U.S. Senate debate: Klobuchar criticizes White for saying ‘the bad guys won in World War II’

The only debate between Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Republican challenger Royce White started Sunday on the street outside WCCO Radio in Minneapolis.

As White approached the building, he loudly called some two dozen flag-waving and cheering Klobuchar supporters a “whole lot of commies.” The 33-year-old provocateur and podcaster also told them to thank GOP former Vice President Dick Cheney, who endorsed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, because there was “no chance in hell” that Harris would defeat Republican former President Donald Trump on Nov. 5.

Klobuchar, 64, had arrived moments earlier, smiling and wishing “good morning” to her supporters. Once inside, the two took questions for an hour from moderator Blois Olson. Their tone was generally polite, with White often interrupting a Klobuchar response by saying, “rebuttal,” indicating he wanted to respond.

The senator repeatedly raised White’s claims on X, formerly Twitter, that “the bad guys won in World War II” and that there were “no good guys in that war.” She called that stance offensive to veterans.

Klobuchar, who seeks a fourth six-year term, portrayed herself as a pragmatist. She opened by saying that Americans live in “incredibly divisive times politically.” But, she said, she has listened and worked with Republicans to bring down shipping costs lower drug prices for seniors, help veterans and push for more housing and child care.

“Courage in this next few years is not going to be standing by yourself yelling at people,” Klobuchar said, her opening allusion to White’s rhetoric, which she said is often vulgar.

White, a former NBA player and Twin Cities high school star, is a political novice, but a close ally of Steve Bannon, the jailed former chief strategist for Trump and a right-wing media executive. Last summer, White won the state GOP endorsement to run against Klobuchar.

He repeatedly talked about how the post-World War II economy is “based on a bunch of lies,” as well as “debt and death,” funded by the middle class through taxes and interest. He talked about abolishing the Federal Reserve and returning to the gold standard, which Klobuchar said would be tremendously disruptive to the economy.

She said she would address the national debt in part with Social Security taxes on high-earners, those who earn more than $400,000 annually. Currently, the tax on gross earnings ends at $168,600.

When Olson asked how U.S. foreign policy should balance domestic and global security, White said it should start at the nation’s borders because “currently, our borders are wide open.”

While he said he supports a strong military, White said the question is, where it’s “getting involved and for what reasons.” He said that “as a general principle, I don’t want us to be on both sides of every war.”

Klobuchar said the U.S. plays a major role in global security and must balance that with maintaining a strong domestic economy and investing in the military. She turned to the war in Ukraine, decrying Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of a sovereign nation and his alliances with North Korea, China and Iran. “These are not our friends,” Klobuchar said.

Klobuchar said the U.S. couldn’t stand by as Russia invaded Ukraine and brought up White’s claim that the “bad guys won” in World War II. “That’s a quote from this year,” she said, adding that he also said there were “no good guys in World War II. That’s an insult to our veterans and those who serve in our military.”

She talked about her support of the military in terms of equipment, including C-130J transport planes, and good health care for veterans after they return home.

White responded, “Well, first of all, it just is a matter of fact that the Russians were a communist regime, a totalitarian communist regime ... So definitively there were bad guys there. Not only that, but we did incorporate Nazi scientists into our military and academic institutions after World War II so those were bad guys as well.”

“I didn’t say there were no good guys. I said the bad guys won, and they did,” White said.

He added that the “permanent political class” agrees on one thing, military spending, without oversight.

“You tell that to Earl Myer,” she told White.

Myer is a St. Peter veteran who served in World War II and the Korean War, and still has shrapnel in his leg. Klobuchar handed him the Purple Heart this year.

“This is not the kind of rhetoric that we need. We don’t need untruths,” she said. “We need somebody who’s going to go in there and be willing to stand up for our country, our democracy. Not just here, but around the world.”

On the question of the U.S. role in the Middle East, Klobuchar said the country must do all it can to bring peace through diplomacy. She said that before the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, she was hopeful the Abraham Accords, negotiated during the Trump administration, could be expanded to bring peace.

White said, “Well, Abraham Accords, point for Donald Trump.” But he again mentioned World War II and the Russians, and said the United States shouldn’t fund two sides of wars.

White said, “Rebuttal. And furthermore, when I said the bad guys won World War II, I said it for a specific reason. I reject that the Black identity and the Jewish identity are used in a similar way to push identity politics which ends up being an expansion of federal government and social programs or the expansion of the military industrial complex.”

Klobuchar criticized her opponent for using vulgar language and a homophobic slur, and writing on his head that “Alex Jones was right.” Jones, a far-right radio show host, lost a libel suit two years ago for falsely claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was a hoax.