https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5192560-walz-trump-education-economy-democrats/?tbref=hp

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), the 2024 Democratic nominee for vice president, sharply criticized President Trump’s governance style and economic policies but said he takes some responsibility for “this mess” after losing the election in November.

“Look, I own this. We wouldn’t be in this mess if we had won the election, and we didn’t,” Walz said in an interview Wednesday on MSNBC’s “All In” with Chris Hayes.

Walz called Trump “the worst possible business executive that I have ever witnessed” and praised the Wall Street Journal editorial board for calling Trump’s tariffs “the dumbest trade war in history.”

The Minnesota governor said he thinks that sentiment is widespread and that “Americans have had it” with wealthy officials telling them they will have to endure some pain amid the president’s tariff war. He encouraged fellow Democrats to capitalize on Trump’s unpopular policies and make clear that Democrats offer a better solution.

“We have to make sure that Americans know it’s not just that Donald Trump is bad, but we’re offering them something better, and I think that’s what we need to work on,” Walz added.

Walz pointed to the Department of Education, which the administration has sought to dismantle, as a prime opportunity for Democrats to fill a knowledge gap with voters, and agreed with Hayes’s suggestion that the party, compared to Republicans, is too risk-averse in their political messaging and goals.

“Look, I’m conservative. I believe that systems work for a long time, that you don’t have to break them,” Walz said. “Are there improvements that need to be done? Yes, and I think we’re guilty of sometimes of not acting. Could the Department of Education be more efficient? Absolutely.”

But Walz added that it “makes no sense” to eliminate the entire department.

“If you go ask the average American, what does the Department of Education do, they might not have a clear vision of it,” he continued. “So when Trump says, ‘It’s a bunch of bureaucrats interfering with your local schools. Give local [schools] control, we’ll give you the money,’ it sounds pretty good, and we have not provided what that alternative looks like.”

Walz, a former educator, also zeroed in on the Education Secretary Linda McMahon saying, “I bet she’s never been in a public school.”

“What is she going to do to improve our students’ outcomes and lives?” Walz said. “And there’s a vacuum for us to fill. We should get out there and fill it. Talk about what we’re going to do.”