to the left politically, far from moderate and unwilling to work with people who disagree with him,” Hahn said.
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Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, speaks during a campaign event in Detroit, Michigan, on Aug. 7, 2024. Kamala Harris and her newly selected running mate have been campaigning across the country this week. (Photo by Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)
“I don’t think his record as governor has been good for the people of this state. His allies are the left-wing political base, the public employee unions. That’s his base, that’s what he’s pandering to. But most of us are just trying to make a living, raise our families, start businesses. That’s tough, but he doesn’t seem to have much empathy for that.”
The Harris-Waltz campaign pointed Fox News Digital to a recent Fox op-ed by a Republican who worked with Waltz that praised Waltz for his bipartisanship and quoted former colleagues describing him as someone who works across party lines.
In this campaign, Excavated audio As first reported by ABC News, Trump said he was “very pleased” with Waltz’s handling of the riots and called him a “fantastic guy.”
The Trump campaign told ABC News that these comments were made after Governor Walz activated the National Guard.
