Walz's 'mind your own business' phrase clashes with COVID whistleblower agenda

Democratic vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz’s message celebrating individual freedom clashes with his record during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Minnesota governor sharply criticized the Republican Party on Tuesday during his campaign debut at a rally in Philadelphia with Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Some of us are old enough to remember when Republicans talked about freedom,” Walz told the crowd. “It turns out now that what they meant was that the government should be free to invade your doctor’s office.”

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US Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris applauds her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, as he speaks at the Liacouras Center at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the first day of their “Battleground State Tour.” (Matthew Hatcher/AFP via Getty Images)

He continued: “In Minnesota… there is a golden rule: Mind your own business.”

Conservative activists responded to Walz’s self-characterization, pointing to his record on issues such as COVID-19 lockdowns, parental rights and more.

“He should follow some of his own advice, because during COVID, not only did he close schools and mask kids, but he encouraged neighbors to report each other if they took their child to the playground,” said Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty.

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United States Vice President Kamala Harris waves to the crowd during her presidential campaign rally in Atlanta, Georgia. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Critics point to Walz’s memorandum mandating indoor mask-wearing during the coronavirus pandemic, which he signed into law in 2020 and repealed in 2021.

The Upper Midwest Law Center filed a lawsuit calling the mandate unconstitutional, but an appeals court eventually sided with Walz.

In 2020, Walz set up a COVID-19 hotline that allowed Minnesota residents to notify authorities of suspicions that their neighbors might be violating stay-at-home orders.

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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks during the presentation of local heroes at the St. Paul Union Depot in Saint Paul, Minnesota. (Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports)

“From overseeing the nation’s largest COVID-19 fraud, to asking neighbors to report each other for violating stay-at-home orders, to forcing hospitalized COVID patients back into their nursing homes…” House Majority Leader Tom Emmer told the New York Post. “Tim Walz has proven during the pandemic that he lacks the skills to lead in a time of crisis.”

Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo, Michael Lee and Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.

Timothy Nerozzi is a writer for Fox News Digital. You can follow him on Twitter @timothynerozzi and email him at [email protected]