On Monday, Governor Tim Walz responded to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s claims that the governor hesitated to send in the National Guard to quell riots in Minneapolis 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 Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson) issued the following statement:

“Gov. Walz should apologize to the National Guard and General Jensen for his disparaging comments. While he and Mayor Frey were dithering, those ’19-year-old cooks’ were busy rescuing Minneapolis. The riots were so bad that the entire Guard was called out for the first time since World War II, yet the governor responds by insulting them? They deserve better.”