Tim Pawlenty Can’t Shake Off The Rust

It’s Time To Admit That He’s Just Not A Good Candidate

On Sunday, Tim Pawlenty sat down with Minneapolis CBS affiliate WCCO.
It did not go well.
First, he has no answer when it comes to his support for Donald Trump. Conservatives in Minnesota have criticized him for his less than enthusiastic support during the campaign. When pressed, he now says he “agreed with most of the President’s policy positions.”

Yet, during the campaign, he said, “He [Trump] is unsound, uninformed, unhinged and unfit to be President of the United States, and I am withdrawing my support of him.”
Then, when asked about his abysmal record on LGBT rights, he performs the very difficult maneuver of flip-flopping in the span of one answer. In a few sentences, he went from touting a nondiscrimination bill he supported, but later renounced, to saying “the statute [goes] too far”

Finally, he took credit for balancing the budget, something he was obligated to do, without acknowledging how his terrible policies led to the $6.2 billion budget shortfall he left for Governor Dayton. It shows a stunning lack of awareness.

“Tim Pawlenty isn’t ready for prime time again, and the thin veneer applied by D.C. Republicans is quickly wearing off,” said David Turner, DGA Deputy Communications Director. “Whether it’s his spotty record, or his inability to square his actions and words with his support of Trump, the swampiness exuding from Tim Pawlenty has taken over all else. Tim Pawlenty’s double-talk might have made him wealthy in the swamp of DC, but it’s not selling in Minnesota.”