Trump said he 'fully' agreed with Walz during 2020 unrest in phone call recording

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Governor Tim Walz held an update following days of unrest in the Twin Cities following the death of George Floyd. (FOX 9)

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A recorded conversation between Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and then-president Donald Trump revealed Walz being praised for his handling of the May 2020 civil unrest in Minneapolis.

The recording was released by the Kamala Harris Campaign following claims from JD Vance that Walz "encouraged" the riots following George Floyd's killing at the hands of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

What they say in the recording

The recording begins with President Trump saying he "fully" agreed with the way Walz handled the protests and riots of 2020.

"I fully agree with the way he handled it the last couple of days. I asked him to do that, and the whole world was laughing," Trump said in the recorded phone call. "You got a big national guard out there that was ready to come in and fight like hell. They went in and dominated. And it happened immediately."

Gov. Walz then said in the recording "Yeah, our city is grieving and in pain." He then continued to say the peaceful protesters were "expressing an outrage that is real."

"They witnessed eight minutes of a man dying in front of them," Walz said. "And at that point in time, I did something unprecedented. I mobilized the entire Minnesota National Guard."

Later in the recording, Walz is heard saying "A lot of what you saw yesterday was engaging civic leaders and the peaceful protest. And I would just close with, I think the guidance is, you got to get a handle on it with that force and that is absolutely correct. And then the transition into the next phase is trying to get those spaces for the peaceful protest."

The recording then ends with President Trump saying "But Tim, it shows the incredible difference between your great state, yesterday and the day before compared to the first few days."

JD Vance claims in Eau Claire

Sen. JD Vance spoke at a campaign rally in Eau Claire Wednesday and said that Walz "has to answer" for the Minneapolis riots of 2020.

"This is a guy who says that he stands for public safety but actively encouraged the rioters who burned down Minneapolis," JD Vance said.

JD Vance: Walz 'has to answer' for 2020 riots

Sen. J.D. Vance said he would debate Gov. Tim Walz on public safety and criticized the governor's response to the civil unrest of 2020.

The Harris campaign released the phone call recording shortly after JD Vance aired those claims.

Background

Walz mobilized more than 7,000 national guard soldiers to Minneapolis, but it came about a day after the formal request from Mayor Jacob Frey.

An independent after-action report found the Minneapolis Police Department did not know the protocols to request the National Guard and when troops arrived, the Guard would not deploy soldiers until police explained the mission.

Some Republicans falsely claimed in the past that Gov. Walz backed defunding the police. This has since been debunked, though it was widely proliferated during the governor's reelection of 2022.