By WILL WEISSERT and STEVE KARNOWSKI
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump claimed Monday that he would have ordered flags lowered to half-staff following the assassination of a Minnesota Democratic state lawmaker this summer had he been asked by the state’s governor. But Trump at the time refused to even call Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to express his condolences, saying it would only “waste time.”
Trump made the remark during an unrelated Oval Office event as he defended his decision to lower U.S. flags after last week’s slaying of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
After announcing that he was deploying the National Guard to Memphis, Trump was asked Monday why he signed an order lowering flags nationwide after Kirk’s killing during an event in Utah, but didn’t do so after former Democratic state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in June.
Trump replied, “Well, if the governor had asked me to do that, I would have done that.”
“But the governor of Minnesota didn’t ask me,” the president said.
He continued, “I wouldn’t have thought of that. But I would have if somebody had asked me,” and added: “Had the governor asked me to do that, I would have done that gladly.”
Walz’s spokesperson did not immediately comment on the president’s remarks.
But Walz tweeted a video call for unity on Monday evening that featured references to Hortman’s assassination and the recent shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic church that killed two students and injured 21 people. The video included feel-good scenes from the recent Minnesota State Fair but didn’t mention Kirk.
“The world feels crazy right now, but we won’t lose hope. We will get through this, together,” Walz said.
Trump’s assertions omitted the fact that — days after Hortman and her husband were shot dead in their home in the northern Minneapolis suburbs — the president was asked if he’d be calling Walz. Trump suggested that doing so would “waste time.”
Presidents often reach out to governors, mayors and other elected officials at times of tragedy, such as after mass killings or natural disasters, to offer condolences and, if needed, federal assistance. But Trump said then that Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee against Trump in last year’s election, was “slick.”
“I think the governor of Minnesota is so whacked out. I’m not calling him. Why would I call him?” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One in June. He then added, “The guy doesn’t have a clue” and “he’s a mess. So, you know, I could be nice and call him but why waste time?”
Teddy Tschann, a spokesperson for Walz, responded at the time with a statement saying, “Governor Walz wishes that President Trump would be a President for all Americans, but this tragedy isn’t about Trump or Walz.”
Trump also said Monday that he planned to attend Kirk’s funeral this weekend in Arizona and added that he’d likely be speaking.
“I guess I’ll say a few words, I don’t know,” he said. “But I guess I will.”
Karnowski reported from Minneapolis.
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