The Trump campaign has criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, labeling him a “dangerously liberal extremist” and claiming that their vision for America represents “every American’s nightmare.”
Walz was announced as Harris’ vice presidential selection on Tuesday morning. The 60-year-old, who has previously served as a congressman, is currently in his second term as Minnesota’s governor—a state historically won by Democrats in presidential elections, but one that the Trump campaign is targeting to flip this election cycle.
Recently, Walz referred to former President Trump and his running mate JD Vance as “weird,” a term that has gained traction and is being embraced by the Harris campaign.
In response, the Trump campaign criticized Walz for his far-left policies and viewpoints, asserting that they align perfectly with Harris.
VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS ANNOUNCES MINNESOTA GOV. TIM WALZ AS HER RUNNING MATE: AP
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks at a press conference concerning new gun legislation at City Hall on August 1, 2024 in Bloomington, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
“It’s expected that San Francisco Liberal Kamala Harris would choose West Coast aspirant Tim Walz as her running mate—Walz has used his time as governor to reshape Minnesota to mirror the Golden State,” stated Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt to Fox News Digital. “While claiming to support Americans in the Heartland, behind closed doors, he believes rural America consists of ‘mostly cows and rocks’.”
“With his carbon-free ambitions, proposals for stricter emissions standards for gas-powered vehicles, and policies allowing convicted felons to vote, Walz is fixated on disseminating California’s dangerously liberal agenda everywhere,” Levitt elaborated.
She concluded: “If Walz is dishonest with voters, we will clarify: like Kamala Harris, Tim Walz is a dangerously liberal extremist, and the Harris-Walz California vision is a nightmare for every American.”
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event at Westover High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on July 18, 2024. (ALLISON JOYCE/AFP via Getty Images)
Walz has been able to highlight numerous progressive achievements in Minnesota, including safeguarding abortion rights, legalizing recreational marijuana, and implementing tighter gun regulations to reduce crime.
Walz first took office in the House in 2006 and secured re-election five times, representing Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District—a mainly rural area in the southern part of the state comprising several midsize cities. During his final two years in Congress, he was the ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
Walz was elected as governor in 2018 and won re-election four years later.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump alongside Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance applauding on Day 2 of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 16, 2024. (REUTERS/Callaghan O’hare)
WHO IS TIM WALZ? DISCOVER THE HARRIS RUNNING MATE WHO CALLED REPUBLICANS ‘WEIRD’
Walz has recently attracted attention for his remarks regarding Trump and Vance.
“These are odd individuals on the opposite side, they aim to remove books, they wish to invade your examination rooms, and that sums it up,” he stated on MSNBC last month. “No sugarcoating here; these are strange concepts.”
However, Walz has faced backlash for his management of COVID-19 and the riots that erupted in Minneapolis in 2020, as previously reported by Fox News Digital.
“[H]e’s been a catastrophe for Minnesota and is undoubtedly the most partisan governor I can recall,” remarked Minnesota GOP Chairman David Hann to Fox News Digital last week. “Reflecting back to 2020, he did nothing to curb the riots in Minneapolis. I believe he was afraid of upsetting his ‘progressive’ supporters who were backing those riots. Kamala Harris was fundraising for the rioters.
Critics also point to Walz’s orders mandating indoor mask use during the pandemic and establishing a hotline for reporting residents who breached COVID-19 rules, as noted by FOX 9 Minneapolis at that time.
He has also faced scrutiny for telling a group of Democrats that socialism is sometimes described as “neighborliness.”
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“Always stand firm on our progressive beliefs,” he encouraged during a “White Dudes for Harris” call on Monday night. “What one person considers socialism, another might see as neighborliness.”
Harris and Walz are set to commence a campaign tour through all seven key battleground states starting Tuesday with an event in Philadelphia.
Stay informed with the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews, and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
