Former Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz said in a new interview on Tuesday that it’s been “pure hell” since his party lost the presidential election last November.
Speaking with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, the Minnesota governor was asked what advice he’d give to “average people” who oppose the agenda President Donald Trump has implemented since he returned to office.
“You know that overused term, ‘The frog in the boiling water?’ We’ve been in the damn pot way too long,” Walz said. “I think it is speaking up. It’s thinking about your neighbors. It’s writing and putting those members of Congress – look, there is no spine amongst those folks – but this is real.”
Walz then offered some sympathy to exhausted Democratic voters.
“To the voters, I’m with this too. Everybody’s fatigued. Trust me, I get it,” Walz said. “It was pure hell, and the disappointment and the frustration, and I’m, you know, soul-searching – what could we have done to make the case? Because we knew this was coming. We knew the implication. And they’re throwing so much at us that we’re fatigued.”
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The Democratic governor went on to complain how the country spent three days debating whether billionaire Trump ally and Department of Government Efficiency co-founder Elon Musk, who he referred to “President Musk,” had given a “Nazi salute” at a Trump inauguration rally last week.
“Of course he did, but that is a distraction from what, I think you said it, this is ‘game on’ stuff right here,” Walz continued. “And I am worried with these federal employees because look, they’re in a tough spot, that some of these folks, especially those that are doing good work around environmental concerns, around justice for people, around, you know, criminal justice reform, all of the things that make our society better.”
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“So I would tell people stay focused. Don’t take the bait on the distractions. Surround yourself with people who understand this, and recognize the things they went after today are basically a big chunk of what society does, and people like to have clean water, and hospitals, and safety, and roads, and airports, all the things that they are going after… We have to find that voice. We have to push back. We have to be organized,” Walz later added, discussing the pausing of federal grants.
Walz also urged Democrats to “use the courts” but expressed caution, suggesting Trump won’t care what the courts say even if his party took that route.
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“I think it’s taking it to the individual people. Show what each of these programs does and what it means for people’s lives,” Walz said.
“Yeah,” Maddow agreed. “No matter what people motivated anybody’s vote, if you didn’t think you were voting to cut firefighting, if you didn’t think you were voting to cut meat inspections, if you didn’t think you were voting to cut air traffic control, well it’s all becoming very, very clear right now.”
Maddow incorrectly asserted her one-on-one with Walz was his “first interview since the presidential election,” although it was his first national one. Walz spoke with several local Minnesota outlets in December after losing the 2024 race.
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