Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz vowed to protect his state from President-elect Donald Trump’s “hateful agenda” during his speech in Eagan, Minnesota, on Friday afternoon.
“The other side spent a lot of time campaigning, talking about and promising that they would leave things to the states. Well, I’m willing to take them at their word,” said Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate on the Democratic ticket and whose second term as governor ends in 2027.
“As soon as they try to bring a hateful agenda into this state, I stand ready to stand up and fight,” the 60-year-old governor said as supporters applauded.
“As long as I am governor of Minnesota, we will protect a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions,” Walz said, part of a chorus that also included welcoming immigrants and “standing up for health care.”[ing] with the rest of the world in the fight against climate change.”
“As long as I am governor of Minnesota, we will defend our children’s freedom to go to school without fear of being shot in their classrooms,” Walz said.
After pledging to fight the Trump-Vance agenda, he extended an olive branch to Trump-supporting Minnesotans.
“I will say and acknowledge this: About a million and a half of our fellow Minnesotans voted the other side in this election,” Walz said. He later added, “And while there may not be a place in our state for the most extreme elements of that agenda, there should be a place in our politics where everyone can be heard.”
“I think we have to swallow, and this is me in this, while I’m talking about myself, swallow a little bit of pride and look a little harder to find common ground with our neighbors who didn’t vote the way we did in this election,” Walz said.
“Maybe if we get a little break from this campaign we’re in, we can look at each other and see not enemies, but neighbors, and maybe we can sit down with a cup of coffee or a Diet Mountain. Just dew and talk, talk about our kids, talk about the lives we want to build for them,” Walz said. “Talk about the things that really matter: how we treat each other, how we care for each other, and how we support each other in difficult times.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
