Progressive politicians watch as Minneapolis burns

After making initial comments Wednesday, before the looting started, Governor Tim Walz hid from the press for almost a day, refusing even to issue a statement. He said that he had mobilized the National Guard but didn’t formulate a plan until after the second night of looting had begun. In a press conference Friday morning, where Walz announced that he had taken control from local officials, it became apparent that he didn’t even give the order for the National Guard to act until Friday.

Walz blamed his inaction on Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey. Frey—a Democrat who let left-wing rioters run amok when President Trump came to town—shrugged off responsibility and minimized the damage. Clearly the source of the police stand-down order that allowed his own city to burn, Frey kept repeating that the destruction was “just brick and mortar.” After Frey was informed that Walz’s office was taking over, a reporter asked “What’s the plan here? What are we doing?” Frey responded, looking dazed: “With regard to?”

For what it’s worth, every public official responsible for the mayhem is a Democrat—the governor, the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and even Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, who finally had Chauvin arrested on Friday. And it was current Democrat Senator Amy Klobuchar, the former county attorney, who failed to prosecute Chauvin for misdeeds in the past. Democrats collectively run a state that has one of the widest racial disparities in the country in terms of education and income.