Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s wife, Gwen, said she left her windows open to “smell the burning tires” during the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots because she felt it was a “touchstone” moment.

An interview clip with Gwen Walz discussing the 2020 riots and her reaction to them resurfaced online Tuesday after Vice President Kamala Harris announced she would be choosing the Minnesota governor as her running mate for the 2024 election. In the interview, which was aired on KSTP-TV’s “5 Eyewitness News Nightcast” channel, Gwen could be heard talking about the riots and her choice to leave the “windows open as long” as the city was burned by looters and rioters.

“I could smell the burning tires. That was a very real thing, and I kept the windows open as long as I could because I felt like that was such a touchstone of what was happening,” Gwen Walz said.

 

Minneapolis was quickly swarmed by rioters after the death of George Floyd in 2020, leading to many buildings being burned down and businesses looted, with the violence lasting for three days.

Following the reveal of Walz as Harris’ running mate, Republican lawmakers and others online quickly pointed out how Walz failed to immediately send the National Guard into Minneapolis to address the violence occurring at the time. Walz had previously argued that calling the National Guard would only incite further rioting, as he had suggested protesters needed space to express their outrage, according to Fox News.

“I want to just be clear there’s philosophically an argument to be made that an armed presence on the ground in the midst of where we just had a police killing is seen as a catalyst,” Walz said at the time.

Walz’s office and the Harris campaign did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

Featured Image Credit: Office of Governor Tim Walz & Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan