Tim Walz Told Dems To ‘Be Meaner,’ Then Blamed Trump’s ‘Mean Tweets’ For Political Violence

Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) attempted to blame political violence — like the targeted shooting of two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses in his home state — on “mean tweets” in an apparent jab at President Donald Trump, despite the fact that he himself had called on Democrats to “be meaner” just a few weeks earlier.

Walz gave a statement on Sunday evening after it was announced that the alleged shooter, Vance Boelter, had been apprehended after a two-day manhunt — and he called for “decency” in political discourse.

“A moment in this country where we watch violence erupt, this cannot be the norm. It cannot be the way that we deal with our political differences,” Walz began. “Now is the time for us to recommit to the core values of this country. And each and every one of us can do it.”

“Talk to a neighbor rather than arguing. Debate an issue. Shake hands. Find common ground. This is who Melissa Hortman was. In the first negotiating session that I had a chance to work with her, she got all the partners in the room, and she provided each and every one of us a copy of a book called ‘Getting to Yes,'” he continued, remembering the deceased legislator. “And the whole premise was debating with a sense of goodwill, a sense to come to compromises that serve everyone. And because of her, we did that. Because of her we did that year after year after year. That’s the embodiment of how things are supposed to work.”

“It’s not about hatred. It’s not about mean tweets,” Walz added, in an apparent jab at Trump. “It’s not about demeaning someone. It’s leading with grace and compassion and vision and compromise and decency. That was taken from us in Minnesota with the murder of Speaker Hortman. So for each and every one of us to truly honor, and we will, we will continue to honor that spirit, but we will need to do it in just more than actions in a memorial. Conducting ourselves in the spirit that Melissa Hortman did her work is what the country needs to heal.”

The governor’s words on Sunday mark a dramatic departure from what he said just a few weeks earlier about Democrats needing to “be a little meaner” when it came to engaging in political discourse.

Walz, during his remarks at the South Carolina Democratic Party Convention, referred to Trump as a “wannabe dictator,” a “bully,” and a “cruel man” – and suggested that Democrats needed to “bully him back.”

“Maybe it’s time for us to be a little meaner, maybe it’s time for us to be a little more fierce,” he said.