Walz hosts COVID-19 roundtable after Trump halts stimulus talks

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz responded to President Donald Trump’s decision to shut down talks over a new COVID-19 stimulus package. 

Walz facilitated a roundtable discussion Wednesday morning at the Minnesota Department of Revenue with Minnesotans impacted by COVID-19. The discussion included people directly impacted by COVID-19, and was essentially the governor’s response to his critics.

One of the speakers was Nachito Herrera, who spent 14 days in a coma due to COVID-19 and described it as a “huge, invisible enemy trying to kill me, trying to kill my body.”  

Dr. Jon Cole, his wife and four kids all suffered through COVID-19. He works in emergency medicine at Hennepin Healthcare and described his experiences as “surreal.”

“I think about the families that I have to give terrible news to and how they can’t see my face," he said.

Their combined message is that the pandemic should not be political. But, it is.

President Trump tabled talks of another stimulus package, saying he does not want to bail out “poorly run, high crime democratic states for problems that are not COVID-related.”

Walz argues the issues are indeed pandemic-related. 

“That is the exact reason we need the United States Congress to pass a stimulus act that provides that help so people can stay home and businesses can continue to survive and do what they need to do,” he said.

Gov. Walz called another special session for Monday, needed to extend his peacetime emergency powers to deal with the pandemic. He also wants to pass the bonding bill, which he said is itself a needed stimulus for Minnesota.