Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) warned Democrats during a recent speech against “demonizing” people simply because they have built businesses and earned some measure of success — but he gave them a free pass to go ahead and “demonize” billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Walz, who spent time during the 2024 presidential campaign criticizing current Vice President JD Vance’s humble upbringing, made the comments during a town hall in Youngstown, Ohio.
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“I think Democrats, supporting families, supporting the working class, supporting unions — but I think we have to separate and have a message here: It’s okay in America to be successful, we should celebrate that when people are successful,” Walz said. “My beef is — what my beef is, once you get successful, don’t be a greedy bastard and not pay your taxes, don’t do that.”
“Let those young men who see this — now, I would argue this: we’re creating a false narrative from them that everybody is super-rich and has Lamborghinis and life is easy, but that’s what we’re going to have to figure out in our society about social media and all those things,” he continued.
“But I don’t think that we should be the party that demonizes someone because they’re able to afford something or they’re able to work hard and got something,” Walz added. “What we should demonize is people like Elon Musk and those people that do that … that’s different. That’s different.”
Walz’s comments come amid weeks of physical and sometimes violent attacks — both on individually owned Teslas and on Tesla dealerships — aimed at Musk over his involvement with President Donald Trump’s administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
And Walz, who lost his own bid for the vice-presidency last November, is not the only high-ranking Democrat who refused to denounce the recent violence. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, when confronted over the attacks on Teslas, would not condemn them.
“I can’t talk about Tesla, but Elon Musk is a disaster for America,” Schumer said.
