Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is in hot water for past comments he made praising a Muslim cleric who has since shared antisemitic content.
The Washington Examiner reported Tuesday that Walz called Asad Zaman of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota a ‘master teacher’ when they met in 2018, during Walz’s first gubernatorial race.
Zaman has since celebrated Hamas’ October 7 terror attack on Israel and promoted a film that glorifies Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
‘I am a teacher, so when I see a master teacher, I know it,’ Walz said of Zaman during a 2018 campaign stop. ‘Over the time we’ve spent together, one of the things I’ve had the privilege of is seeing the things in life through the eyes of a master teacher, to try and get the understanding.’
The Examiner also reported that Zaman had been hosted by the Minnesota governor on at least five occasions over the years, though the Harris-Walz campaign is pushing back.
Asad Zaman (left) of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota has become a political problem for Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (right)
‘The Governor and he do not have a personal relationship. Governor Walz strongly condemns Hamas terrorism,’ Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt told the Examiner.
Still, the Republican Jewish Coalition went after Walz for the association.
The group called it an ‘outrage’ and noted that Zaman ‘disgustingly’ asserted that he ‘stands in solidarity with Palestinians against Israeli attacks’ after October 7.
The RJC also went after Walz by saying that one of his ‘best friends includes vicious antisemite Ilhan Omar,’ a Democratic member of Congress who represents a Minneapolis district.
‘At a time of spiking antisemitism here at home and as Israel faces an existential war for survival, it is essential for the American Jewish community to have confidence in our leaders – and it is clear that we cannot trust Kamala Harris and Tim Walz,’ a statement from the Republican Jewish Coalition said. ‘Their priorities are not our priorities, and the American people will reject their radicalism and extremism in November.’
The criticism comes as Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Walz, are having to navigate a tough political landscape within their own party due to the war in Gaza.
Progressives cheered Harris’ choice of Walz because he had never taken campaign donations from AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby.
Harris has tried to talk tough on Israel due to widespread condemnation from the political left on how Israel is waging the war against Hamas to get the country’s hostages back – killing thousands of Palestinian civilians in the process.
But with the race looking tight, the Democrats can’t afford to lose support among Jewish-Americans, a group that traditionally votes Democratic, but who former President Donald Trump believes he can siphon off if the Democrats look too cozy with the Palestinian cause.
Trump has had his own scandal involving antisemites.
Over Thanksgiving in 2022, Trump dined with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and rapper Kanye West, who’s made a number of anti-Semitic statements.
Trump was reportedly ‘very taken’ by Fuentes, though later claimed he had not idea the young man was a white supremacist.
‘This past week, Kanye West called me to have dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Shortly thereafter, he unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends, whom I knew nothing about,’ the ex-president said on Truth Social.
‘We had dinner on Tuesday evening with many members present on the back patio. The dinner was quick and uneventful. They then left for the airport.’
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