Donald Trump was stumped by the conflict between federal immigration agents and counter-protesters in Minneapolis because his Venezuela operation was successful.
The revelation came as Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Wednesday spilled details of his phone conversation earlier in the week with the president, who had described the talk as “very good.” The discussion came amid backlash to the killing of Renee Good earlier this month and Alex Pretti on Saturday, which led to Trump ultimately admitting the need to “de-escalate.”
As Walz described it to MS NOW, the phone call showed how Trump, 79, failed to grasp the basic nature of the situation in Minneapolis.
“[Trump] told me that he doesn’t understand what’s wrong with Minnesota: ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you people,’” Walz said. “I said, ‘Nothing’s wrong with us, Mr. President. We’re one of the most effective states and one of the best places to live.’”
“And he told me that, ‘Well, look, Tim, we did this in New Orleans. We did it in Louisville. There’s no problems.’ And I said, ‘You didn’t kill anybody in Louisville or New Orleans, and the operation here looks very different from that,’” Walz continued. “And then he told me it was successful in Venezuela.”
Earlier this month, U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas and brought them to New York to face gun- and drug-related charges. At least 24 Venezuelan security officials were killed in the process, the country’s attorney general said, while the Cuban government said 32 Cuban troops or intelligence agents died.
Walz was perplexed as to why Trump compared Venezuela to Minnesota.
“I’m not sure what gave him the indication that at this point in time, what’s happening to my state, that I’m interested in Venezuela,” Walz, 61, said. “But he told me how well that went, which really was strange to me... He saw an operation in Venezuela against a foreign nation in the same context [that] he saw an operation against a U.S. state and a U.S. city.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
Looking forward, Walz said there “better be” accountability for Trump administration figures like Deputy White House Chief of Staff and immigration policy leader Stephen Miller.
“Somebody gave the orders to this. Somebody empowered them to be out there and do this. They felt that they could do exactly what they did and there’s no way. And again, there’s more investigations to done. But what I’ve seen on this, it’s very difficult to see that these were rogue actions and weren’t part of the culture that was there,” Walz said.
Walz highlighted border patrol official Gregory Bovino’s top role in immigration enforcement in Minneapolis. Bovino has since been removed amid infighting between Miller and Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
“He was right on the line. He was commander,” Walz said of Bovino. “Look, I was in the military long enough to know if I’m the first sergeant of that unit, and I tell my troops to do it, I’m the one that’s doing it.”
