Governor Tim Walz
Appearances
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Walz PUTS THE SCREWS in Trump for GOV FREEZE
Donald Trump's reckless action cut off funding to law enforcement, farmers, school, child care, veterans, and healthcare. While he was out golfing, he threw the country into crisis. This is not bold. It's not leadership. It's stupid, buffoonish, childish of exactly what they did.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Walz PUTS THE SCREWS in Trump for GOV FREEZE
Childcare providers across the state, law enforcement, our prisons, things that we count on, individuals on Medicare, things that we know matter to people's lives. I want to be very clear about this. Minnesota is a state that pays far more into the federal government than we get back. Those are our dollars that he is stealing unconstitutionally.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Walz PUTS THE SCREWS in Trump for GOV FREEZE
Congress, as I served, as Attorney General Ellison served, appropriates the dollars. This is so far beyond the pale to try and pull these dollars back. And the real thing about this was he has no idea. I understand this. Donald Trump has no idea the implications on this.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Walz PUTS THE SCREWS in Trump for GOV FREEZE
unlawful impoundment whereby donald trump seizes the power of the purse from congress which controls the spending and donald trump seizes all of the money for himself watch this and i have asked our members of congress i've spoken with senator klobuchar and smith i've spoken with representatives mccullum and craig left messages for our other members to get on this i have heard nothing other than representative emmer saying he 100 agrees with this and this is what the american public voted for
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Walz PUTS THE SCREWS in Trump for GOV FREEZE
Not a mandate to defund the YMCA, to cut funding to hospitals, to cut funding to law enforcement. Never again will the Minnesota Press ever write a story about law enforcement funding without adding that Tom Emmer cut funding to police in what he supported in this. It's an outrageous power grab. It undermines Minnesotans.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Walz PUTS THE SCREWS in Trump for GOV FREEZE
And I want to tell you, we are here to do all we can to protect Minnesotans. But I cannot promise you that we can make up the nearly $2 billion a month of our money that is being held illegally by the Trump administration. Dollars that make a difference in the things that we do.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Walz PUTS THE SCREWS in Trump for GOV FREEZE
I would suggest that Representative Emmer stand up for the Constitution, stand up for the House of Representatives, be more concerned about helping Minnesotans and flying on Air Force One next to the president, and get this work done that needs to be done. We will do everything in our power to make sure we can fill the hole. I continue to say that to folks.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Walz PUTS THE SCREWS in Trump for GOV FREEZE
The recklessness, no wonder Trump University went broke. They can't manage a damn thing. If they really wanted this to happen and they really wanted to cut this, there's ways they could have gone about it. This is just buffoonish. So I want to be clear, we're trying our best because we follow the law and think about what it did to these employees.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Walz PUTS THE SCREWS in Trump for GOV FREEZE
The commissioner is operating under the assumption that we need to do this at 4 p.m. And we're trying to do that. So it's just, I hope Minnesotans understand, even if you're supportive of all of this, even if you don't care what happens to those kids downstairs, This is like the least effective legal and decent way to go about it.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Walz PUTS THE SCREWS in Trump for GOV FREEZE
The recklessness, no wonder Trump University went broke. They can't manage a damn thing. If they really wanted this to happen and they really wanted to cut this, there's ways they could have gone about it. This is just buffoonish.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
Nice to be with you, Rachel.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
Well, we knew it was coming, but it's still a day that I dreaded. I dreaded it as a teacher, as a parent, certainly as a governor now. And the sad part for me about this is Donald Trump doesn't know anything about education. This has been a
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
a longtime dream of the far right to crush the public education system, to take that money and transfer it to private schools that don't exist in a lot of areas or rural areas, and to undermine some of the missions of the Department of Ed, making sure everybody gets an education, regardless of race, religion, or abilities.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
students like my son who depend on IDEA and individual education plans to make sure that they're treated equally and get the best possible education they can. That's a hallmark of America. I think America's great contribution to the world is our public education system. And of course, Donald Trump doesn't care. And I appreciate you showing that photo because it's so obscene that he would
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
put a mock classroom. We all know he's never been in one. He wouldn't last for a minute. He's never done it. He's surrounded by people who know nothing about education. And they want to make this about bureaucracy and cutting. This is about children. This is about broadband access in their schools. This is about the research you were talking about, pedagogy, things that we learn.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
