As former President Trump blasts Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over his response to the unrest in his state in May 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, a resurfaced audio recording shows that Trump had praised Walz at the time for how he “dominated” the situation.
In the audio recording, which was obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday, Trump was on a phone call with Walz and other governors and officials on June 1, 2020.
“What they did in Minneapolis was incredible. They went in and dominated, and it happened immediately,” Trump told Walz and the others on the call.
Walz, who has served as Minnesota’s governor since 2019, was selected as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate Tuesday, putting a spotlight on his handling of the riots that spread across Minneapolis in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020.
Flames from a nearby fire illuminate protesters standing on a barricade in front of the Third Police Precinct on May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during a riot over the death of George Floyd. (Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images)
Walz deployed the National Guard three days later to stop the violence, which included the torching of a police station, but critics have said both the governor and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey were too slow to act. Walz and Frey each blamed the other for the delays.
Walz has been criticized over his delay in deploying the National Guard to Minneapolis during the riots in May 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Trump offered federal help to Walz at the time, but the governor did not take him up on it.
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Trump didn’t blame Walz at the time for the delays, later saying: “I don’t blame you. I blame the mayor.”
“I was very happy with the last couple of days, Tim,” Trump said during the call. “You called up big numbers and the big numbers knocked them out so fast, it was like bowling pins.”
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But on Wednesday, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told The Associated Press in a statement that Trump was only acknowledging that Walz took steps to end the violence after days of violence and unrest in Minneapolis.
Trump can be heard praising Walz for his response to the unrest in a resurfaced phone call from June 1, 2020, though the former president has blasted the governor in recent months. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
“Governor 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,” Leavitt said. “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.”
Fox Digital reached out to the Trump campaign for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Fox Digital’s Michael Lee and Chris Pandolfo, along with The Associated Press contributed to this report.