Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) said on ABC's This Week on Sunday that Democrat vice presidential nominee Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's folksy persona is an act and that he has been a "disaster" for his state.
Emmer said, "Tim’s been a complete disaster in Minnesota, and what’s happened is he’s so good at being this folksy, nice, kind of down-to-earth guy until people get to know him and his policies. I don’t know if you know this, but his whole congressional district where he played this character for several years of being kind of a folksy, AG-friendly outdoorsman, he lost it in both of his gubernatorial races, and the last one almost by ten points. He’s not well liked because once you get to know the real Tim Walz, he’s like Gavin Newsom in a flannel shirt.”
Co-anchor Martha Raddatz pointed out that Emmer has been playing Walz in Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance (OH)'s debate prep ahead of the vice presidential debate on Tuesday in New York City, hosted by CBS News.
Emmer said he had known Walz for 20 years and had worked to copy his mannerisms and phrases so Vance knew what he would be facing.
Emmer praised Vance during the interview.
“I can tell you he’s got the issues on his side," Emmer said. "He can talk about the economy that Donald Trump fixed and that Harris and Biden broke. He can talk about the border that Trump fixed, and that they broke. He can talk about peace and stability around the world which they don’t even have a clue. They’ve caused all of this disruption, and once he understands that Tim Walz is just going to try and deflect and go into this folksy whatever, he’ll hold him accountable. I think JD can do a great job.”
When Raddatz tried to defend Walz, Emmer pointed out that Harris's instant 10-point lead upon being installed without a vote dropped by half when she chose Walz as her running mate.
Raddatz said that Walz had a higher approval rating than Vance, but Emmer said that "snapshot polls" don't tell the real story.
"I think J.D. is very likeable and I think he’s well liked," Emmer insisted. "And I don’t buy into these snapshot polls that are being done for a specific reason. If you’re not willing to – to agree that Tim Walz, once people get to know who he is and they know what his policies are, he’s more radical than Kamala Harris."
People do not like him once they get to know him, Emmer added. "And J.D. will expose that on Tuesday."
Raddatz's next gotcha question was about Republican nominee former President Donald Trump's recent statement that Harris is "mentally disabled."
"Do you approve of that kind of language?" she asked.
Emmer redirected, saying he wanted to "focus on the issues" instead of answering the question.
It was a smart move, but the debate hosts are sure to harp on that point endlessly during the debate to distract from the fact that Harris was part of an administration that has caused economic problems, let millions of migrants into the country, and has views way out of mainstream society on many issues.