And then it's about the Civil Rights Department at the Department of Education. that makes sure that we don't have a situation where a Ruby Bridges is escorted to school with police. And so we're back in an area where we can segregate. And he knows that curriculums and those decisions are made on a local basis, but they muddy the water.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
So look, just like your previous guest, thanks for having her on, but it's chilling. They don't care about law. They don't care about where the American public's at. And that kind of segues to why I'm getting out there and There's a reason that these Republican Congress members aren't holding town halls, because this is so unpopular they can't defend it.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
But I'm going to make sure that the voices of their constituents are heard.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
Yeah, these folks just, and they want to be heard. I think a town hall is healthy. People say it in front of their neighbors. For example, I was in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and a retired couple, both teachers got up and they talked about the times where in their classroom, they provided a little extra money into accounts for kids so that they could eat. They're worried about that.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
They're worried about who's going to go into teaching when they see folks demonizing it. There's folks standing up a woman with Parkinson's disease, another that worried about his brother who needed special services through Medicaid. And they're terrified. They're terrified because of the chaos. They don't know what's going to happen. And there's no plans for this.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
They're not putting anything in place. We fire people, then we hire them back. You know, we get rid of people working on bird flu, and then we hire them back. It's all about chaos. And the thing that's most troubling to me is... especially with this Department of Education move. This was all written down in Project 2025. This is a very, you know, systematic effort to undermine us.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
But look, these are regular people, people standing up. I had a young airman, specialized service, flying on intelligence missions. She is not going to be able to serve because they have decided that they don't like who she is, simply who she is. And the spouses of service members who have all been fired. And you know how this works on military bases.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
The spouses usually work at the commissary, the hospital, the school, whatever it may be, and those have all been laid off. And so it just goes on and on. A lot of these folks who are coming there did not support Donald Trump, but a lot of them, even if they didn't support, said that we didn't know it would be this bad.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
Just the absolute disregard for folks who want to serve our veterans and can't. So it's... It is a mess. I do believe, though, that I've been given a platform running and the privilege of running with Vice President Harris, given a platform to list folks up and they are coming out. These are folks that are coming out. They're making their voices heard.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
And these members of Congress are going to dodge it. Donald Trump doesn't have to stand in front of the voters again, but these folks do. And we need to make it clear that this cannot stand. And we'll challenge them on all fronts. We'll challenge them in the court of public opinion. We'll challenge them in the courts. It's simply not what America's founded on.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
Again, I go back to that previous story with the attorney and the absolute disregard for all rule of law and human rights. This is stuff that Americans need to pay attention. I'm an optimistic person, and I'm not trying to paint this too terribly, but I think we have to assume the very worst in everything that this administration does, and we need to prepare for it.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
Well, speechless would be the word. I don't know how to convey. I don't possess the language ability to convey how far out of the norm this is. Like nothing that people listening like, look, this is those of us who served the background checks from the FBI just just to receive clearance as an artillery agent.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
enlisted soldier was extensive to get that background and then the level of information that you can get or as a member of Congress to be able to have access to this type of information. These are closely guarded secrets because our national and our global defense depends upon them. And once again, we have this
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
I don't know, the character, the world's richest man with the world's most fragile ego. And I don't understand where the Republicans, where are Lindsey Graham's? Where are these people who know how this works to not be terrified of where this is at? And again, seeing the Commerce Secretary today tell people to go buy a specific stock and not jesting, not in that.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
And look, I have to be very careful because I'll be candid. I think this guy is is deeply damaged, a buffoon, but I also don't want to elevate him. He is unelected. He does not know how this stuff works. And Donald Trump is being reckless with the most sensitive data. So I want to try and provide some assurance to the American people.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
But I also think our leadership needs to be very clear about not not sugarcoating this. And Donald Trump obviously disrespects the American public. He thinks they're not smart enough to understand this and doesn't care. I do believe the American public knows. And I do believe when they see stories like this, that this is why these town halls are growing so big.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
