George Floyd’s brother endorses Tim Walz: ‘He’s built for this fight’

George Floyd’s younger brother has endorsed Kamala Harris’ running mate Tim Walz. Last week, Philonise Floyd extended his support for Walz, saying he “showed what unity was” when he attended the funeral of Daunte Wright, a Black man who was shot dead by Minnesota police in 2021. George was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020.
“For him to take the time out his day to speak at the funeral, I gotta give him kudos,” Philonise said. “He’s a family man with a good heart.”
When George was killed, Walz was just a year into his first term as Minnesota Governor. Philonise believes that Walz’ compassion, as well as dedication to accountability for George’s brutal killing, makes him a worthy candidate.
“He’s built for this,” said Philonese, 43, according to NBC News. “He’s built for this fight that he’s going to go through and I think he can do it.”
Philonise said that Walz’s leadership has impressed him for years. He said that Walz’ decision to appoint state Attorney General Keith Ellison to lead the prosecution in George’s death made all the difference. All four officers involved were convicted.
“At first, he was just a regular governor, just looking like a politician,” Philonise said of Walz. “Then, he stood up and he put Keith Ellison in place as the prosecutor, and that showed a lot of people he was not playing. He was serious. If it wasn’t for Governor Walz, we would not be able to walk around and say that we got some accountability.”
Philonise said that he was initially pleased to find out that Walz was a potential candidate as Harris’ running mate, and was later elated to learn that he had been officially chosen. “Mr Walz, I can’t say anything bad about him. I really just want to shake his hand right now. Sometimes, it’s the people that you don’t see every day, those are the people that have the best advice. He’s ready,” Philonise said.
Philonise further said that he would be happy to help in any way he can, including on the campaign trail, as Walz and Harris prepare for the race for the White House. “I would jump in on anything concerning what’s going on with them,” he said.