Today is
Tuesday October 22, 2024
(WASHINGTON, DC) -- Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, appearing on ABC's "The View" on Monday, gave a more definitive answer to a question his running mate Vice President Kamala Harris did have an answer to at first: What policy would he have handled differently from President Joe Biden over the past four years.
Maybe better prepared as a result, Walz said he wished one of their ticket's proposals -- an expansion of Medicare -- "would have been proposed sooner," and later said Harris was "really leaning into these issues" on matters such as the care economy and child care affordability -- a departure from the current administration, which he said are "tackling the issues that they need to."
"Those are pretty big differences, and I don't think that's -- that's a pejorative towards it. There were other issues that were being dealt with. And she's her own leader. She's got her own path, a new way forward," Walz said. "They came out of a pandemic that Donald Trump had left, a mess for an economy with supply chains that were broken," he said in defense of the Biden-Harris administration.
"But I think focusing on this care economy, the two things that the vice president proposed, that I hear everywhere, especially in rural America, is this issue of affordability on child care and the ability of seniors to get health care, protecting that," Walz said.
Harris, during her own appearance on "The View" earlier this month, opened herself up to attacks by Republicans after she was asked the same question and initially responded, "There is not a thing that comes to mind."
Walz also said Monday that former President Donald Trump is "spiraling down" after being asked about the former president's recent lewd comments. Walz said Trump's remarks are also "dangerous" -- particularly calling out the former president's recent threat to use the military to deal with what Trump has called "enemies from within" on Election Day.
"It's very clear that, as you said, Donald Trump is spiraling down, unhinged," Walz said. "What worries me about these comments, some of these are just so strange that they're hard to imagine, are the dangerous ones in the middle of that -- the 'enemy from within' and some of that."
He said Trump's rhetoric was the "talk of dictators" while Harris "clearly understands" that the separation of powers is the "genius of this country."
"And I just tell Americans if, if you're tired of that chaos. And I know that Donald Trump's handlers are saying he's exhausted. So are we Americans are exhausted with the stuff that he does -- the chaos. I think this one is, don't risk it with this. This is dangerous talk. This is the talk of dictators. And I think Kamala Harris clearly understands that the separation and the, you know, the separation of powers, is the genius of this country. And the military -- military is responsible to the Constitution and the American people, and not the president," Walz added later.
Walz's comments on "The View" also spanned topics like the economy, appealing to Black and male voters and guns, among a number of other issues. He also offered his take on Elon Musk's million-dollar giveaway to Pennsylvanians who sign a petition supporting free speech, saying "that's what you do when you have no plan for the public." Walz also said that Trump, by visiting a Pennsylvania McDonald's on Sunday and working the fryer, had "pandered" and "disrespected" those fast food employees.
The governor said that Harris "actually worked in a McDonald's," and didn't "go and pander and disrespect McDonald's workers by standing there in your red tie and take a picture."
"His policies are the ones that undermine those very workers that were in that McDonald's, whether it's home ownership, health care, reproductive rights or cost of products. So, there's more work to be done," Walz said.
Walz expands on Trump's threat to his political enemies
Walz was asked, as a retired National Guardsman, if Trump's assertion he'd send the military force out for his political enemies.
Walz indicated that citizens would be protected from such actions, citing Posse Comitatus, a federal law signed that limits the powers of the government in the use of military personnel to enforce domestic policies within the country, and the Insurrection Act.
"I did serve for 24 years, and I'm proud that – you get called up for state duty during flooding and hurricanes, and as governor, you use the National Guard for domestic missions," he began. "But we have something in this country, starting out with Posse Comitatus and the Insurrection Act that doesn't allow for the use of troops against U.S. citizens," Walz said.
"It's pretty foundational to our democracy that the person who's in charge can't use the military to suppress their political rivals," he added.
Walz also said something on Monday that he'd begun to float for the first time at a rally in Omaha on Saturday: that if the Democratic ticket didn't win this election, he was unsure if American institutions would hold if there was another Trump term.
"And I think what we saw with Senator Vance's answer about the 2020 election -- the guardrails are off with Donald Trump right now. And I think we know that, and I think for the Americans to recognize, well, we got through one Trump presidency, we can get through another. Look. I'm an eternal optimist ... but our, our systems are strained, and the ability to politicize the military has never been tried in this country. He's trying it. So, I think it's a legitimate one," Walz said.
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(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris described Thursday as a good day for the world after the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Sinwar, considered the mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel that prompted war in Gaza and wider regional conflict, was killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Thursday.
Biden, in a lengthy written statement, said he directed U.S. intelligence officials to help Israel locate and track Sinwar as well as other Hamas leaders hiding underground.
"To my Israeli friends, this is no doubt a day of relief and reminiscence, similar to the scenes witnessed throughout the United States after President Obama ordered the raid to kill Osama Bin Laden in 2011," Biden said.
A key question now is what Sinwar's death could mean for the war, and whether it could put new pressure on Israel and Hamas to restart negotiations for a cease-fire and hostage release deal.
U.S. officials said Sinwar was the main barrier to achieving such a resolution.
Biden said he will soon discuss with Israeli leaders the path forward for bringing hostages home and "for ending this war once and for all."
"There is now the opportunity for a 'day after' in Gaza without Hamas in power, and for a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike," Biden said. "Yahya Sinwar was an insurmountable obstacle to achieving all of those goals. That obstacle no longer exists. But much work remains before us."
According to the prime minister's office, Biden called Netanyahu from Air Force One and "congratulated him" on Sinwar's death,
"The two leaders agreed that there is an opportunity to promote the release of the abductees, and that they will work together to achieve this goal," Netanyahu's office said.
Vice President Harris echoed Biden's comments as she campaigned in battleground Wisconsin.
"Israel has a right to defend itself, and the threat Hamas poses to Israel must be eliminated. Today, there is clear progress toward that goal. Hamas is decimated, and its leadership is eliminated," Harris told reporters in prepared remarks.
"This moment gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza, and it must end such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination. And it is time for the day after to begin without Hamas in power," Harris added.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that Sinwar was responsible for the deaths of citizens of more than 30 countries and that the "world is a better place with him gone."
"In the days ahead, the United States will redouble its efforts with partners to end this conflict, secure the release all hostages, and chart a new path forward that will enable the people of Gaza to rebuild their lives and realize their aspirations free from war and free from the brutal grip of Hamas," Blinken said.
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller similar said from the podium on Thursday that Sinwar's death offered an "opportunity" to resume negotiations.
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