This is why folks are starting to question. And what I truly worry that I get sucked into, too, is they throw so much at it. it's this is the stuff that you should watch this is that disappearing people sharing our most guarded secrets on global conflict with a truly unstable private citizen who has no authority um and appears to not care so yeah i i would just say this is chilling um
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
I'm hoping that the resistance, and right now the resistance has to be in the Senate. Republican senators need to put a stop to this and pull this back.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Trump admin shows folly of blind obedience to someone who doesn't know what they're doing
Thank you, Rachel.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
You're doing other things. And I said, I think we as Democrats have to give, whether it's Bernie Sanders, whether it's Jasmine Crockett, AOC, Gavin Newsom, J.B. Pritzker, all of the folks out there, because look, what we have in common is we believe in working people. We believe in fairness. We believe in health care. We believe in the environment. We're on the same team as the American public.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
No, I don't fear it. But I think we need to be honest with ourselves. The folks who took a beautiful Friday afternoon in Des Moines to come listen to Tim Wall speak probably have a pretty good opinion of me in the first place. But that's okay, too. That's okay. Because they're screaming, what are you guys going to do about it? But I do tell you, there were some independents there.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I doubt if there were a whole lot of Republicans. But I'll tell you what, those Republicans were watching. And I think what I would say if I was them is, look, our representative can do better than Walls. He should do it. He should get out there and do it. This is to put pressure on them to come forward because then it really does become a debate about the critical issues.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And like I said this, you know, they can just come and, why did you cut the VA? Just tell us. Tell us why you think that's a good idea. Because I would argue, once again, 80% of Americans don't want to cut the VA. And you have to give them statistics and facts. And I think my purpose of this is to force the hand of these folks, because I gotta be honest with you.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I think if they try and defend this stuff, they're gonna lose. I believe strongly in that. This isn't just us versus them. This is good policy versus bad policy. And so that's the purpose. But no, I wanna be clear to folks who see that. The folks showing up are excited, but here's my thing. Four months after losing this critical election, Our base is still engaged.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
So I think that polling is interesting, Gavin, that it doesn't mean that there's less Democrats. And the reason that number is so low is if you poll every single year, if you ask the Republican Party their opinion of the Democratic Party, it's very low. The reason our numbers are so low is those are Democrats.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I'm not a Democrat. I'm Democratic farmer labor. I'm the worst person in the country. We're DFL. And so, and I actually think, Gavin, this is an interesting point. While I won't cry and tell you we've kept the farmers all with us or whatever, We have kept some of them, like Farmers Union in Minnesota and these issues around water quality and different things. And we have labor.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And in Minnesota, we really do. This was a marriage between the Farmer Labor Party, which, quite honestly, was more progressive and leaning into the issues of the working class and Democrats. And so I think on a national level, we're going to have to conversation of who we are, because like you said, people don't believe we're with them. They think we're elitist.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
Howard Dean was right, 50 states. And just to be candid, as one of the fringe, you know, kind of washed in with the wave in 2006 when there was the big Democratic wave, it was because of Howard Dean and a few folks that were out there that were saying expand the map. Rahm Emanuel, of all people, was one of them, too, said we need to expand the map everywhere.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
They went into a district that had one Democrat since 1892 and put a little money into it. And I won. And so I think if you want to govern this country, you can't tell Montana they don't matter or Idaho or Mississippi. And look, you and I both know this. You also can't tell the Central Valley and things. We're not, everybody thinks, oh, California's solid.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I have to say, I appreciate it, and you're going on talking, and I get frustrated with some of these folks. I get frustrated with the talking heads and the folks who I think are bad actors. I don't get frustrated with my neighbors who are voting that way. I don't understand it as well, but I'm trying to get them –
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
You know, we have to figure out a way that we're not the Republicans have done a good job of this. We're the enemy now. Now we're in this situation where they see Russians as being more trustworthy than us. You know, that's that's a sad state to be in. Unbelievable state. Yes. And I don't know. Again, I don't. I don't know if I've got the ability to bring back those 77 million.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I do believe we've got the ability to get the disenfranchised folks who are seeing the damage here. And I think that's really important because this is truly this isn't about winning elections. This is about what's best for the country. And you'll never convince me siding with Putin in North Korea is good for the country or fighting a trade war with Canada and Mexico is good for the country.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
