Democrats had long rallied around Michelle Obama’s 2016 invocation to “go high” when Republicans go low. But Walz, the Democrats’ 2024 vice presidential nominee, has said he was responding to a vacuum in his party’s response to Trump’s tactics.
Walz’s more recent call to tone down political rhetoric, however, rings hollow for Republicans who have been following his travels across the country.
“Those are fine words, and I fully support all of that. The question is, will the governor be living that two days from now and or a week from now, and I kind of doubt it,” former Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman said. “He’s traveling across the country fanning the flames, and I suspect that his travels will continue next week.”
“Take a look at all his speeches. He’s part of the problem. He’s not part of the solution,” he added.
In the days since the shooting, Walz has at times sounded contrite about his language. In a statement to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Walz said that “it’s on all of us to be mindful of our language and the way we approach our differences, and I’ll own it when I get carried away myself.”
Walz did not specify that any of his statements went too far.
