Gov. Tim Walz pledges to protect Minnesota from the 'chaos' he says Trump has unleashed on the world

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz pledged Wednesday night to do everything in his power to protect Minnesotans from the chaos that he said President Donald Trump has unleashed on the country and the world.

Delivering his annual State of the State speech to a joint session of the Legislature, the Democratic governor said Minnesota is as strong as it has ever been, but it is a “moment of great uncertainty for our nation.” And he said that is no accident, but the result of the Republican president's choices.

“The president of the United States has chosen – chosen! – to throw our economy into turmoil,” Walz said.

“Global markets are teetering on the brink of collapse,” he continued. “Businesses across this country and here in Minnesota are already laying off employees by the thousands. Working people are paying more for basic goods. And if you haven’t checked your 401(k) lately, don’t do it.”

It was Walz's first major address to a statewide audience since the 2024 campaign, when he was Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, and they lost to Trump and Vice President JD Vance. He got frequent standing ovations from Democrats but no more than silence or polite applause from Republicans.

"As governor, I will continue to do everything in my power to protect Minnesotans from getting hurt and continue to provide shelter from the storm for Minnesotans,” the governor vowed.

Walz has said that he will decide after the legislative session whether to seek a third consecutive four-year term as governor, a prize no candidate has won since Minnesota switched to four-year instead of two-year gubernatorial terms after the 1962 election.

He is also frequently mentioned as a potential Democratic presidential candidate for 2028, and he has been keeping his name in the national eye by making frequent appearances on cable TV news, sounding similar themes to those he explored Wednesday night.

And he went to Iowa — where its precinct caucuses are the traditional first major test of the presidential campaign season — to kick off his recent series of town hall meetings in competitive districts held by Republicans, after House Speaker Mike Johnson advised GOP representatives to avoid town halls.

Walz's most immediate task, however, is working with the closely divided Legislature to enact a balanced budget for the next two years before it adjourns May 19. The House is tied at 67-67, while Senate Democrats hold just a two-seat majority, so nothing can pass without bipartisan support. But he said Republicans and Democrats have a record of working together in Minnesota no matter what is happening in Washington.

The top elected Republican in state government, House Speaker Lisa Demuth, said “finger-pointing” at Washington over what might ultimately happen there “has no place” in Minnesota. She told reporters that lawmakers need to focus instead on the budget situation as it currently stands.

But her No. 2, House GOP Floor Leader Harry Niska, was more directly critical, calling the speech an “angry rant about Donald Trump.” He said it was another example of Democrats engaging in a “Trump deflection strategy, where everything is the fault of Donald Trump," instead of working across party lines.

The governor expressed particular concern about the potential impact on the state budget of cuts to Medicaid that are being contemplated by Washington Republicans, which could force him to call a special session later this year to fill the resulting holes in the budget.

“I think you can’t be alive and an American today and not say something about Donald Trump and the chaos that we’re seeing from Washington, D.C.,” the top House Democratic leader, Melissa Hortman, told reporters. "And I think you saw in his speech distinguishing between what’s going on in Washington, D.C., and what he hopes we’ll be able to accomplish together here.”

Walz told legislators it is not enough to complain about the administration. He said they need to prove to the people of Minnesota and the country that there is a better way to govern.

“Because the truth is, this current administration in Washington, they’re not forever,” he said. “These small, petty men will disappear into the dustbin of history. And when they do, there will be an opportunity and an obligation to actually rebuild government so that it works for working people.”