Fringe red herring issues that get Democrats at Democrats, that Democratic activists screaming at other Democrats. How do we and I did it, Gavin. I admitted it. I took the dogs and cats argument and ran right with it. And he sucked me in. We have been in these issues where we may not all agree on on all the issue, but we buy their frame.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And then you have Democrats fighting against Democrats and they sail above it.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And having served in Congress, you're an executive. You know what makes the hard? I put out a budget and everybody's angry with me. All my friends, you know, including teachers who I'm looking out for, but you have to do these things. But I think it's in the moment with this.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And I look and this is where Democrats, we actually care about the institutions and we care about people like, you know, my opinion on this is I believe, Chuck, 100 percent believes that he made a decision that that reduced the pain and the risk to Americans. I see it now that we're in a point where I think we're in a new world. That pain is coming anyway. And I'm with you. I'm with you. Yeah.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And they think we gave up our leverage. And to make it clear who owns this, because now to the American public who doesn't do this for a living and is out doing their job. They said, well, they passed this budget and they agreed with Donald Trump and now we all own that. I think you should have made Donald Trump justify why things were getting so bad.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And we as governors would do our best to protect the most vulnerable. That seemed to me to be the fight we should have had. But I think the public saying is, you guys weren't even coordinated on that.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I go back to it again, Gavin. It's not a flip at Vermont. It's the people. And then in a democracy, they send people forward to be able to do this. The party is not leadership. The party is there to enable. And I know for me, I wouldn't have got elected as president.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
a high school teacher with no connections, no political experience, if I wouldn't have been able to go to Worthington, Minnesota and meet a woman named Deb Hokanson, who already knew how to organize a little get together and put me in front of 40 people and let me give my little speech. That's what the party was supposed to do.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
My job was to hear and reflect from them and then take our values and vote for them. And I think we've gotten ourselves in this bind where we think there's going to be one person. Now, I want to be very clear about this. It doesn't excuse any of us for not being organized, coordinated, thoughtful, delivering a unified message. And by the way, Tim, we're not doing that.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
Yeah, we're not a caucus. But and again, our our. The folks who are out there, whether on social media or the folks at the local coffee shop or whatever, they want us to have a unified message. And here's where I really think they've missed in D.C. on this. It does feel to me that despite those numbers, the Democratic Party is unified. They're unified in being pissed off at the Democratic Party.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And they are unified in that Donald Trump's policies are going to hurt people. So I would argue, Gavin, that there's an argument in here. And then I'm going to I'm going to. I like him a lot and I think he's right. I think Ezra Klein is giving us a bit of a roadmap here.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
We blindly say all of our democratic institutions and our government institutions are unquestionably working as well as they should. We open it up. We should be striving to do things better. We should acknowledge. I'm trying to do it here in Minnesota. I'm not going to cut
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
you know safeguards around permitting but i will be the first to acknowledge it takes us too long to permit projects there you go and it it bogs down systems and i started you know we have to bring people in who look you're gonna you're gonna cater to corporate interests or whatever no i'm trying to make it easier to build a solar field and be able to get that out there i'm trying to make it easier for somebody to bring in a new business but not sacrifice
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
workers' safety, environmental safety, and that. And we don't acknowledge that enough, I don't think. There you go. And they, you know how Republicans are, I'll cut your taxes and, you know, we'll cut government spending. But now you have all these stories, people saying, well, I voted for Trump and I wanted them to cut government spending, but I didn't mean me. I didn't mean my stuff.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
We as Democrats have to connect that government does deliver positives, does deliver things. But we also are we're fallible. And and in some cases we get in the way. So say it.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
Tell him thanks for me because I agree with him on this. I think he's trying to figure out a better way that this isn't an all or nothing. And this is an advantage for us because Republicans are telling people that all government stinks. You're going to regret this. And I was down in Iowa when the tornadoes are hitting. It's really good to have weather forecasting. Really good.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I am. Thanks for having me. I'm kind of wondering where I fall on this list of guests, but I'm excited. You and I have been friends for a while, so we appreciate it. But you and I talked about this for a while, trying to understand during a Trump presidency, how do we best serve our folks? How do we get back there?
