Tim Walz grilled on past misstatements
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Gov. Tim Walz during the VP debate Oct. 1 at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City. Photo: Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty Images
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said that "the folks closest to [him]" know that he keeps his word, when asked during a CBS News interview that aired Monday about his misrepresentations about his personal record.
Why it matters: Walz's tendency to misstate or embellish parts of his personal story has come under heightened scrutiny since he ascended to the national political scene as the Democratic vice presidential nominee.
Driving the news: When asked by CBS News' Bill Whitaker about any disagreements that Vice President Harris and Walz have had as running mates, Walz said that she has told him "to be a little more careful on how you say things."
- When pressed on some of his misrepresentations, Walz said that "folks know who I am."
- "I think they know the difference between someone expressing emotion, telling a story, getting a date wrong, rather than a pathological liar like Donald Trump."
- When asked whether he can be trusted to tell the truth, he said: "I will own up to being a knucklehead at times, but the folks closest to me know that I keep my word."
The big picture: During last week's vice presidential debate, Walz said that "misspoke" when he said he was in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
- "I will talk a lot. I will get caught up in the rhetoric," he also said.
Zoom in: Whitaker also asked Walz to respond to criticism from Republicans that Minnesota enacted "radical" liberal laws under his leadership.
- The two-term governor defended his tenure, pointing to free school meals and paid family and medical leave as examples of popular policies he signed into law.
- "Donald Trump spends his time tearing down states rather than lifting up the things we do, the best of it," he said. "Donald Trump's critiques of that, not only are they wrong, but I'm waiting for, 'What—what is his solution?'"
Yes, but: While Walz claimed that the paid family leave law he signed in 2023 had business support, many prominent business groups in the state opposed it at the time.
- The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce slammed the draft legislation as part of an "anti-employer, anti-business agenda."
Go deeper: Tim Walz's "aww shucks" force field
