Speaker Johnson in Minneapolis:“Tim Walz let Minnesota burn, Kamala Harris poured gasoline on the flames”

August 26, 2024

Contact: Greg Steele

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Speaker Mike Johnson traveled to Minneapolis to expose the records of Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz on crime, the economy, and the border crisis. Speaking Sunday in front of the former 3rd Police Precinct, still barricaded following the 2020 riots, Speaker Johnson discussed how the riots there were an enduring symbol of the Democrat presidential ticket’s disastrous records. Speaker Johnson was joined by Rep. Pete Stauber (MN-8), Rep. Michelle Fischbach (MN-7), and former prosecutor Joe Teirab (MN-2 candidate).

Speaker Johnson: "While Kamala Harris hides from the media, we are here and we will keep telling the American people the truth about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz’s records. Overall, more than 1,500 buildings in Minneapolis and the surrounding area were damaged or destroyed totaling upwards of $500 million. Right here, the hopes and dreams of countless small business owners and families literally went up in smoke.

"While Tim Walz let Minnesota burn, it was Kamala Harris who poured gasoline on the flames by helping to bail out those who held the matches. Kamala Harris helped raise money, not for the people whose businesses were destroyed or livelihoods ruined, but for the criminals who destroyed them.

"The riots that began here and Kamala Harris’ endorsement of them set off ‘a summer of love’ as radicals and anarchists called it, but it was really a summer of destruction. And we will not forget that and the American people will not forget that."

"As I meet families and police officers and veterans and business owners across our nation and hear their concerns, one thing is absolutely clear: Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are too extreme for America. Their records – here in Minneapolis and in the White House – have shown us all the proof we need.   The choice in this election could not be clearer.

"The facts are, under President Donald Trump, our border was secure, our streets were safer, our economy was the strongest in history for every community, our allies respected us, and our enemies feared us. Donald Trump and JD Vance are running to fix our broken economy, secure that border once and for all, and put us back on a path to peace through strength. Unlike the woke left, they have the backs of every hardworking American citizen, so do the Republicans in Congress. And especially we have the backs of our law enforcement and the voters know it."

Congressman Pete Stauber (MN-8): "As my brothers and sisters in the blue and brown were being assaulted and violently being shot at, Kamala Harris was trying to raise money to bail those same violent protesters out to continue the devastation in this community. To the residents of Minneapolis, to the business owners of Minneapolis, and to the police officers - the men and women in the Minneapolis Police Department, they failed you and it’s unacceptable. As police officers, we want to be held accountable and we will be held accountable. But we also have to have elected officials from the local level, state level, and federal level who back the blue. There is only one candidate and vice presidential candidate that back the blue. That is Donald Trump and JD Vance."

Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach (MN-7): "I watched as Governor Walz let law enforcement down and let the people of Minnesota down. And then we watched as Kamala Harris put together bail money for those rioters. The riots in Minnesota show what a Harris-Walz administration will do - They will let law enforcement down, they will disrespect law enforcement, they will let the people of our country down."

Former prosecutor and candidate for Minnesota's 2nd District Joe Teirab: "Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and the people that have enabled them like my opponent Angie Craig who is in lockstep with the failed Biden-Harris agenda, that’s who’s caused this mess. We’re going to end that on day one when we grow the Republican House majority."

Watch the full press conference here.