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
Yeah, no. And look, it Adjacent to this, Voice of America went silent today, which I tell you, having listened to Voice of America living in Asia in 89, I found out that the Berlin Wall fell through Voice of America. And there's a reason that they didn't want you to hear that when you're living in China, because that's pretty threatening to their way of doing things.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
So I think we haven't conveyed that. the power of that communication. And as the landscape has changed so greatly, because look, I know you're, you're taking a risk doing a podcast, doing something to try and fill a void that's out there. And hopefully trying to use it as a platform to articulate our values to a different or broader audience. But we've not figured this out yet.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And I don't, do I think we'd have won this election if we'd have gone on one of those podcasts? No, no. Probably not, but I don't think we'd have got beat by more. You know what I mean? I don't think, I think it would have been a chance, but I think any place we can go to talk about our values, the value of these town halls too, Gavin, is that they slow things down and you can talk things through.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And I think at the end of the day, you start finding out you know, there are people out there saying, well, I didn't really realize that. I didn't see it that way, but we're as guilty of this too. I want to go on to places where I get, you know, confirmation bias, which I already believe it. And then of course people turn to, we've got to broaden it. We've got to get to more people.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
We've got to recognize the disconnect between our policies and how people view them. And I think we always, this is just me. I'm going to say it that I think somebody has got to be big and strategic and macro. I just look at every one of these issues through the individual lens. how it's impacting them. And I try and stay in that space.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And I'll be the first to admit to you, I view most issues through the eyes of a teacher. It's just who I am. Like a thing when those kids come in the classroom, that means I view homelessness, food, insecurity, you know, inclusion.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I view all of those things through the eye of a teacher, what it means to be in that, because I believe that that's the, in America, that's the great hope, the great equalizer, the great experiment. And so I, something in there we're missing in a pretty big way, obviously.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And the Democratic Party, I mean, we all need to be very candid, is not all that popular right now.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
Because I saw it for me and not that I spend much time thinking about this and it just baffled me how much time they spent trying to attack me that I wasn't like masculine enough in their vision. Like I would have never believed this. I saw Fox News did like a couple of days because I used a straw. And I'm like, hell, man, what am I? How else do you drink a milkshake type of thing?
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
But they they focused on it obsessively, which I think, again, is their obsession, their weirdness. We buy their frame on these issues of sexuality, you know, but their whole thing was, is that they spent all their time. These guys on Fox News that that Walls is gay, is not masculine. You know, he doesn't coach football the way he should or doesn't. What do you think about this?
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I mean, because there's a lot of misogyny in here that's happening.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I do think that. I know I can run about. But I don't know if we're going to fall into that place where we want to, OK, we challenge you to a, you know, a WWE fight here type of thing.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
How do we push some of those guys back under a rock?
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I can't message to misogynists. I can't message that women shouldn't have.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I think some of us scare them. I think I scare them a little bit why they spend so much time on it. No, I'm serious, because I can fix a truck. They know I'm not bullshitting on this. I'm not putting this in people's grill. I don't know if my identity is not hunting. My identity is not football coaching. My identity is not, you know, a beard and a truck. I like all those things.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
But how did we get to this where have they figured it out that the identity piece of this is more important than the actual substance behind it?
