Trump praised Minnesota Gov. Walz in 2020 for response to unrest over Floyd’s murder, audio shows

MINNEAPOLIS — While former President Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance criticized Minnesota Governor Tim Walz over his response to the violence that erupted after The Murder of George FloydTrump told the governor at the time that he fully agreed with Walz’s handling of the matter.

“What they did in Minneapolis was unbelievable. They went in and dominated, and it happened immediately,” Trump told Walz and other governors and officials in a June 1, 2020, phone call. The Associated Press obtained an audio recording of the call on Wednesday, which has taken on new significance now that Walz has been tipped as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate against Trump and Vance.

Other administration officials participating in the call included Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Attorney General William Barr.

ABC News reported on the call earlier Wednesday, a day after Harris introduced Walz as her vice presidential nominee. CNN a transcript of the conversation posted back in 2020.

Protests broke out in Minneapolis and around the world after Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020, by Derek Chauvin, a white former police officer who knelt on the Black man’s neck for nearly 9 1/2 minutes. Bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.” His death forced a dealing with police violence and racism. Some protests turned violent.

Waltz mobilized the Minnesota National Guard three days later to restore order in Minneapolis after riots that included the burning of a police station and numerous businesses. Trump federal aid offered later that day to Walz, but the governor did not respond.

During a May 2024 fundraiser in St. Paul, Trump repeated a statement he had made recently that he was responsible for deploying the National Guard. “The whole city burned down. … If you didn’t have me as president, you wouldn’t have Minneapolis today,” Trump told a Republican audience. Trump made similar claims at a meeting in St. Cloud last month.

It was actually Walz who gave the order to mobilize in response to requests from the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Although Walz was criticized at the time for not moving faster. There was finger-pointing between Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Walz over who was responsible for the delays.

Trump described Walz as “a great guy” in the June 1, 2020, phone call, later saying, “I don’t blame you. I blame the mayor.” The president did not criticize the governor at the time.

“Tim, you were calling out big numbers and the big numbers knocked them down so fast, it looked like bowling pins,” Trump said.

But Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt put a different spin on the conversation in a statement to the AP on Wednesday.

“Governor Walz let Minneapolis burn for days despite President Trump’s offer to deploy troops and cries for help from Minneapolis’ liberal mayor,” Leavitt said. “In this daily call with governors on June 1, days after the riots began, President Trump credited Governor Walz for FINALLY taking action to deploy the National Guard to stop the violence in the city.”

Walz thanked Trump during the call, as well as Esper and Milley, “for your strategic guidance, very helpful. … Yes, our city is grieving and in pain.”

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Merica reported from Washington.