Prior to President Trump’s arrival in Minnesota Monday, Governor Walz claimed in a virtual interview that he had warned Trump to avoid Minneapolis. Twin Cities PBS reporter Mary Lahammer uploaded a segment of Walz’s statement on Twitter.
“My activism started sixteen years ago with a presidential visit to Mankato, and in a few hours President Trump will visit Mankato, my hometown. I spent this weekend trying to tell the White House why it was a really bad idea to have President Trump go down and stand at the George Floyd Memorial, and use [it] as a backdrop for his campaign and ignite the pain and the anguish that we’re feeling in Minnesota.”
Gov Walz says as President prepares to visit Walz’s hometown of Mankato, MN says he “spent this weekend trying to tell the White House why it was a really bad idea to have Pres Trump go down and stand at the George Floyd memorial and use as a backdrop” #tptalmanac @tpt @NewsHour pic.twitter.com/eXEqo3ZrkQ
— Mary Lahammer (@mlahammer) August 17, 2020
Certain coverage, such as one article published by Fox News, relied on Walz’s statement to imply that Trump had planned to visit the Floyd Memorial but changed his mind because of Walz. White House officials were quick to deny that narrative. Several hours after the initial post, POTUS Special Assistant Judd Deere retweeted Lahammer’s video snippet.
“@GovTimWalz, Who did you reach out to at the White House? Nobody here heard from you. @realdonaldtrump would never use the George Floyd Memorial as a political backdrop, but he does want to hear from business owners impacted by the riots which he is doing @msairport right now.”
.@GovTimWalz, Who did you reach out to at the White House? Nobody here heard from you. @realdonaldtrump would never use the George Floyd Memorial as a political backdrop, but he does want to hear from business owners impacted by the riots which he is doing @mspairport right now. https://t.co/6smYMggSjw
— Judd Deere 45 Archived (@JuddPDeere45) August 17, 2020
Then, Senior Communications Advisor Ben Williamson also retweeted the video with a comment.
“Nobody in the Chief of Staff’s office, or anybody in the White House for that matter, heard from Governor Walz this weekend. So this is false on multiple levels.”
Nobody in the Chief of Staff’s office, or anybody in the White House for that matter, heard from Governor Walz this weekend. So this is false on multiple levels. https://t.co/EV86u21dKa
— Ben Williamson (@_WilliamsonBen) August 17, 2020
President Trump was originally scheduled to speak only in Mankato, but Trump opted for a quick detour to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. During a half-hour long speech, Trump commended law enforcement and the “law-abiding, hardworking Americans”, and condemned the rioters and Democratic leadership.
The stop at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport was a last-minute decision, according to the president.
“This was a very quick stop. I said, ‘Let’s stop!’ They said, ‘Well, you know, I don’t know… we don’t have time.’ I said, ‘I have time, I don’t know about you,'” Trump explained.
Neither the president or any White House officials ever indicated any intention of visiting the Floyd Memorial.
Walz has not yet issued a response at this time.
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Corinne Murdock is a reporter at The Minnesota Sun and the Star News Network. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Donald Trump” by CNBC.
