Walz weighs in on Biden's term when pressed on 'GMA'
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said that he wasn’t sure anyone does “everything right” but that President Joe Biden has “done everything in the best interests of the American public” when pressed on whether he’d change any actions the Biden administration has taken over the last term.
“Look, I don't know if any of us do everything right. But I can tell you he's done everything in the best interests of the American public," Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, said in an interview that aired Friday on "Good Morning America."
The governor was initially asked by "GMA" co-anchor Michael Strahan whether he’d have led the country differently from Biden on any points. His running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, was not able to identify a decision where she would have gone another way when posed a similar question on “The View” earlier this week.
Walz avoided a specific answer on Thursday, remarking that as a governor -- both during the Trump administration and during the Biden-Harris administration -- he’d seen a difference in leadership which ultimately “drew” him to the Democratic ticket. Walz also highlighted that Harris' values haven’t changed, which is something her critics have accused her of doing.
“As a governor, I was asked to be governor of this state when Donald Trump was president and when Joe Biden was there, and I watched Donald Trump dismiss the COVID pandemic. I watched him drive an economy into the ground,” Walz said. “I watched Joe Biden and Kamala Harris pick those pieces up ... I think the thing that drew me to this ticket, and I think what the vice president's talking about is that her values on these hasn't changed,” he added.
Walz also discussed his past false statements about his background -- including being in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square massacre and carrying a gun in a war.
These misstatements came to a head during his debate with Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, with Walz calling himself a "knucklehead" for making those mistakes.
When Strahan asked if it was fair for Walz’s opponents to say he makes false claims to make himself look better, the governor responded by talking about his personal background while pointing to his recent cleanup efforts when called out for an inaccurate timeline surrounding the Tiananmen Square massacre.
“Well, look, 35 years ago got the opportunity to be in Hong Kong, be in China, learned a lot about it. Served 24 years in the National Guard, passionately. In an instance, talking about gun violence in schools ... proud of the service that I've done, proud to be a teacher in that classroom, proud to have been very public all these years and owning it when I, you know, said, 'Look, I was in there in August of '89,'” Walz said.
He also pointed to the accomplishments of Minnesota under his leadership, insinuating that the results he was able to oversee outweighs the potential trust issue.
Walz then pivoted to mention the claims about former President Donald Trump’s closeness with foreign leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin published in Bob Woodward’s new book, which Trump has denied.
“What you see here, you saw it in Minnesota, been elected eight times here -- these things have been very public for folks here. They see the results of things that we pass. We see a state that's a top-five state for business,” Walz said.
“We see third-best state, top-three state for raising a child. And we've got the best health care. And I think the policies, whether it be dealing with China and understanding China's human rights record, what you can be certain there is that Kamala Harris and I aren't going to, you know, put dictators on speed dial,” Walz said.
He also reiterated that voters, like his constituents, would vote for him because they “know who I am,” when he was pressed by Strahan about concerns over trust.
Strahan highlighted the fact that Walz said, during an interview airing earlier this week with "60 Minutes," that Harris told him to be "more careful on how you say things" after several occasions where the campaign had to clarify his false statements.
“I wear, you know, my -- I wear my emotions on my sleeve. And I do think in these positions, whether it be governor or being vice president of the United States, you do need to be careful,” Walz responded.
Walz also said that he supports the Electoral College after saying only earlier this week that he supported eliminating it.
On the economy, Strahan highlighted recent polling that showed Americans needed to cut back on groceries in order to accommodate rising costs and how voters could be concerned that Harris might be responsible for this inflation.
Walz appeared to say that that to reach these voters who blame Harris for the economy, the campaign should focus on their economic proposals.
"The reality for most people is if those costs are up, they want to know what you're gonna do about it," said Walz.