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
Well, and I think that's what people are doing. Look, this is something hadn't been done, what you're doing. And people are, you know, and we're trying to enter spaces. And look, I don't know if all of them are going to work. But the fact of the matter is, we don't want to win elections just to say Democrats won elections. We want to win elections to improve people's lives.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I always use this analogy that there's a whole bunch of people, Gavin, that see rights like a pie. If somebody gets some, they lose part of their pie. Yeah, ridiculous. Not that way. Expanding rights that there's no one. I keep coming back to that idea and this idea of freedom that Well, that can be everybody. I don't know why they're in these small, little, narrow, divisive issues.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
Other than I think some of these people are masterful at it so they can get to their true goal, which is to cut taxes for the wealthy and shift wealth in their direction.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
When we're losing elections, chaos reigns, which we're seeing right now. I'm at a town hall and these folks are standing up. They're a VA nurse. They're concerned what's happening at the VA. They're a farmer that's concerned. They're folks that are concerned about their personal reproductive rights and their life choices. And if we can't be a respected opposition or alternative,
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
How do we do that, though, Kevin, and lay down a clear marker that you're not going to demonize LGBTQ people? We're not going to let that happen. How do we lay that marker down? Because I'm not going to get into their space with them of that that's what a man looks like, you know, demonizing these.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
How do we stay firm, show that we're committed, and not compromise on those values that we care about?
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
curious to listen i want to listen to ezra next week because because i think that's the other thing that i think we talk a lot and we have to deliver more you've delivered i think we've delivered in minnesota and i've seen this when you deliver on things that improve people's lives it's amazing how good the politics is behind that if you have good policies and get things done and part of that is i think where ezra's getting that is is is do your best work but acknowledge you know really this agency's not doing that much for people positive like i'm doing this thing
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
just just simple things to make them getting their driver's license easier you and i both deal with this the dmv like i'm trying to fight why do we make them go every year maybe we should go every two years you know just something that people want to see we did this thing where you can now get your license tabs um through a vending machine at cub foods so you just go up there takes you two minutes you put in your stuff and it spits out your tabs you put your tabs on
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
That one to me is as conservatives are like, good, I didn't have to deal with government. It was efficient. It was easy. But that was government. But it was good functioning government.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
It works so well for them because people believe that. And look, it's been 40 years since, you know, your predecessor Reagan told them, you know, you don't want to see government government. Government can be a great force of good, whether it's protecting your personal rights, whether it's innovation. Look, good for SpaceX. I hope they succeed. But let's be clear.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
SpaceX stands on the shoulders of NASA giants. And that's our taxpayer dollars that did that. There are great things. But I've always been a firm believer. We can do the research, send it into the private sector, let them improve, monetize it and help people as long as there's guardrails. I think we find ourselves now pushing back anything that's business oriented, we're kind of negative to.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
That really worries me. And I say this, Gavin, that I didn't go to the Democrats. They came to me with Social Security, with GI Bill. It was clear when, at least my age growing up, Democrats stood with working people, Republicans stood with the wealthy. And there was nothing necessarily wrong with that. It was at least an argument. It feels much more polarized now, but people don't see us as that.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I feel I'm hearing it from the business community. Look like they're they don't like Trump right now. They're not being courageous enough, in my opinion, to speak out. But they don't like this. But they also say, well, I don't hear a lot from you guys saying that, you know, you're these businesses added to the cultural, you know, tapestry of Minneapolis by far.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
But I've said this, Gavin, I taught fourth grade. Fear is an incredible short-term motivator. It can change behaviors though, for the long run. What are we going to have to do? You know, you feel this excitement, you have these rallies, but what's that translating into? You know, what's that turning into?
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
That's why they're on with Trump. They're part of something. They're part of a team. I've always said this. In high school, I did everything. I coached all the sports. I worked on the play, the musical. I sponsored the student trips. I built the prom. I did all that because what I understood was is kids will gravitate to groups and it's better to be in the musical than in a gang.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
It's better to be with this group of kids in school. So we know this. If a kid is part of something, they do that. And I'm telling you, this disenfranchisement with men, this not being there, whatever, they might have played on football teams. I think Trump gives them that feeling that I'm on the team. I wear the same colors. I do all this. I don't look. You can laugh all you want about red hats.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
People like those damn things, don't they? And maybe some of it's sticking it in our grill. But I think it's being part of something bigger than themselves. And right now, the Democratic Party doesn't feel like something bigger than themselves. And that's our whole goal. Community.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I'm trying to copy what you did on the service stuff. I said, Stanley McChrystal, you, there's a few folks out there talking about this. You know, you service learning and these types of things, stuff I've been interested in, too, from the teacher perspective. If you do that, you are so engaged in your community now. We celebrate and we rightfully should those who join and serve in the military.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
But there's numerous ways to serve your country. You got it. It's not in uniform. And I'm thinking as we become more fragmented, our media becomes more fragmented, our TV becomes more fragmented. People want to be part of something. And I think Trump knew that before us and he brought them into that. And I...
