In an interview with Fox and Friends, former President and convicted felon Donald Trump spoke with strong disapproval of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate.
But it wasn’t that long ago that he seemed to support the Minnesota governor.
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“If you look at his record, no walls, no security, letting everybody in… he’s worse than they are… He’s a smarter version of [Harris], if you want to know the truth. He’s probably about the same as Bernie Sanders, he’s probably more so than Bernie Sanders, he is more so than Bernie Sanders,” Trump said.
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Then Trump specifically listed Walz’s support for LGBTQ+ people – including trans youth – as a reason to oppose Walz, saying that Walz is “very heavy into transgender.”
“There’s never been a ticket like this. This is a ticket that would want this country to go communist immediately, if not sooner… He’s very heavy into transgender. Anything transgender he thinks is great. He’s not where the country is on anything… This is a shocking pick… I think it’s very insulting to Jewish people, I think it’s very insulting to people who want security, I think it’s very insulting to anything having to do with making America great again.”
"This is a ticket that would want this county to go communist immediately if not sooner … he's very heavy into transgender. Anything transgender he thinks is great … I think it's very insulting to Jewish people" — Trump on Fox & Friends on Harris/Walz pic.twitter.com/61Phj3OTVx
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 7, 2024
This comes in stark contrast to Trump’s earlier support for the governor.
In 2019, he appointed Walz to the Council of Governors. This is a council of officials that advises the president and members of the federal government on issues relating to national security. He appointed Walz in the same year that he was elected to the office of governor, after Walz’s support for LGBTQ+ people was already apparent from his time as a school football coach and as an elected official.
Fun fact: when he was president, Donald Trump appointed then-Governor Tim Walz to his national Council of Governors.
— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) August 7, 2024
It’s going to be pretty hard for Republicans to call this guy “extreme.” pic.twitter.com/H6fnQu1Q2z
Trump even bragged during the same interview with Fox & Friends that he had helped de-escalate a mob of far-right protestors outside of Walz’s house in 2020 who were protesting COVID-19 measures. Trump said that Walz asked him to say that he’s “a good person,” and Trump obliged.
“And I did. I put out the word. I said, ‘He’s a good person. I hope everything’s good,'” Trump said. “And everybody put down their flags and took their flags with them, but they took the American flags and their MAGA flags, and they left.”
“He called me back, and he thanked me very much.”
The same day, Trump tweeted, “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!”
Trump claimed on Fox that this was “the only thing he had to do with him,” neglecting to mention Walz’s appointment to the Council of Governors.
Trump’s claim that Walz’s position of supporting trans people doesn’t represent America is also false, as Pew Research shows most Americans don’t want restrictions on gender-affirming care.