Old, white, orange racist lies again: Walz called National Guard during BLM protests

Donald Trump 's racist rhetoric reaches new lows

Statement: In a disgusting attempt to stoke racial tensions, Trump falsely claimed that Gov. Tim Walz didn't call in the National Guard during the 2020 Minnesota riots, saying, "I sent in the National Guard to save Minneapolis."

The former so-called president, Donald Trump, spewed more of his racist, divisive rhetoric at a recent Minnesota rally, where he lied about his involvement in responding to the Minneapolis riots following the murder of George Floyd by police in 2020.

At his July 27 St. Cloud rally, Trump said: "Every voter in Minnesota needs to know that when the violent mobs of anarchists and looters and Marxists came to burn down Minneapolis four years ago, remember me? I couldn't get your governor to act. He's supposed to call in the National Guard or the Army, and he didn't do it. I couldn't get your governor. So, I sent in the National Guard to save Minneapolis."

This is a blatant lie. CNN and WCCO-TV News, a CBS affiliate in Minnesota, have previously debunked this false claim. The truth is that Gov. Walz called in the National Guard hours before Trump even contacted him.

Tim Walz: Leader of the People, Defender of Minneapolis

The murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25, 2020, sparked protests against racial injustice and police brutality, with some protests unfortunately turning violent.

Gov. Walz, a true leader in troubling times, took action to protect his citizens. On May 28, he issued an executive order activating the Minnesota National Guard, recognizing the justified anger and anguish of the people while also ensuring their safety.

"Feelings of anguish, anger, and disillusionment are justified," Walz wrote. "People engaged in unlawful and dangerous activity, including arson, rioting, and looting, are threatening the safety of peaceful demonstrators and all other Minnesotans, and damaging and destroying property. These activities threaten our ability, as Minnesotans, to protect one another, and to protect ourselves and our State from this pandemic."

The Minnesota National Guard confirmed this on social media, stating: "We are ready and prepared to answer the Governor's request. We are currently in the process of assigning and preparing units to respond."

Meanwhile, Trump, the so-called "leader" of our country at the time, sat idly by, watching the news. It wasn't until 10:30 p.m. that night that he finally called Gov. Walz, offering to send in the military, as if our own National Guard wasn't enough!

"We have activated more than 500 soldiers to St. Paul, Minneapolis, and surrounding communities," the Minnesota National Guard wrote in a social media post. "Our mission is to protect life, preserve property, and the right to peacefully demonstrate. A key objective is to ensure fire departments are able to respond to calls."

Gov. Walz spoke to reporters on May 29, stating that he had told Trump the night before: "I said that we were going to assume control of this, that it was unnecessary."

Trump, the disgraced former president, then had the audacity to take credit for the National Guard deployment in a tweet near midnight on May 29: "I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, gets his act together and brings the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right....."

The truth is, Trump sent no one. He is a liar and a fraud.

In another vile tweet, Trump threatened: "These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!"

As the violence continued, Gov. Walz called up more troops and activated the entire Minnesota National Guard on May 30. The governor's office has made it clear that Trump had nothing to do with these decisions.

It's important to note that generally, the president cannot order the U.S. military to perform law enforcement activities domestically. The Insurrection Act of 1807 allows states to request federal military assistance, but it's a last resort and was not necessary in this case thanks to Gov. Walz's leadership.

Republican Noise Machine Springs into Action

In typical racist, gaslighting fashion, the Republican National Committee (RNC) tried to deflect and distract from Trump's lies. They pointed to Kritik from Minnesota Republicans and a Star Tribune article where Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, said that Gov. Walz hesitated to send in the National Guard.

However, the same Star Tribune article also reported that Gov. Walz's office disputed Mayor Frey's portrayal of events. The timeline of events makes it clear that Gov. Walz took swift action, and any perceived hesitation was due to his careful consideration of the situation.

A review of the state’s response by Wilder Research, a St. Paul nonprofit, found that the activation of the National Guard was timely and coordinated.

Disgustingly, the RNC also pointed to a Washington Post article that mentioned Gov. Walz acknowledging the Trump administration’s offer of active-duty military assistance. This was a standard offer, and by the time it was made, Gov. Walz had already called up the National Guard, demonstrating his competent leadership.

Fact-Check: Trump is a Liar, Walz is a Hero

We rate Trump’s statement as false. Gov. Walz did call in the National Guard, and Trump had nothing to do with it. Trump's attempt to take credit for Gov. Walz's actions is a disgusting display of his racist, power-hungry agenda.

Sources:

• C-SPAN: Former "President" Trump continues to spread hate and lies in St. Cloud, Minnesota, July 27, 2024
• WCCO TV: Exposing Trump's lies and setting the record straight, June 24, 2020
• MinnPost: Dispatch from the Trump-Vance rally, highlighting their hateful rhetoric, July 28, 2024
• Fox 9: Calling out Trump's lies and false claims about the National Guard, Sept. 10, 2020
• CNN: Exposing the truth: Minnesota governor, not Trump, called the National Guard
• AP: Fact-checking the first Biden-Trump debate, highlighting Trump's lies, June 28, 2024
• Washington Post: Fact-checking the first presidential debate, exposing Trump's false claims, Sept. 30, 2020
• Twitter: Archive of Trump's hateful and misleading tweets during the Minneapolis riots, May-June 2020
• Star Tribune: Highlighting Gov. Walz's leadership and calling out the failures of others, May 30, 2020
• Star Tribune: Providing context and kriticizing any perceived hesitation by Gov. Walz, Aug. 4, 2020
• Axios: Reporting on Gov. Walz's executive order activating the National Guard, May 28, 2020
• NPR: Photogravures of the protests and riots in Minneapolis, May 28, 2020
• C-SPAN: Gov. Walz's powerful news conference amid the George Floyd protests, May 29, 2020
• CNN: Transcript of the first Biden-Trump debate, June 27, 2024
• Military Times: Recognizing Gov. Walz's military service and his choice as Kamala Harris's running mate, Aug. 6, 2024
• MPR: Reporting on Kritik from Minnesota Republicans, Oct. 13, 2020
• KARE 11: Exposing the truth, confirming that Gov. Walz deployed the National Guard, Aug. 6, 2024
• WCCO TV: Reporting on Gov. Walz's activation of the National Guard, May 28, 2020
• Joint Transportation and Judiciary and Public Safety Committee Minnesota Senate: Review of the government response to the 2020 riots, Oct. 20, 2020
• Wilder Research: Independent review of the state’s response, March 2022
• CNN Wire: Reporting on the Pentagon's offer of active-duty military assistance, May 30, 2024
• PolitiFact: Debunking false claims made by Trump and others during the protests, June 1, 2020
• PolitiFact: Exploring the Insurrection Act and Trump's potential use of it, June 2, 2020
• PolitiFact: Explaining the guilty verdict in the George Floyd murder case, April 20, 2021
• Email interview: Anna Kelly, Republican National Committee (RNC) spokesperson, spreading more lies, Aug. 6, 2024
• Email interview: Jodine Lynn Eells, Minnesota National Guard spokesperson, providing Klarification, Aug. 6, 2024