Newport Beach Republican Mayor Will O’Neill criticized Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s leadership skills ahead of the Democratic vice presidential candidate’s fundraising appeal in the Californian beach town on Tuesday.
“Frankly, Governor Walz’s lasting image as governor was seeing Minneapolis and the firehouse in that city burning,” O’Neill told “Fox & Friends” co-host Steve Doocy on Tuesday about the George Floyd riots in 2020. “We actually saw images like that here in California, in Los Angeles, Santa Monica and places like Oakland. At some point you realize that our governor here, Governor Newsom and Governor Walz, are kind of different sides of the same blue coin when it comes to public safety.”
“So I would like to bring him to our police station, have a conversation with our police chief, and get some community members who really support the police here in Newport Beach to talk to him about why and why this is really important,” O’Neill continued.
Walz is traveling to Los Angeles today to speak at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees convention. Later in the day, he will also speak at a glamorous fundraiser in Newport Beach where tickets cost up to $100,000.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s policies and leadership were sharply criticized by Newport Beach Mayor Will O’Neill on the Fox & Friends show prior to Walz’s visit to the Californian beach town.
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O’Neill said he hopes that while Walz is on his “donor tourism” tour, he will notice the tangible difference between the deep-blue leadership of Los Angeles and that of conservative-led Newport Beach.
“I hope that as he drives through the streets of Los Angeles in his armored vehicles, he actually takes the time to look out and see the streets filled with encampments and crime and the empty commercial spaces, and that when he gets to Newport Beach, where we have paved roads and a clean environment, he actually takes some time to look around and say, okay, maybe this, maybe Newport Beach,” he continued.
The Republican mayor also addressed criticism that Vice President Harris had backed away from several of her progressive policy positions after becoming the Democratic presidential nominee.
“She has to, doesn’t she?” O’Neill said. “If you had to find five words to describe California, would public safety be in the top 25? I don’t think so. There are islands of sanity in California, like Newport Beach. But I don’t think anyone compares California to their hometown and says I want more of that. So she needs to change her policy positions.”
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Vice President Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, have been criticized for trying to appear more moderate just before the election after previously flaunting their radical left political positions. (RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images)
Before his resignation, O’Neill greeted Walz with a warning to leave his progressive policies at the door.
“As mayor of Newport Beach, a city with a 7-0 Republican City Council, I welcome Governor Walz to spend time with our city leadership while reaching into the pockets of some of our residents,” he wrote on social media. “We will present a city that has not defunded the police, that embraces conservative economic values, that is reducing debt and increasing the quality of life, that has not allowed protesters to bankrupt local businesses, and that cares about people thriving. If Governor Walz is as interested in learning policy from a well-run city as he is in political donations, I am happy to serve.”
