Trump wouldn't call Minnesota governor after Democrat was slain but now
blames him for raised flags
[September 16, 2025]
By WILL WEISSERT and STEVE KARNOWSKI
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he would have
ordered flags lowered to half-staff following the assassination of a
Minnesota Democratic state lawmaker this summer had he been asked by the
state’s governor. But Trump at the time refused to even call Democratic
Gov. Tim Walz to express his condolences, saying it would only “waste
time.”
The president made the remark during an unrelated Oval Office event as
he defended his decision to lower U.S. flags after last week’s slaying
of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
After announcing that he was deploying the National Guard to Memphis,
Trump was asked why he signed an order lowering flags nationwide after
Kirk's killing during an event in Utah, but didn't do so after former
Democratic state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot
and killed in June.
Trump replied, “Well, if the governor had asked me to do that, I would
have done that.”
“But the governor of Minnesota didn't ask me,” the president said.
He continued, “I wouldn't have thought of that. But I would have if
somebody had asked me," and added: “Had the governor asked me to do
that, I would have done that gladly."
Walz spokesperson Claire Lancaster said in response Monday night that
“Governor Walz wishes that President Trump would be a President for all
Americans.” The governor also tweeted a video call for unity that
featured references to Hortman’s assassination and the recent shooting
at a Minneapolis Catholic church that killed two students and injured 21
people. It included feel-good scenes from the recent Minnesota State
Fair but didn’t mention Kirk.
[to top of second column]
|
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House,
Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“The world feels crazy right now, but we won’t lose hope. We will get
through this, together,” Walz said in the video.
Trump’s assertions Monday omitted the fact that — days after Hortman and
her husband were shot dead in their home in the northern Minneapolis
suburbs — the president was asked if he’d be calling Walz. Trump
suggested that doing so would “waste time.”
Presidents often reach out to governors, mayors and other elected
officials at times of tragedy, such as after mass killings or natural
disasters, to offer condolences and, if needed, federal assistance. But
Trump said then that Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee
against Trump in last year’s election, was “slick.”
“I think the governor of Minnesota is so whacked out. I’m not calling
him. Why would I call him?" Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One in
June. He then added, “The guy doesn’t have a clue" and “he’s a mess. So,
you know, I could be nice and call him but why waste time?”
Trump also said Monday that he planned to attend Kirk’s funeral this
weekend in Arizona and that he’d likely be speaking.
“I guess I’ll say a few words, I don’t know,” he said. “But I guess I
will.”
___
Karnowski reported from Minneapolis.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
