Five weeks after losing the national election, Gov. Tim Walz is keeping his options open both in Minnesota and nationally, preparing for the 2025 legislative session and trying to understand why the ticket he joined with the Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris did not convince. enough voters.
“Somehow we decided that electing a billionaire who screwed the middle class his whole life was better for the middle class,” Walz said in an interview, referring to the Loss of Harris-Walz ticket to President-elect Donald Trump. “Who knew that making housing affordable wasn’t as strong a message as: ‘They eat dogs and they eat cats.'”
Regarding the prospect of another national race, Walz said, “It would be too early to tell. I want to be part of the conversation, because I think we’re delivering results, I think we’re making a difference in people’s lives.
Walz is still trying to understand why the party has failed to better connect with working-class voters, whether it’s a policy failure or a messaging failure. “I would say, if you ask people, ‘Would you like to see better education and more money in the pockets of the middle class, or would you like to see Elon Musk get richer?’ “I think this election would probably swing heavily toward, “We’d like to help the middle class.” »
Walz acknowledged that Democrats need to understand this. “I think the Democratic Party has lost that message to the middle class,” Walz said. “I don’t think we focused on that, that piece of bread and butter.”
In every speech during his vice presidential campaign, Walz said he talked about how unions created safe working conditions, fair wages, a 40-hour work week and the ability to afford housing. .
“For some reason, that doesn’t seem to be what people identify as the core of the party,” Walz said. “I would like to spend some time, you know, being that voice and continuing to fight for” the message that the party wants to make life easier for the middle class.
He sounded exasperated as he talked about Trump backtracking on his campaign promises, as the Republican now acknowledges that the import tariffs he promised could lead to price increases and that the United States may have to go to war with Iran.