Hot dish 10.02.24

By Ryan Faircloth

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz looked like a deer in the headlights at the start of last night’s vice-presidential debate and gave a shaky response to the first question he was asked about whether the U.S. should support Israel in a preemptive strike on Iran. But the DFL governor shook off the nerves as the night went on and finished with a memorable exchange where he directly questioned Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance about whether former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.

Vance did not answer the question and Walz pounced.

“That is a damning non-answer,” Walz said. “He lost the election. This is not a debate. It’s not anything anywhere other than in Donald Trump’s world.”

The 90-minute debate was otherwise loaded with policy discussions, some agreement and even a few kind words. Walz and Vance spent little time going after one another, instead focusing on each other’s running mates, Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

Walz touted Minnesota several times throughout the debate, referencing the state’s high-ranking health care system and institutions such as the Mayo Clinic and Medtronic. He also mentioned several of the state’s recently enacted laws pertaining to paid family and medical leave, a child tax credit and gun safety laws.

At one point, moderators asked Walz to respond to recent reports that he falsely claimed he was in Hong Kong in May 1989 during the Tiananmen Square protests.

The governor said he talks a lot and can get “caught up in the rhetoric.”

My colleagues Chris Magan and Sydney Kashiwagi teamed up with Dayton Daily News reporter Lynn Hulsey, who covers Vance, for a fact check we’ll have on startribune.com later this morning.

MISSPEAKING: It’s not the first time Walz has had to clarify previous inaccurate statements. The Harris-Walz campaign said the governor “misspoke” in a 2018 video when he referenced “weapons of war that carried in war.” Walz served 24 years in the National Guard but never saw combat.

Walz also strongly implied that he and his wife used in-vitro fertilization (IVF) — which has become a national flashpoint in the debate over reproductive rights — to start their family when they used a common treatment called intrauterine insemination. A Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson said the governor “talks how normal people talk” and was “using commonly understood shorthand for fertility treatments.”

GUS: Walz also mentioned during the debate that his son, Gus, had witnessed a shooting at a St. Paul recreation center while playing volleyball.

My colleague Rochelle Olson wrote up a story with more details about the incident.

The shooting occurred Jan. 18 outside the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center. Gus Walz’s presence wasn’t widely known until August when he went viral for standing up and tearfully supporting his dad at the Democratic National Convention.

After his viral moment, St. Paul Parks aquatics supervisor and coach David Albornoz posted on social media about his friendship with Gus.

He talked about how Gus was in the building when the shooting occurred in the parking lot at the Jimmy Lee. Albornoz wrote that Gus “helped keep everyone safe and calm, looking after the kids in the gym with us as I rushed out.”

MANKATO PARTIES: Dueling debate watch parties in Mankato on Tuesday night illustrated the partisan divide among Minnesotans in this year’s election, my colleagues Jp Lawrence and Trey Mewes report.

Those at the Republican watch party expressed their desire for Vance to “make Walz look silly” because of their dislike for him. GOP U.S. Reps. Brad Finstad and Pete Stauber spoke to the crowd, with Finstad saying, “We’ll know when Tim Walz is lying: when his lips are moving.”

Some of Walz’s former students and fellow Democrats attended the party at the Loose Moose Saloon. They were in high spirits to start the night: “We are going to kick butt in this debate and then moonwalk out of here!” state Sen. Nick Frentz, DFL-North Mankato, said to a cheering audience.

EVENT WATCH: Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and other Native American leaders/members will rally in Shakopee on Wednesday as part of a national Native Americans for Harris-Walz launch.

WHERE’S WALZ: Walz has no public events on the official side today. On the campaign side, Walz will kick off a bus tour through Pennsylvania with stops in Harrisburg, Reading, and York. He’ll be joined by Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman.

READING LIST