Governor Walz recently commented on Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s claims of hesitation to send in the National Guard to Minneapolis on May 27 with this statement, “I don’t think the mayor knew what he was asking for…I think the mayor said, ‘I request the National Guard, whew, this is great. We’re going to have massively trained troops.’ No. You’re going to have 19 year olds who are cooks.”

Senator Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake) responded to his statement with the following:

“The National Guard are consistently respected where and when they deploy. They put themselves in harm’s way, understand how to execute a mission, and successfully brought peace back to the city. They deserve the highest esteem.”

“I know many people who have made the National Guard their career. They have some of the most rigorous training of any unit of our military. They may not be riot control specialists, but they are certainly not cooks.”