Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz vowed to protect his state from President-elect Donald Trump’s “hateful agenda” during his speech in Eagen, Minn., Friday afternoon.

“The other side spent a lot of time campaigning and talking and promising that they would defer to the states. Well, I’m willing to take their word for it,” said Walz, who was Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate on the Democratic ticket and whose second term as governor ends in 2027.

“The moment they try to bring a hateful agenda into this state, I will be ready to stand up and fight,” the 60-year-old governor said to applause from his supporters.

“As long as I am governor of Minnesota, we will protect women’s rights to make their own health care decisions,” Walz said, part of a refrain that also included welcoming immigrants and “standing alongside the rest of the world. in the fight against climate change.

“As long as I am governor of Minnesota, we will defend the freedom of our children to go to school without fear of being shot in their classroom,” Walz said.

After promising to fight the Trump-Vance agenda, he extended an olive branch to Minnesotans who support Trump.

“I will say and acknowledge this: About a million and a half of our fellow Minnesotans voted for the other side in this election,” Walz said. He later added: “And while there may not be room in our state for the most extreme elements of this agenda, there should be room in our politics for everyone to be heard . »

“I think we should swallow, and this is me in this, since I’m talking about myself, swallow a little pride and try a little harder to find common ground with our neighbors who didn’t vote like we did in this election,” Walz said.

“Maybe when we have a little break from this campaign we’re in, we can look at each other and see not enemies but neighbors, and maybe we can sit down over coffee or a Diet Mountain. Rose and just talk, talk about our kids, talk about the life we ​​want to build for them,” Walz said. “Talk about the things that really matter: how we treat each other, how we care for each other, and how we support each other through difficult times.”