Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is making the media rounds criticizing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the running mate selected by Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential run.
However, the feud between the two governors began months ago, with both men questioning the direction the other is taking their state.
DeSantis, a Republican, said during a Tuesday news conference that Walz, a Democrat, wasn’t tough enough during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd.
“Tim Walz as governor sat back and let it happen. He sat back and let the city of Minneapolis burn. That city has been gutted as a result of those riots. We would never allow that to happen in the state of Florida. So, this is a (presidential) ticket that really represents the spirit of those 2020 BLM riots,” he said.
The demonstrations resulted in more than $100 million in damages, according to the Minneapolis Assessor’s Office. Walz delayed deploying the National Guard. He said at the time that he was concerned an armed presence would increase tension.
However, the situation is more nuanced. At the time of the protests, Republican responses to Walz were mixed. Audio first reported by ABC News has former President Donald Trump and current GOP nominee praising Walz for his decision to call in the National Guard during a 2020 conference call with U.S. governors.
“I know Gov. Walz is on the phone. And we spoke, and I totally agree with how he’s handled it the last couple of days, I asked him to do that,” Trump said.
The dislike between DeSantis and Walz is mutual. Walz has historically been critical of DeSantis and Florida’s Republican-controlled government.
During his 2023 State of the State address, Walz attempted to contrast his state passing free school breakfast and lunch with a Florida’ provision that provides for challenges to books in schools with sexually explicit material.
“I'm only the governor of this great state (Minnesota)," Walz said. "It's not up to me. Of folks in those places, folks like Florida, go about their business, but I got to tell you, I'm pretty glad we do it our way here and not that way. If you need any examples to maybe change your mind on this one, they're banning books in their schools. We're banishing hunger from ours,”
DeSantis didn’t just make a one-off comment. He continued criticizing the Harris-Walz ticket during a conversation with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
“You have a vapid San Francisco Democrat leading the ticket (Harris), and now they put in this guy Walz, who is basically an Illinois-style, very leftist Democrat from Minnesota, has the most liberal record of any governor in the country. Is that what the American people want? The San Francisco experience where homeless are defecating in public on the sidewalks; the Minnesota experience, where cities are burning down,” he said.
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