Matt Burke, a former all-pro NFL center, Super Bowl champion and former Republican candidate for Minnesota lieutenant governor, said of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, “He can’t lead, he can’t execute, but he can give speeches.”
Burke attended Harvard University, graduating with a degree in economics. He played for the Minnesota Vikings from 1998 to 2008 before moving to the Baltimore Ravens, where he won a Super Bowl in 2012. He was an All-Pro selection six seasons and is frequently mentioned as a candidate for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He entered politics in 2022, running alongside Republican Scott Jennings against Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Penny Flanagan.
Burke told Breitbart News on Tuesday that he was “shocked” when Vice President Kamala Harris selected Waltz as her running mate last week.
“The thing about Tim Walz is that he will literally say anything when he’s on the campaign trail,” Burke said.
Burke said Walz will not be able to deliver results once he takes office.
As an example, Walz promised to send Minnesota families $2,000 checks from the state budget to help cover rising costs due to inflation. surplus (Part of that funding comes from federal coronavirus funds).
I’m fighting to put money back in people’s pockets by sending checks of up to $2,000 to help Minnesotans struggling with rising costs.
— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) October 5, 2022
In the end, the “Waltz check” was a much smaller amount of $1,300. Taxable By the Internal Revenue Service.
“Economically speaking, our economy is growing slower than the national average,” said Burke, an investor in startups. “Our schools, which were once among the best in the nation, have now fallen to 17th place — he’s a former teacher and describes himself as an educator.”
Burke added: “A politician is a politician, and that’s what he is. We hold most politicians to a pretty low standard when it comes to telling the truth. But can you really do the job? Can you govern? Can you lead?”
“Minnesota leads the country in fraud,” he continues. Featured The state has one of the worst records in the country for coronavirus fraud, including a $250 million fraud scandal involving Feeding Our Future, a state-assisted program that provides meals to poor children.
Burke also said the Minnesota teacher pension fund Accused They inflate their revenue by under-reporting fees.
“When things go bad, it lands on your desk,” he said, placing the onus on Waltz.
Burke said Walz’s “‘Oh, pity country boy'” persona was just an act, noting that he and Jennings won most of rural Minnesota in the 2022 presidential election, while Walz was stronger in urban areas.
“We won 75 of Minnesota’s 87 counties, but of course we lost by big margins in Hennepin and Ramsey counties. [the Twin Cities metro area]”…He was booed off the stage at the Farm Fest debate. He’s not appealing to rural voters.”
Burke said the “stolen heroism” issue has come up in the 2022 election, with critics saying Walz has exaggerated his military record.
(Waltz mistakenly claimed he had retired at the rank of master sergeant, implying he had served in a “war” far from combat. He retired just before his unit was deployed to Iraq in 2005, a decision that was criticized by some of his former colleagues who had served.)
Burke said the issue was covered up by “far-left” leaning local media.
Minnesota Vikings’ Chester Taylor (left) is congratulated by teammate Matt Burke after scoring a touchdown in the second quarter of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Ariz., Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008. The Vikings defeated the Cardinals, 35-14. (Associated Press/Ross D. Franklin)
Burke’s 2022 posts on X (formerly Twitter) recently resurfaced after Walz was named Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ running mate. Burke played audio of the “snitch” line that Gov. Walz used during the COVID-19 pandemic to encourage Minnesotans to spy on each other’s lives and report violations of stay-at-home orders.
Looking back, Tim Walz continued to compile an informant list up until June 2022, when I ran for Lt. Governor.
I’m glad he’s finally getting some scrutiny. pic.twitter.com/NNBfKLk2UJ
— Matt Birk (@BirkMatt) August 8, 2024
Walz now claims on the campaign trail that his philosophy, at least when it comes to abortion, is “never mind about other people.”
Burke said the COVID hotline is just another example of what Walz says and what he does being different.
“His catchphrase when he ran for governor was ‘One Minnesota,'” Burke recalled. “Calling yourself a COVID snitch doesn’t foster unity.”
Burke is not currently running for public office, but he could face another election: the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Burke could be on the list, as only seven centers have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. “I’m not sitting around worrying about getting in,” Burke said, but added, “It would be unrealistic if that happened.”
“I’m not unhappy with my career. It’s been great,” he recalls. “More than I deserved.”
He only started playing football as a sophomore in high school, then went on to Harvard and the Vikings — “You’re not going to win a Super Bowl playing for the Vikings,” he jokes — and retired after the Baltimore Ravens won the championship in 2012.
Burke said he would like to see “no politics in sports” but acknowledged that “athletes have a huge platform and they use it to say what they think is right.”
“There was a time when the national anthem and other things became a burden for me and really took the joy out of it,” Burke added. “I hope that sports stays as pure as possible. When I think of joy, I think of competition.”
As for the word “joy,” Burke doesn’t associate it with Tim Walz, even though Walz used it on the campaign trail.
“I don’t think he’s brought much joy to Minnesotans.”
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of “Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” which is available for preorder on Amazon. He also wrote,Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency” is available on Audible. He is the 2018 recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
