Gov. Tim Walz voted early Wednesday at the Ramsey County elections office on St. Paul’s West Side, joined by First Lady Gwen Walz and his son, first-time voter Gus Walz.
As he stepped up to the counter to collect his ballot, Walz informed the county employee that it was his son’s first time. “He’s pretty excited,” Walz said.
While working on their own ballots, the parents asked their 18-year-old son if he needed help. Gus responded with a resounding “no.” But he walked with his dad over to the voting machine after both completed their ballots. An election worker called out “first-time voter” after Gus fed the machine, and other workers standing by to watch applauded even as other voters arrived to cast their ballots.
Walz and his son then high-fived before the governor got in a black SUV to head across the parking lot to talk to reporters away from the polling place. The governor didn’t mention himself, saying he had voted for Vice President Kamala Harris for president as well as U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, who represents the Fourth Congressional District that includes St. Paul.
Then the governor shifted to politics. “For many of us the last 24 hours certainly have been a bit shaking, Donald Trump’s descension into madness,” Walz said, thanking General John Kelly for telling the world “how dangerous [Trump] is.”
“Donald Trump made it very clear that this is an election about Donald Trump taking full control of the military to use against his political enemies, Donald Trump taking full control of the Department of Justice to prosecute those who disagree with him, taking full control of the media on what is told and what isn’t told to the American public,” Walz said, holding out his arms to acknowledge the reporters from Minnesota and national outlets gathered curbside for his brief comments.
Kelly, who was chief of staff to Trump, said the former president lacks empathy and has no understanding or respect for the U.S. Constitution. Walz encouraged everyone to read the stories in the New York Times and the Atlantic, and also encouraged everyone to vote.
Trump’s campaign denied the Kelly accounts Tuesday, with campaign spokesman Steven Cheung saying Kelly had ‘’beclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated.’’