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
You know, that's why in the catchphrases and stuff, it may seem cheesy, but we're missing it. We're missing where people are not wanting to become part of something.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
Yeah, we got to offer them something. We got to offer.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
We have to be the Vikings to their Packers is what I would say, Gavin. Yeah. We got to get people in. And I think I would say to your listeners and everybody out there that we're going to have to ruffle feathers. We as Democrats aren't going to agree on everything, but our values are still there and we have to figure out how to have that.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And I would ask, you know, a frustrated and scared, to be honest with you, scared electorate to stay engaged. They are. That's what they're showing up those town halls. And then I would encourage our folks to listen and rise to the moment. Yeah. and do the things that we need to do to get back, not to win elections, but to influence policy in a positive way. So I'm grateful.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
Yeah, look, and I felt excitement out there. And our policies are popular, by the way. When you pull our policies, like paid family medical leave, support for the environment, reproductive rights, they pull very high. We don't.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
So what I have to tell you, what I take away from that, Gavin, is that I think we've got to be very careful of drinking our own Kool-Aid or believing we're in our bubble, because I truly did think we were going to win. And I say that as someone who has run in traditionally red districts, won close races, and I felt like I had a feel.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And I think this is where we're going to have to get out over our skis a bit, try new places. I know we've had this argument. It was out there. Governor, we didn't see you on a lot of things that weren't mainstream media. We didn't see you on podcasts. We didn't see you doing that. Are you willing to go into those? We need to be willing to go into those spaces.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
Now, between you and I, Gavin, I don't think we're going to win over those 77 million that voted for Donald Trump. I'm concerned with the 90 million who stayed home. Now, I'm concerned that our policies positively impact those 77 million because you and I represent a lot of
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
independents republicans greens as well as democrats we have responsibility i don't know if we can necessarily win them over but i think the thing that we should really soul search on is when the choice was donald trump jd vance and kamala harris and myself and policies that we were clearly articulating it got pretty close 77 to 75 type of thing but it's the 90 million that stayed home why did they think we were the same why did they think we weren't there and i don't
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I think by going into these spaces to be candid with you, it allows people to express their frustrations. It allows people to articulate what's happening in their lives. It better also be a place where we're hearing and learning. Because I'm guessing you're hearing some things that you don't normally hear when you're going on with some of these folks you're on with. They don't understand.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
Yeah, I think that's good. Yeah, and look, and I appreciate, I think we're gonna be in hard places and I think we're gonna get punched from both sides doing some of this, but we're not in this to, like I said, we're not banking political capital to win another election. We're trying to improve people's lives.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
and let's all be very candid nobody's lives being improved right now except billionaires and i don't see that changing and so i think we're going to have to ask those questions i think a lot of times the simple answer is it's the messenger you know which i'll acknowledge maybe the messenger is not good at this i approach this always gavin like a school teacher i give a lesson and then i do an assessment of that lesson
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And half the students didn't do very well on it. Well, I don't assume that those half are terrible kids. I assume that they have a different learning style or they weren't hearing the way I was teaching it. Maybe these folks were, you know, verbal learners. Maybe they were kinesthetic learners, whatever it might be.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I think we have to approach the electorate like that, that we think we're telling them where we're at. But for whatever reason, you're right. And this pains me. I tried to make the case. Look. I'm a public school teacher, went to a public university. And according to the Wall Street Journal, I'm the poorest person who ever ran for vice president. That didn't matter to them.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And so the idea here that we were trying to craft someone who, for whatever reason, there was a number of people that didn't register with. So I'm with everybody else. And again, when people ask me, I'm probably the last person you should ask for answers because I didn't get it done. But I do believe we were making inroads.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And I will have to tell you, one of the most powerful ones for me, Gavin, it's not a great use of campaign time, but we were up in Erie, Pennsylvania on Halloween before the election. And I sat down with five undecided voters and we had a 45 minute give and take on that. I think I got three of them for sure, maybe. But, you know, that's how you view it.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
