Tim Walz is in hot water after referring to China as a “moral authority” when discussing the Israeli missile strikes on Iran, which led to the resurfacing of a controversial love affair that the Minnesota governor had in the late 1980s with a woman who was the daughter of a member of the Chinese Communist Party.
For context, on June 13, 2025, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota spoke during a Center for American Progress (CAP) event, telling the crowd that he believed that the nation that might be best suited to “negotiate some type of agreement” between Israel and Iran would be China. After making these controversial remarks, the governor and failed vice presidential candidate came under fire once again when a scandal involving the governor and the daughter of a CCP member resurfaced.
While speaking at the CAP event, the Minnesota Governor said that the Middle East is “on fire in a way that has now expanded,” adding, “Iran has to retaliate, in their mind, I’m sure. Now, who is the voice in the world that can negotiate some type of agreement in this? Who holds the moral authority? Who holds the ability to do that? Because we are not seen as a neutral actor.”
Continuing, Gov. Walz said that in the past, President Jimmy Carter had acted as an “arbitrator” between the leaders of Israel and Iran, adding, “We’ve had certain wins along the way that were actually mutually beneficial both ways. Now I ask who that is. And consistently, over and over again, we’re going to have to face the reality of (sic) it might be the Chinese.”
Clarifying his point, Gov. Walz said, “And, and, that goes against everything they say they’re trying to do in terms of the balance of powers.” He added that his “heart goes out for this,” referring to the conflict between Israel and Iran. He concluded, “Ukraine continues to go on. Gaza continues to be a humanitarian disaster, and now it’s expanded even further.”
After Gov. Walz pointed to China as the “moral authority” on the conflict between Israel and Iran, a report from the Daily Mail published on October 28, 2024, resurfaced that focused on Jenna Wang, a 59-year-old woman who claimed that Gov. Walz was “very passionate and very romantic” towards her, despite knowing that she was “the daughter of a high-ranking Chinese communist official.”
Moreover, Wang told the Daily Mail that she could “still remember dancing” with the man who would eventually become Minnesota’s governor, adding, “The fact we couldn’t touch or kiss in public just made it all the more exciting and intense when we were finally alone. We were deeply in love, and I wanted to marry him and start a family. When it didn’t happen, I felt very unhappy and sad. Tim’s behavior was very selfish.”
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Importantly, Wang said that her former lover had refused to marry her, which she said made her feel “cheap and common.” She added that Gov. Walz “lied about Tiananmen Square and he’s lied about things,” referring to a time when the governor falsely claimed that he was in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
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