Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz tore into former President Donald Trump’s record and as a person as the Democratic vice presidential nominee campaigned in Georgia with a week to go until Election Day.
Walz on Tuesday called Trump a “loser” in business and at governing, laying the blame for tens of thousands of American deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic at the former president’s feet. He also noted Trump “loses in court” and said “no matter what JD Vance says, he lost the 2020 election.”
“I’m going to say it, and I think now, in the last seven days, let’s just talk turkey about things. Donald Trump’s a loser in everything. That’s not a pejorative. That’s an observation based on facts,” Walz told a crowd of supporters at a music venue in Savannah, Ga. “He loses jobs, he loses businesses, he loses in court.”
Walz later said, “Trump does not love this country because he is incapable of loving anything other than himself.”
Trump, no stranger to insults and deriding the character of his political opponents, ripped into Vice President Kamala Harris at a press conference earlier on Tuesday after an insult-ladened rally in Atlanta on Monday night.
“We're going to talk about the real character of Kamala, a person who has no remorse for the anguish she's inflicted upon families all across America,” Trump said on Tuesday, accusing Harris of running a “campaign of hate” and claimed she was “aiding and abetting the cartels.” He also declined to apologize for any of the insults or racism at his Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday, calling it a “love fest.” One speaker there called Harris “the Antichrist” and “the devil,” while another said the vice president "and her pimp handlers will destroy our country."
In an appearance on former ESPN host Dan Le Batard’s sports talk show on Tuesday morning, Walz said comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s description of Puerto Rico as “a floating island of garbage” at the Sunday rally was “not even a dog-whistle. It was a scream."
The comment has caused outrage among Puerto Ricans across the political spectrum, sparked numerous Puerto Rican celebrities and the largest newspaper on the island to endorse Harris and forced the Trump campaign to distance themselves from Hinchcliffe.
"This is dangerous stuff," Walz said, referencing Trump's false claims during the campaign that Haitian immigrants were eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. "Using vulnerable people as the punchline for your joke is really weak. That is not humor. And I have to say this, the guy's delivery was terrible. It was just mean-spirited."
At the Georgia rally on Tuesday aimed at getting out the early vote, Walz urged supporters to point to Trump’s handling of the pandemic, bankruptcies as a businessman and promises to cut taxes for the richest Americans when communicating with undecided voters who “can't really stand Donald Trump personally, but… think the economy was good.”
“I think some people's memories are a little fuzzy about what four years ago was. Keep in mind, four years ago, we had lost 2.7 million jobs. Unemployment had shot and way up. Supply chains were devastated because Donald Trump botched the pandemic response,” Walz said. “You remember the days when you were trying to find hand sanitizer and toilet paper? That was because of Donald Trump. Just to be very clear about that. Not to mention the tens of thousands of Americans that died because he did not take COVID seriously. That's what happened.”
Trump and his supporters often ask voters to consider “are you better off today than you were four years ago?” In New York on Sunday, Trump opened his speech with the question.
He also argued Trump, a billionaire who inherited millions from his father, “doesn’t give a damn if the Social Security check gets deposited or not” and argued Trump’s plan for Social Security will bankrupt the program in six years, a conclusion reached by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
“You know who does care? My nearly 90-year-old mom, because she pays for food and heat with that money. And you know what? She paid into it. She paid into it,” Walz said, later calling the program “the single greatest anti-poverty program that we pay into.”
Throughout his 20 minute remarks, Walz hit Trump on his abortion policies, the 78-year-old’s age, his opposition to any restrictions on guns and plans to rollback large swaths of the Affordable Care Act. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., promised “massive” changes to health care in the United States if Trump is reelected in Pennsylvania on Monday, according to NBC News.
Walz pointed to his record as governor and to Harris’ campaign promises in contrast to Trump’s record and platform. He pledged tax cuts for 100 million middle class Americans and greater access to “affordable pharmaceuticals,” pointing to the Biden administration’s efforts to lower insulin costs to $35 a month for Medicare recipients — Americans 65 and older and some younger people with disabilities. Harris is proposing to expand that price cap to all insulin users, regardless of insurance.
“We did it in Minnesota. The reason we did it for everyone in Minnesota was there was a young man named Alec Smith. He turned 26 and got off his parents' insurance. He started rationing his insulin. He died,” Walz said, recalling the story of Smith’s death inspiring state lawmakers to pass legislation that ensured emergency access to insulin for diabetics. “His mom, Nicole, came to the state capitol and said, ‘never again will I have a mother lose her child.’”
The governor was scheduled to appear at another rally in Columbus, Ga., as state officials say more than three million people have already cast their ballot in the key swing state. Just under five million people voted in the 2020 election, when President Joe Biden beat Trump by around 11,000 votes. Polling averages from the New York Times and FiveThirtyEight have Trump leading Harris by around one percentage point in the state.
Trump was in Georgia on Monday for an appearance with faith leaders and a rally in Atlanta.
“Early voting is underway in Georgia until Nov. 1 and boy do I hear we’re doing good, but I can’t look. I don’t want to say it because I want you to keep going. We gotta finish it off,” Trump urged his supporters. “We’re leading now in all the polls, so I can’t complain.”