Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz sought to distance Vice President Kamala Harris from laws he himself signed that granted benefits to illegal immigrants in Minnesota on Sunday.
Walz made the comments during a wide-ranging interview on Fox News Sunday with host Shannon Bream. Bream pressed Walz on his military history and his record on abortion in addition to questioning him on legislation he signed in Minnesota that allows illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses and receive state-funded tuition assistance, among other benefits.
“Are those not magnets to draw people here, many times on dangerous journeys for themselves? And why should your taxpayers in Minnesota or across the states pay for those programs?” Bream asked.
“Well, that’s not the vice president’s position,” Walz admitted, before going on to defend his leadership in Minnesota.
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“But I will say this, Minnesota ranks as a top five business state. We rank as a top three state for children living, and we’re a top state for health care access,” he said. “Look, the Vice President has made it clear that she has policies that make a difference. Her border policies are the most strongest, the fairest we’ve seen.”
Bream also challenged Walz to clarify his ticket’s position on abortion access. The exchange ultimately led to Walz flatly accusing former President Trump of lying when he said he would not sign a national abortion ban into law.
Bream began by pointing out that Minnesota’s abortion law imposes no limits on abortion procedures through all nine months of pregnancy, something that goes far beyond the provisions of Roe v. Wade, which Harris and Walz said they support.
“You signed the bill that makes it legal through all nine months. Is that a position you think Democrats should advocate for nationally?” Bream asked.
“The vice president and I have been clear the restoration of Roe versus Wade is what we’re asking for,” Walz responded.
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“But that law goes far beyond Roe v. Wade,” Bream pressed. “Let’s agree, in what you signed there’s not a single limit through nine months of pregnancy. Roe had a trimester framework that did have limits through the pregnancy. The Minnesota law does not have that.”
“This doesn’t change anything. It puts the decision back on to the woman, to the physicians,” Walz responded. “And we know that this is simply something to be brought up – to be very clear Donald Trump’s asking for a nationwide abortion ban.”
“[Trump] has said repeatedly that he will not sign a national abortion ban. Are you calling that a flat out lie?” Bream asked.
“Yes, of course, and Senator Vance has in the past said so too,” Walz said.
Bream concluded the interview by giving Walz a chance to respond to criticism of his frequent “misstatements,” such as his claims about military service and his assertion that he was in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square massacre.
“Look, I speak passionately. I had an entire career, decades before I was in public office. They know, and I’m very proud of my 24 years in service and my record. I have never disparaged someone else in this, but I know that’s not what Donald Trump does. They disparage everyone,” Walz said.
“I will own up when I misspeak. I will own up when I make a mistake. Let’s be very clear. On that debate stage the other night, I asked one very simple question and Senator Vance would not acknowledge that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election,” he finished.