But the fact of the matter was, is it was really good for me, too, because it was coming back and forth. And this guy says, well, I didn't realize, you know, you understood farm policy like this because I'm not hearing that from you guys. He was telling us he wasn't hearing that. And I said, but I do know this. I know the price of corn. I know how these things work. So.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I think as Democrats, we're going to have to push ourselves into uncomfortable spots. And these town halls, look, I'll be the first to acknowledge you. It's to highlight that their members of Congress on the Republican side are ashamed of Donald Trump's policies.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
Yes. And I don't demonize these representatives. I honor their service. I went out there, but I lived through this. I went to the town halls during the ACA and I made a full throated defense of President Obama's health care bill and I got reelected. Now, it was a tough fight, but I got reelected. These folks are not going out there. And I'll tell you, it's a huge mistake. Democrats did this.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
in 2010 oh these are republican operatives they were not republican operatives they were my neighbors who were madder than hell and were getting misinformation but i went out and filled that void i think we as democrats have have left a void and that donald trump is masterful say what you will about this i don't give him credit i don't think he's a genius i don't think he knows how stuff works but i do think he knows how media works and i do think he knows that if
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
We're assuming people hear our arguments. They're just so selfish. Just like that teacher in me. I taught the lesson. This should be easy. Well, that's not how all people learn. It's not how people's lives are at.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And again, I don't if someone who doesn't believe a woman should have the right to choose, if someone who doesn't believe the president should be restrained by the Constitution, I'm not going to win them. But I don't believe that's a very large percentage of the population. But why are they not trusting us? What's your take? I mean, what are you hearing when you hear this?
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
Why are people not trusting the message we were delivering? Because I keep coming back to this. We needed to have immigration reform to control our borders. And you can do that with humanity. Donald Trump just said they're invading our country and they're eating dogs and cats.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
Yeah, no, you're right. And I've talked to my team about it. Look, as a high school teacher and a governor or whatever, I didn't think about writing a
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
book but being there I have you know I think we got to tell our story and I think there's lessons learned to not go back and do a you know a deep dive or a hot wash of this is is irresponsible in my opinion I spoke to the the vice president last week we talked a little bit about this of coming to it but we haven't done like a formal debrief and you know when you're part of you've done this that when you're part of a team on this you know you you work together and I stand by that I signed up and
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And I say this, Gavin, you'd appreciate, not the cliches of coaching or whatever, but I feel like I'm the constant team player. If you are truly a team player, you have a responsibility to make your team better. And that means a responsibility to say, look, we're not making this block here. We need to do this or whatever it is.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And we need to be honest that, again, I keep coming back to that number of the folks who stayed home. How in God's name could you stay home during this election? It's pretty hard to blame that on Donald Trump. You know what I mean? That you've got a responsibility. They weren't going to vote for him. His people were.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
But you had a whole bunch of these folks that just said, what difference does it make? And how did we as a party get into that? How did we lose the narrative? How much are we ceding ground to the Fox News and the right wing talking heads? How much are we ceding to them, which we don't have a pushback on it? And that's fascinating to me. I see that with me.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
people who have a clearly defined vision of who I am by what they listen to. And I'm like, Well, that's not true. None of that is true, but they have it.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
And it did it. And I'm telling you, this is one of the most painful ones for me, Gavin, not because I don't go down and throw this in people's faces, but my dad was Korean War veteran. He took me. I did it. I don't go out there and say, you know, I'm better than you because I did 24 years. But how quickly these guys dismissed 24 years of honorable service.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
I rose and served as a highest ranking enlisted soldier where you can get. And. they find a way to damage that. And my argument on that has always been, it damages all veterans. But I bet if you went and polled, we see this, veterans voted for Donald Trump when they voted for us. We as Democrats, how do you write this off? How do you, or this one? Republicans are more fiscally conservative.
This is Gavin Newsom
And, This is Governor Tim Walz
You know that's not true. Republican governors of California have not been fiscally conservative.