Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' choice of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate triggered a storm of criticism from Republicans.
While such a response from a party competing for the Oval Office is hardly surprising, Sputnik delved into Walz's record to find out whether the criticism is justified.
On Sept. 23, 1995, the would-be governor was arrested for drunken driving in his home state of Nebraska. "A strong odor of alcoholic beverage" emitting from Walz was detected by the police.
While commanding the Minnesota National Guard 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion in 2005 he hastily quit, leaving his subordinates without leadership after learning that his unit would be sent to Iraq. Then he "embellished and selectively omitted facts" from his military career to look good, as per Minnesota National Guard veterans.
As Minnesota governor, Walz introduced strict lockdowns and mask mandates during COVID-19, but loosely treated the elderly. Almost half (45%) of Minnesota’s COVID-19 deaths were in nursing homes and residential care communities.
Walz is also criticized for failing to prevent what is now called the largest pandemic-related fraud in the US: a whopping $250 million from a federal food program was stolen under his watch.
He is accused of being slow to call the National Guard to stop violent Black Lives Matter (BLM) riots in 2020 which left many businesses in Minneapolis in ruins and put the lives of police officials in jeopardy.
The Minnesota governor has been called by the New York Post "a far-left progressive" largely due to his abortion policies, protection of LGBTQ* and turning the state into a transgender refuge.
In April 2023, Walz signed a bill making Minnesota a "sanctuary" for child sex-change operations, including the provision puberty blockers, genital surgery, and hormone therapy including for minors coming from other states.
In April and May 2023, he signed bills de facto making it legal to coerce women into having abortions. The laws also repeal Minnesota’s informed-consent provisions and legal protection for infants who survived abortions.
"Walz looks like a salt-of-the-earth Midwestern dad rather than a radical progressive," the media outlet wrote. "But if you read the book past its cover, Tim Walz is anything but a middle-of-the-road Middle American."
*banned as an extremist organization in Russia