Tim Walz makes first Sunday show appearance since joining ticket

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz fielded tough questions on abortion, immigration, the economy and his own past misstatements in an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” that was mainly noteworthy because it was his first appearance on a Sunday news program since becoming Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate.

He turned some questions into critiques of former President Donald Trump and sidestepped others. Asked whether Israel had the right to strike Iranian oil facilities or nuclear facilities, he did not directly answer, saying that “specific operations will be dealt with at the time.”

Walz initially burst into national prominence over the summer through his well-regarded television appearances and quippy Midwestern jabs at Republicans. But since joining the national ticket he has faced criticism for running a bubble-wrapped campaign, avoiding taking many questions from reporters or sitting for tough interviews.

Those critiques ramped up after Tuesday night, when Walz appeared nervous and — perhaps — a bit rusty onstage during the vice presidential debate with Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, who frequently spars with reporters and seems to welcome contentious interviews.

Walz stumbled over some answers at the debate, acknowledging that he had been “a knucklehead at times” as he struggled to explain why he had falsely claimed he had been in Hong Kong during the June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing. But he also created a memorable moment when he asked Vance whether Trump had lost the 2020 election, prompting Vance to dodge and say he was “focused on the future.”

Snap polls of viewers suggested the debate was essentially a draw, but Walz’s hesitance caused some concern among Democrats and “Saturday Night Live” spoofed him, making fun of his shaky answers and missteps alongside Vance’s dodges.

On Sunday Walz parried tough questions from Shannon Bream of Fox News and focused many responses on Trump.

Pressed about the degree to which Minnesota allows late-term abortions, Walz pivoted to the effects of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade. “This is a distraction from the real issue here, is women being forced into miscarriages, women being forced to go back home, get sepsis, potentially die,” he said.

On immigration, he faulted Trump for helping kill a bipartisan bill that would have tightened border security, and argued that Trump had been ineffective on the issue during his presidency.

“Donald Trump told us for four years he would deal with it,” Walz said. “He didn’t.”

Confronted by a series of misstatements he has made — including on China, where he traveled in August 1989, and indicating he and his wife had used in vitro fertilization when they in fact used a different fertility treatment called intrauterine insemination — Walz acknowledged that he sometimes misspeaks.

Viewers “heard me the other night speaking passionately about gun violence and misspeaking,” he said, referring to the awkward moment when he said at the debate that he had “become friends with school shooters.” (His campaign later clarified that he had meant to say he had befriended the families of school shooting victims.)

Trump’s campaign, in a news release, suggested Walz’s appearance had gone poorly, saying he “cracked under the mildest of pushback” and was “unable to offer a coherent response to anything because he has no response for the insanity of his record and the Harris-Walz agenda.”

Walz is expected to make other prominent media appearances in the coming days. The Harris campaign said he would appear Monday on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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