Tim Walz backpedals statement that the Electoral College 'needs to go'

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Tim Walz: 'I will own up to being a knucklehead at times'

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was confronted for lying about being in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square protests by CBS' Bill Whitaker on "60 Minutes" on Monday.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday, backpedaled on a statement he said during a California fundraiser earlier this week, where he called for the elimination of the Electoral College.

Walz was in California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s private home in Sacramento on Tuesday when he spoke about the process by which U.S. presidents are elected.

"I think all of us know the Electoral College needs to go," Walz said, according to a pool report at the event, Bloomberg reported. "We need a national popular vote, but that's not the world we live in."

Just two days later, in an interview with ABC host Michael Strahan, Walz appeared to be squirming his way out of his misstep from the campaign.

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz arrives to speak at a press conference regarding gun legislation at City Hall in Bloomington, Minn. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

During the interview, Strahan told Walz he wanted to go back to something the Democratic vice presidential nominee said on Tuesday.

"You said, ‘I think all of us know the Electoral College needs to go,’" Strahan said. "But the campaign came out later that night, and they said that’s not their stance."

Walz concurred with the ABC host that it was not the campaign’s position.

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Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on "60 Minutes." (Screenshot/CBS News)

"The point I’m trying to make is that there’s folks that feel every vote must count in every state, and I think some of the folks feel that’s not the case," Walz said. "We’re out there making the case that the campaign’s position is clear, that that’s not their position. Their position and my position is to make sure that everybody understands their vote, no matter what state they’re in, matters."

"So that’s something you and Vice President Harris disagree on," Strahan asked.

"Um, I have spoken about it in the past, that she’s been very clear on this, and the campaign and my position is the campaign’s position," Walz responded.

In 2023, Walz signed the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement in which each state would allocate all its electoral votes to whoever wins the popular vote for president, regardless of how individual states voted. The compact would take effect only if supporters secure pledges from states with at least 270 electoral votes.

A spokesperson for the Harris-Walz campaign told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the vice presidential candidate believes every vote matters in the Electoral College.

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Voters cast their ballots at official ballot boxes in 2022. (Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images)

"He was commenting to a crowd of strong supporters about how the campaign is built to win 270 electoral votes. And he was thanking them for their support that is helping fund those efforts," the spokesperson said.

Fox News Digital has reached back out to the Walz-Harris campaign regarding Walz’s most recent comments on the Electoral College during the ABC interview.

The Electoral College comprises a certain number of electors from each state who cast votes for the president and vice president. In 48 states and Washington, D.C., whichever candidate receives the most ballots in their favor is awarded all the electoral votes for that state. 

Maine and Nebraska assign their electors using a congressional district system.

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The winner needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidential election. 

The Electoral College was created by the Founding Fathers in an effort to make sure large states didn't dominate small ones in presidential elections or wield too much power. Abolishing the system would require a major constitutional change. 

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.