Last week, former Vice President Kamala Harris appeared at the "Leading Women Defined" summit during which she made some "I told you so" remarks about now President Donald Trump. Her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) was asked about those remarks of hers during his Sunday appearance on "State of the Union," further highlighting how the two and the party may be in disarray.
"We are seeing those who are capitulating to clearly unconstitutional threats. It understandably creates a great sense of fear. Because, you know, there were many things that we knew would happen. Many things--I'm not here to say I told you so," Harris had claimed.
Kamala Harris delivers a speech about the current state of the U.S. at the ‘Leading Women Defined’ summit:
— Pop Base (@PopBase) April 4, 2025
“There were many things we knew would happen… I’m not here to say I told you so.” pic.twitter.com/iOACWXtKnb
Host Jake Tapper shared that clip right at the start of his interview with Walz, also noting how the governor has been looking to raise his profile with town hall events throughout the country. What Tapper didn't mention, however, is how Walz can't even find time to host such events in Minnesota as governor.
Tapper did eventually play clips of some of Walz's more bizarre moments, giving the governor a chance to try to clean up his claim that Democrats lost last November because they didn't embrace their wokeness enough.
"Now, look, I will be the first to tell you, Jake, I'm out here doing what I can do. I don't know if I'm the best spokesperson to do it after just losing an election. But what I know is, the public--and you saw it across the country this weekend--they're rising up and asking their leadership to do something," Walz shared, talking about the anti-Trump, anti-Elon Musk "Hands Off!" rallies from over the weekend. It was the perfect segue for Tapper to once more bring up Harris' "I told you so" remarks.
.@GovTimWalz on Democrats’ struggle to find a path forward: “I think what we allowed ourselves to do is, we got timid. And then, when we got power, we didn't pass things that improved people's lives… I'm out here doing what I can do. I don't know if I'm the best spokesperson to… pic.twitter.com/q0X7xDuNAb
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) April 6, 2025
"What does I told you so really mean here? I mean, people heard her message. They did not vote for her," Tapper pointed out. He also reminded how the Harris-Walz ticket "lost every battleground state." As he added about Harris, "she may have told the American people--she may have warned the American people, but she didn't do it compellingly enough to win."
"That is the absolute point," Walz responded with, trying to claim he is the one taking responsibility. "And, look, when I criticize, I'm criticizing myself. I own this. I'm part of the ticket. And somebody has to come up with a strategy. I think this is exactly right," he added, also bringing up how Democrats won last week's state Supreme Court in Wisconsin. A ballot initiative for voter ID also won convincingly there, though, and Republicans won two special election races in Florida that same night.
CNN’s Jake Tapper humiliates Tim Walz over Donald Trump destroying him and Kamala Harris in the 2024 race:
— Martin Walsh (@martinwalsh__) April 6, 2025
“What does 'I told you so' really mean here? People heard her message, they did not vote for her. She lost EVERY battleground state” pic.twitter.com/nx2PDYNNaF
"I think what the vice president saying is, that was pretty self-evident that he was going to do that," Walz tried to then claim about Harris. "I do think the challenge for Democrats--and this is, I think, a structural problem that's going to take a lot more thinking. Why, with all of that out there, did they not think we were any better than that? And they didn't. And I'm very concerned with the folks who stayed home," he continued, as he then went after those who "stayed home" last November and continued to fearmonger about the state of the country, especially when it comes to people's "economic future."
Despite how he had just claimed he was "criticizing [him]self," Walz still relitigated the 2024 election to lament it not going his way. "And I think, why was it not so compelling? It should have been a slam dunk for us to say, we're the party that cares about that. We're the party that's going to protect Social Security and Medicare. We're the party that thinks the ACA is a good start, but we need to do more on health care. And we didn't do that," he insisted. "So I'm concerned. Democrats do well in special elections and off-year elections, but the electorate that comes in presidential election years is different. When I was young, it was easy to know what a Democrat was. They stood with the working class and labor. Republicans were country club and for the rich."
Not only does the Republican Party of today stand up for working people while Democrats represent the elite, Walz himself brought up his party's particularly low favorable rating. By CNN's own poll from last month, it's just 29 percent. Tapper continued the conversation by referencing problems and criticisms of today's Democratic Party, of which there are many.
To close the segment, Tapper asked about Walz's future political prospects, with the governor sharing he's "certainly thinking about running again in Minnesota," though he is "not thinking about running in 2028."
.@GovTimWalz on his political future: “I'm certainly thinking about running again in Minnesota, if that's what they want. I am not thinking about running in 2028. And my advice to folks is, if in this moment you're planning for 2028, you're going to get rolled by the people in… pic.twitter.com/gUiQzuHIg4
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) April 6, 2025
That being said, Walz is still looking to get involved in 2028, and he still went for more fearmongering. "And I just want to play my part to make sure we cannot afford to allow Donald Trump or his successor to go forward, because you're seeing the pain," he warned. Perhaps that is what he's doing in trying to raise his national profile?
It would make sense for Walz to not run for president. Not only was he a particularly failed and poorly vetted running mate, he also doesn't exactly perform well in the current polls, including that CNN poll which asked Democratic and Democratic-leaning respondents who "best respects the core values" of their party."
If Harris is to actually run for president again, it's just as well that she and Walz won't be primary opponents. The governor was asked last month by CNN if he saw Harris as a future leader of the party. His answer, when he did finally provide one, left something to be desired.
CNN: "Is Kamala Harris a future leader for the Democratic party?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 5, 2025
TIM WALZ: "There will be decisions to be...It's not our choice." pic.twitter.com/w88ogZa4Qb
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