EAU CLAIRE – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday that he and other Democratic governors should not follow President Donald Trump’s unconstitutional mandates in an effort “to challenge and push as far as we can” against the new administration.
The former Democratic vice presidential nominee made the remarks ahead of a town hall-style event in Eau Claire, a liberal city in Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden’s congressional district. This was his first visit to Wisconsin since the 2024 presidential election.
Walz visited the battleground district this week to rally voters for liberal state Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford, as part of a multi-state tour to highlight Republicans who have stopped holding in-person town halls due to backlash over the Trump administration’s government cuts.
In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Walz stated that losing Wisconsin and other battleground states in November was due to an inability to effectively offer enough change to rural voters.
Trump defeated Harris in Wisconsin by about 29,000 votes, part of a sweeping victory in battleground states.
Now that he is being considered as a potential presidential candidate in 2028, Walz has stated that he and other Democratic governors should refuse to comply with orders issued by the Republican president that violate the United States Constitution.
“What governors can do is use our authority and states’ rights, which, again, the Trump administration doesn’t believe anything about right now … and we’re very clear about that,” Walz told the audience.
“I will continue to follow the law, but I believe we have a responsibility to challenge and push as far as possible. And when Donald Trump issues an unconstitutional order, we have no obligation to comply, and we will not in Minnesota.
“The event was part of a tour organized by Walz, who described it as filling a gap where Republicans have declined to hold public events in order to avoid confrontation with audience members.
Three Trump supporters turned away from Tim Walz event
However, at least three Trump supporters were turned away at the Eau Claire event. One told the Journal Sentinel that he had a ticket but was stopped after entering the Pablo Center in downtown Eau Claire because he was wearing a red Make America Great Again hat.
“We were proud to welcome more than 900 people to our town hall in Eau Claire tonight, and I’m confident we had folks join in who did not agree with us on absolutely everything,” Joe Oslund, a spokesman for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said when asked about the decision to turn away Trump supporters. “We’re always happy to engage with folks who hold different points of view, but when you show up in funny hats looking to cause shenanigans, let’s just save each other the trouble here.”
According to the party, a Republican who follows Democrats at events in search of content for attack ads was permitted to remain in the audience.
Ahead of the event, Van Orden stated that Walz’s tour of his Minnesota-bordering district “is simply a desperate attempt to save face and remain relevant after his embarrassing defeat, which sent him back to Minnesota in disgrace.”
“America is finally moving in the right direction, thanks to President Donald J. Trump and Vice President JD Vance, and voters throughout the Third District have no desire to Minnesota their Wisconsin.”
Walz made his first stop Friday in Des Moines, Iowa, in a district represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, who has not committed to holding town hall meetings this year.
Walz spent about an hour answering questions from Democrats about how to combat potential Medicaid cuts and how to compete with Republicans in public appeal, among other topics.
“I don’t think we would have won the election if we’d gone on Joe Rogan, but I don’t think we would’ve gotten beat any worse,” Walz told the audience, referring to the Harris campaign’s decision not to appear on Rogan’s mega-popular podcast.
“I was concerned about this in the last few weeks of the election.” I was in Pennsylvania and North Carolina when I saw a sign split in half that said, “Trump good, Kamala bad,” Walz explained.
“Jesus, are we in first grade?” What the hell, it works. It worked. They did it. They made things simple.”
Walz told the Journal Sentinel that the Harris-Walz campaign failed to generate enough change to turn out the number of voters required to defeat Trump.
“It was our responsibility to win these states, particularly rural Wisconsin, where people wanted change. They didn’t feel like they were receiving that. And, quite frankly, they didn’t believe the message they were hearing was going to make a difference.
Walz made a stop in Eau Claire two weeks before the April 1 spring election, when Wisconsin voters will vote in a race for ideological control of the state Supreme Court.
The race has set new national records for the most expensive state court battle in history. The race is being viewed as a litmus test for Trump’s support following the first few months of his presidency, during which he and billionaire Elon Musk cut massive portions of the federal workforce, including agencies serving veterans and schools.
“Look, you can start to lame duck this on April 1,” Walz told the audience Tuesday. “Then we won the Virginia governor’s race. And then you have guys like (Van Orden) here saying,’shit, Trump’s done in a couple of years, this is looking bad.
The momentum is shifting. I think I’m feeling something, and it feels like I’m developing a spine, and I’m going to stand up for my people, because if I don’t, I’m going to get kicked in the midterm election.
‘People v. Musk’ town hall event
Tuesday’s event was billed as a “People v. Musk” town hall, as part of a renewed Democratic focus on Musk. On Friday, a few Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to pass a budget fix that will prevent a government shutdown, but many Democrats criticized the deal as caving to Republican pressure and giving Musk a blank check.
Some Democrats have called on Schumer to step down as minority leader. Walz declined to comment.
“I don’t question his commitment to protecting the American public but I think being through this fight in the fall and being through this fight as a governor, this is a different fight, and we have to have different tactics,” he told the Journal Sentinel on Tuesday.
Republicans claim that Democrats are targeting GOP town halls for organized protests because liberal groups have encouraged attendance at the events. Some Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have referred to those expressing dissatisfaction with the Trump administration as “professional protesters.”
Rebecca Cooke, the Democrat who narrowly lost to Van Orden last November, announced this week that she will challenge him again in 2026.
Some Wisconsin Republicans have indicated that they will continue to hold in-person town halls despite the party leadership’s directive, while others have been ambiguous.
Van Orden, whose western Wisconsin House seat has become a primary target for Republicans as they seek to retake control of the chamber, stated in a tele-town hall earlier this month that he would not hold in-person town halls, citing Democratic groups’ efforts to send protesters to the events.
Van Orden did not take live audience questions during the tele-town hall. During the call, a staff member noted that “a few folks sent in questions ahead of time,” which she read. Multiple call participants told the Journal Sentinel that the video call’s comment function had been turned off.
Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan, one of Van Orden’s harshest critics, held in-person town hall meetings in Belmont and Viroqua last week and Tuesday to draw attention to Van Orden’s decision not to hold them.