Walz misleadingly claims to have been in Hong Kong during period tied to Tiananmen Square massacre
Multiple news reports indicate that Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz misleadingly claimed he was in Hong Kong during the turbulence surrounding the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, part of a broader pattern of inaccuracies that Republicans hope to exploit
WASHINGTON (AP) — Multiple news reports indicate that Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz misleadingly claimed he was in Hong Kong during the turbulence surrounding the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, part of a broader pattern of inaccuracies that Republicans hope to exploit.
At Tuesday night's vice presidential debate, Walz was asked about misleading people and he ultimately when pressed said he “misspoke." But Walz said that he can “get caught up in rhetoric” and that “I’ve tried to do the best I can, but I’ve not been perfect. And I’m a knucklehead at times.” He then added that former President Donald Trump should have come on one of his trips to China, and if he had done so, then the Republican nominee would know better than to compliment Chinese President Xi Jinping on his handling of the 2020 pandemic.
On Tuesday, CNN posted a 2019 radio interview in which Walz stated he was in Hong Kong on the day of the massacre, when publicly available evidence suggests he was not.
After a seven-week demonstration in Beijing led by pro-democracy students, China’s military fired heavily on the group on June 4, 1989, and left at least 500 people dead.
