Exclusive: Tom Emmer torches Tim Walz's 'failed' leadership, says he should 'have his head examined'

House Majority Whip and Minnesota native Tom Emmer (R) bashed Democratic Gov. Tim Walz for his "failure to lead" in the aftermath of the gruesome Minnesota shooting during an exclusive interview with Blaze News.

Following the tragic shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School, Emmer spoke about the heartbreak felt in the community while also criticizing Walz's repeated inaction to protect Minnesotans.

'There were warnings all along the way.'

"I'm a Minnesotan and father of seven kids, and we're a Catholic family," Emmer told Blaze News. "The Annunciation school is one of the strongest Catholic parishes in the Twin Cities."

"Words just can't describe the amount of heartbreak and anger that I think all of us feel about this unspeakable act of evil."

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The shooter was later identified as Robert Westman, a man who suffered from gender confusion, raising concerns about transgender gun ownership. Emmer said that rather than addressing Westman's mental health, Democratic policies like those backed by Walz exacerbate the issue.

"Everyone has their own challenges. We respect that. We understand that," Emmer told Blaze News. "But Tim Walz and all of these radical left-wing Democrats that look at a young man like the one involved in this case and tell them, 'You're confused. We're going to make it worse. We're going to encourage you to make it worse.'"

Under Walz's leadership, Minnesota became a "trans refuge" that allowed the state to take children with gender dysphoria away from their parents if they weren't giving them "gender-affirming care." Additionally, Catholic schools were on guard and asking for increased security following the Tennessee shooting in 2023, but Walz ignored their pleas.

"The trans community, God bless them for the challenges they already have, but the suicide in that community is well above the national average. Why aren't we talking about that?" Emmer added. "... He was screaming for help."

"There were warnings all along the way," Emmer told Blaze News.

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Since the shooting, Walz and other Democratic officials have pointed the finger at firearms instead of the underlying motives that may have led Westman to commit the heinous act. Rather than politicizing the atrocity, Emmer said leaders should come together to address the "root of the problem."

"We should be focused on what the root of the problem is," Emmer told Blaze News. "It's mental health. It's a failure of people to actually speak up and follow the laws that are there and enforce them."

"It's all about us and them for Tim Walz, as opposed to how do we all work together and live together in peace and security and respect," Emmer told Blaze News.

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Unfortunately, the recent violence in Minnesota was not an isolated incident. Like many other blue cities across the country, Minneapolis is plagued by high crime rates. Although Trump has previously extended a hand to blue cities like Minneapolis, Walz continues to dig his heels in.

"I'm hoping partisan, hateful, failed leaders like Tim Walz, JB Pritzker, and others follow the model," Emmer told Blaze News. "You don't have to embrace Donald Trump. ... But certainly you should care enough about your own people. The people that you work for that elected you to protect them and their families from the violence that we've been seeing in Minneapolis as a result of the failure to lead."

"Seriously, there's something wrong with Tim Walz," Emmer told Blaze News. "Somebody should have his head examined and offer him some help, because he's completely gone off the edge."

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