An attack ad by the Republican Governors Association falsely claims Walz supported defunding police.
MINNEAPOLIS — A new attack ad by the Republican Governor's Association falsely claims Minnesota Governor Tim Walz wanted to strip funding from police.
The fact is, Walz increased funding for law enforcement twice and came out against the controversial Minneapolis city ballot question defeated by voters last year. The governor lobbied for $300 million in extra police funding this year.
The ad begins by reminding voters violent crime has spiked, and, like many GOP ads, blames Walz for that. But then the ad makes a statement that is patently false.
"But what is Governor Tim Walz's response? He pushed to defund our police," the female narrator can be heard saying.
The fine print at that point in the ad points to a Minneapolis Star Tribune article from June 12, 2020. That article simply said the governor has proposed a wide-ranging list of police reforms he wanted lawmakers to consider in the first special session after George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin.
"The commitment across the spectrum, both political, racial, economic, for change is undeniable," Walz told reporters two days earlier.
DFL lawmakers appeared with Walz at a press conference calling for two dozen changes governing police, while Senate Republicans urged caution in the face of the worldwide reaction to the video of Floyd's death captured by bystanders.
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