Walz: ‘Our Policies Are Popular’ But It ‘Didn’t Resonate’

During an interview on MSNBC on Tuesday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) declared that the problem in 2024 was “not enough Americans believed that, we, as Democrats or Vice President Harris and myself, were on their side, and we are. Our policies are popular. But that didn’t resonate.”

Co-host Ari Melber asked, “Is there anything you learned out on the campaign trail last year that could apply to how Democrats respond tonight and in the days ahead to this Trump agenda?”

Walz answered, Yeah. Look, Donald Trump’s a showman. This is a dog and pony show tonight. He’s not going to lay out anything that improves the lives of Minnesotans. But he fills the space.”

Walz continued, “And I think the thing I learned is, is we have to go into every space. Because what was clear is, not enough Americans believed that, we, as Democrats or Vice President Harris and myself, were on their side, and we are. Our policies are popular. But that didn’t resonate. And he’s going to come out there tonight, and he’s going to get cheers from a bunch of lapdogs that’ll kiss his boots, the same people who won’t go see their constituents, because what they know is, firing veterans from the V.A., not a good idea. Putting tariffs on farmers, not a good idea. Cutting the folks who are trying to reduce the risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza, not a good idea. And so, I think the thing I learned is, is we need to be in every space, everywhere. Saturday night, I was up in Helena, Montana. Look, we have got to take that message because we have got to believe ourselves that our message is about improving the lives of middle-class folks. Donald Trump cannot and will not do that. So, I expect it’ll just be nonsense. It’s bread and circuses tonight. We need to be out there giving real examples of real things that improve lives.”

Walz also stated that Democrats have to pass laws to improve people’s lives, and Democrats have handled that improperly and Democrats should give voters who are upset with the Trump administration’s policies a platform.

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett