Tim Walz vows to ‘stand up and fight’ against Trump and the Republicans

Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz said he will “stand up and fight” against Republicans and president-elect Donald Trump‘s government if they come after his state.

The former Democratic vice presidential candidate gave a concession speech in his state on Friday. Walz’s campaign with vice president Kamala Harris ended in the early hours of Wednesday when Trump received enough electoral votes to become the 47th US president. Walz told the audience Friday about his love for America and willingness to continue making his voice heard.

“The moment they bring a hateful agenda to this state, I’m going to stand up and fight for the way we do things here,” Walz said. “We’re going to have to fight a little harder… We can do it. We will do it, and we will do it together.”

Walz became Harris’ running mate about two weeks after the presidential election Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential election. Walz was seen as a loyal government partner as well as someone who could relate to young men, as he served in the Army National Guard and is a gun-owning fighter, as well as a former football coach at the secondary school. Harris said she went with her gut in choosing Walz.

The Minnesota governor traveled extensively with and without his running mate during the campaign, appearing on Twitch sites and local establishments. Walz spoke to students, attended football games and organized his own rallies, where he was recognized for calling out Trump and the vice president-elect J.D. VanceUS Senator for Ohio, ‘weird’, and that the government should ‘mind its own business’.

On Friday, Walz reflected on his time touring the country and said he recognized that “people want safety” as well as the “freedom to live their lives the way they want.”

“There has to be a place in our politics where everyone can be heard. I think sometimes we can be quick to judge people who disagree with us,” Walz said. “I think we have to swallow a little pride – and this is me in it -.”

Walz also acknowledged the deep emotions many voters have felt in recent days.

“I just want to acknowledge the moment. It’s hard. It’s hard to lose,” Walz said. ‘It is difficult to understand how so many of our fellow citizens… ultimately chose the other path. If you’re feeling defeated or discouraged today, I understand. Take a moment.’

He encouraged people to ultimately look at the “millions of ways to get involved” in their own communities, saying that when people are ready to get back out there and fight, “know that I will be here with you. “

“I love this country, I love this state, and I’m not done fighting yet,” Walz said.

His post-election speech about the promise to struggle is no different than that of other Democratic governors. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy told reporters on Wednesday that his team had recently held a meeting to “war-game” the prospect of a second Trump presidency.

“If it goes against our values, we will fight to the death,” he said. “If there is an opportunity to reach common ground, we will seize it as quickly as anyone.”

Governor of California Gavin Newsom on Thursday called on lawmakers to convene a special session to strengthen the state’s legal tools to protect civil rights, reproductive freedom, climate action and immigrant families.

“The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack – and we will not sit idle,” Newsom said in a statement. “California has faced this challenge before and we know how to respond.”

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has convened a task force – called the Empire State Freedom Initiative – to “develop strategies to protect New Yorkers from a variety of policy and regulatory threats that could emerge under the newly elected president Trump.”

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, who filed dozens of lawsuits against Trump during his first term as the state’s attorney general, has said she expects a lawsuit to be filed if Trump goes ahead with plans for mass deportations.

“There will be a lot of pressure on states and state officials, and I can assure you that we will work very hard to make this happen. I am sure there may be a lawsuit,” she said. MSNBC.

“Every tool in the toolbox must be used to protect our citizens, to protect our residents and our states, and certainly to hold the line of democracy.”