MINNEAPOLIS − Gwen Walz, spouse of Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate Tim Walz, criticized former President Donald Trump and his companion JD Vance during a Human Rights Campaign dinner on Saturday, sharing her perspective on her husband’s notable statements.

“Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance, please mind your own business!” Walz declared at the LGBTQ+ civil rights gathering in Minneapolis. She encouraged the audience to echo her words, which they did enthusiastically. “We’re adding ‘please’ in our request because we’re embracing our role as educators.”

Speaking to an audience of 600 at the Hyatt Regency hotel, the former teacher highlighted her husband’s efforts in supporting the LGBTQ+ community during his time as a congressman and governor. This includes his signing of an executive order aimed at safeguarding gender-affirming healthcare and outlawing conversion therapy.

In 1999, the governor made history by being the first faculty adviser for his high school’s gay-straight alliance group in Mankato, Minnesota. Jacob Reitan, the student who started the group, was present in the audience on Saturday.

“We recognized the challenges faced by these students, and our classrooms had to serve as safe havens,” she expressed. “I would start each semester by declaring, ‘this classroom is a safe space for everyone, including LGBTQ+ students.’ I often found myself reporting this statement to the principal’s office every semester.” Her comments elicited laughter from the crowd.

The 58-year-old mother of two recounted how she enlisted her husband’s football team to assist with the high school’s production of Bye, Bye, Birdie, hoping to bridge the gap between two sharply divided social groups. She received more laughter when she quipped, “You all know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Since her husband joined Harris’ campaign last month, Walz has been actively engaging on the campaign trail, visiting key swing states both solo and with him, often directly addressing remarks made by Trump and Vance, particularly focusing on their positions on reproductive rights.

During the event, Walz associated Trump and Vance with Project 2025, a 900-page political guide from the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation. Trump has sought to dissociate himself from this controversial roadmap, which outlines several anti-LGBTQ+ policies, despite many of his associates being part of its formulation.

“They act as if you don’t exist,” Walz remarked. “We’ve fought too long and too hard together, and we have too much still to achieve. We will not go back.”

Earlier this month, the governor addressed another Human Rights Campaign dinner in Washington, D.C., where he slammed Vance for stating that school shootings are a “fact of life” in light of a recent mass shooting at a Georgia high school that resulted in four fatalities and nine injuries.

In regard to the ongoing efforts by Republicans to prohibit books in schools that cover LGBTQ+ themes, the governor defended the importance of children’s safety, insisting the focus should not be on limiting education.

“This is what they are wasting their time on, believing that learning about two male penguins in love is somehow going to influence your child’s sexual orientation,” he said. “It’s a reality that some people are LGBTQ+, but the real issue isn’t that; it’s that our kids should not be in fear of being shot at school.”

If elected, Walz stated that she and Harris will continue to advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.

“This election is crucial, a fight that generations before us endured hardships for, and it’s about our freedom,” she concluded.

— Sam Woodward is serving as the Minnesota elections reporting fellow for YSL News, focusing on Governor Tim Walz’s campaign. You can contact her  via X @woodyreports, or on Threads @samjowoody.