Walz addresses history of misstatements on ‘The View,’ hits Trump

MINNEAPOLIS — Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz faced further questions during his debut appearance on ABC’s “The View” about his record of past misstatements, calling the comments passionate slip-ups and trying to shift accusations to former President Donald Trump.
Co-host Alyssa Farrah, a former Trump White House assistant and director of strategic communications, asked Walz about his trustworthiness in light of a list of inconsistencies and exaggerations that have emerged during his short time on the campaign trail.
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The former educator has come under scrutiny for a number of verbal gaffes and inaccuracies since Vice President Kamala Harris selected Walz as her running mate in August. That includes saying he’s friends with school shooters during his first and only debate, exaggerating the number of times he’s visited China and claiming he was present for the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests when he wasn’t, along with other errors.
Walz told the long-running talk show that “I do think it’s important that we’re careful about how we speak.” But he also said he believes American voters “separate (misspeaking about when he was in China) between a pathological liar, like Donald Trump, they get it out there.”
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Most recently, Walz publicly endorsed abolishing the Electoral College. The campaign was quick to distance itself from the comment, saying it was not an official policy platform for Harris.
More:Walz says Electoral College ‘needs to go,’ but Harris campaign says that’s not its position
But Walz claims that these slip-ups are just a part of being a plain-spoken American, a large part of his campaign and appeal to middle America.
“I think being a teacher, being a coach, I just speak from my heart,” he said.
The 60-year-old’s increased public presence has been swarmed with questions about these kinds of remarks. Walz and the Harris campaign have largely owned up to the misstatements but often point to inaccurate rhetoric from the Republican ticket, claiming it’s the more important issue as Election Day approaches.
For example, Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, repeatedly cited debunked claims about Haitian migrants eating pets. Trump and Vance have also frequently refused to say the former president lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden and backed false claims of widespread voter fraud during the last election.
Walz added during the Monday interview: “I think the public sees this, just the massive amount of misinformation that gets poured out there, (are the misspeaks) important to be detailed?” he said.
— Sam Woodward is the Minnesota elections reporting fellow for USA TODAY focusing on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s candidacy. You can reach her [email protected].