Despite recent criticism, Trump praised Walz for his response to George Floyd protests
WASHINGTON - Though Republicans have criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’ newly minted running mate Tim Walz in recent days for his handling of civil unrest following George Floyd’s death in 2020, former President Donald Trump at the time praised Walz for his efforts.
“I know Gov. Walz is on the phone, and we spoke, and I fully agree with the way he handled it the last couple of days,” Trump told a group of governors in a phone call in June that year, according to an audio call obtained by ABC News and a CNN transcript.
"I was very happy with the last couple of days, Tim," Trump added. "You called up big numbers and the big numbers knocked them out so fast it was like bowling pins."
Walz thanked the former president and former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper for his "very helpful" strategic guidance responding to the riots, according to the transcript.
Trump’s 2020 remarks resurfaced as Republicans, including the former president’s running mate JD Vance, have accused Walz of sitting by and watching Minneapolis burn.
Karoline Leavitt, a Trump campaign spokesperson, told USA TODAY that Walz "allowed Minneapolis to burn for days, despite President Trump's offer to deploy soldiers and cries for help from the liberal Mayor of Minneapolis."
"In this daily briefing phone call with Governors on June 1, days after the riots began, President Trump acknowledged Governor Walz for FINALLY taking action to deploy the National Guard to end the violence in the city," said Leavitt.
But Walz spokesperson Teddy Tschann in a statement to CNN rebutted those claims, noting that Walz, not Trump, deployed the National Guard in Minneapolis and said it was not under the former president's direction.
“He activated the Minnesota National Guard at the request of the Mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul, before he talked to the White House," he added.
Trump's 2020 comments resurfaced after he made less-than-flattering comments about Walz during a Fox News appearance Wednesday - and said he was surprised but "thrilled" about Harris' vice-presidential pick.
In the interview, Trump claimed, without evidence, that Walz asked Trump to describe him as a "good person" in 2020 to calm protesters waving American and Make America Great Again flags outside the governor's house.
"And I did. I put out the word. I said he's a good person, I hope everything's good and everybody put down their flags and took their flags with them," Trump said on Fox & Friends.
Rachel Barber is a 2024 election fellow at USA TODAY, focusing on politics and education. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @rachelbarber_. Sudiksha Kochi is a Congress, Campaigns and Democracy reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @KochiSudiksha. David Jackson contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump actually praised Walz for George Floyd protests response