Earlier this week, Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips appeared on a NewsNation show and said that holding Gov. Tim Walz accountable for “what happened in Minneapolis after George Floyd’s murder is, to me, just absurd.”
Of course, “what happened” in Minneapolis following George Floyd’s death was several days of riots that resulted in extensive destruction and chaos.
Phillips, who has represented the western Minneapolis suburbs in Congress since 2019, is not seeking reelection this year.
While appearing on a NewsNation show, Phillips discussed a visit GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance recently made to Minneapolis. During Vance’s visit, the Ohio senator visited the burned out shell of the Third Precinct building that was destroyed during the riots. Sen. Vance told the gathered media that the precinct was “burned out thanks to Tim Walz’s completely failed leadership.”
Walz, now the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee, has been the subject of intense scrutiny since being named as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. In particular, the Minnesota governor’s handling of the 2020 riots has become a topic that the GOP regularly uses to attack the Harris-Walz ticket.
Vance’s visit to Minneapolis, and Walz’s performance on the campaign trail, were discussed during Phillips’ appearance on the NewsNation program.
During the show, Phillips said the following:
“I know Tim Walz, I would like to see him shine and I think that’s part of this campaign that has got to put him in a position to do so, and the notion of holding Tim Walz accountable for what happened in Minneapolis after George Floyd’s murder is, to me, just absurd and that’s why I took so unkindly to J.D. Vance, who I don’t know if he’s ever been to Minneapolis before, to come to my city and tell us what a disaster it is. That’s exactly the kind of fear-mongering nonsense, BS frankly, that Americans I think are tired of.”
As Minnesotans are well aware, Minneapolis was engulfed in protests that quickly turned into full blown rioting in the days following George Floyd’s death.
Those riots lasted for several nights and resulted in businesses and buildings being totally burned down. Additionally, the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct building was surrendered to a mob and subsequently destroyed. Since those riots, many have blamed Walz for not acting faster to prevent the destruction that occurred.
Alpha News reached out to Congressman Phillips to ask why he considers it “absurd” to hold Walz accountable for the riots that engulfed Minneapolis in 2020. Additionally, Phillips was asked if Walz should have done anything differently to prevent, or respond to, the riots.
However, Alpha News did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
