(NewsNation) — Former President Donald Trump has criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s response to the 2020 protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death, but that contradicts his statements at the time.

Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, has also used the protests as a point of attack against Walz, whom Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris recently chose as her running mate.

Resurfaced audio from a June 2020 phone call between Trump and other U.S. officials revealed the former president praised Walz at the time. The audio was previously obtained by PBS NewsHour and published by C-SPAN. Its resurgence comes as Republicans use the 2020 political unrest in Walz’s state as a campaign talking point ahead of the November election.

What did Trump say?

“I know Gov. Walz is on the phone and we spoke,” Trump said during the 2020 call. “I totally agree with the way he handled it in the last couple of days. I asked him to do that.”

The full audio is about an hour long and includes moments when Trump calls out and compliments Walz’s actions.

“What they did in Minneapolis was incredible,” he Trump said at another point. “They went in and dominated, and it happened immediately.”

While others criticized Walz for not responding sooner, Trump defended him on the 2020 call and at one point called Walz “an excellent guy.”

“I don’t blame you,” Trump said at the time. “I blame the mayor.”

What action did Walz take?

Walz mobilized the National Guard three days after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for at least nine minutes while Floyd gasped, “I can’t breathe.” The governor’s action came at the request the Minneapolis and St. Paul mayors, The Associated Press reported. In the wake of Floyd’s public killing, groups of protesters damaged businesses and burned a police station. Other protests remained peaceful, both in Minnesota and throughout the country.

Trump offered federal help to Walz later that day, but the governor did not take him up on it, according to the AP.

What is Trump’s campaign saying now?

Karoline Leavitt told the AP on Wednesday that Trump’s compliments came after the governor “finally” took action.

“Governor Walz allowed Minneapolis to burn for days, despite President Trump’s offer to deploy soldiers and cries for help from the liberal Mayor of Minneapolis,” Leavitt said in a statement to the AP. “In this daily briefing phone call with Governors on June 1, days after the riots began, President Trump acknowledged Governor Walz for FINALLY taking action to deploy the National Guard to end the violence in the city.”

Trump did criticize others on the call, saying most of them looked “weak.”

“I understand they’re trying to get all these guys out on bail,” Trump said. “So you have them on tape. You have them on television. In history, there’s never been anybody taped so much committing a crime.”

The events that sparked the 2020 protests were also recorded. The video’s far reach sparked the nationwide protests and political unrest in question.

Chauvin was arrested four days after kneeling on Floyd’s neck. He posted $1 million bail in October, securing his release from a state prison while he awaited trial.

Ultimately, a jury convicted Chauvin of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He’s currently serving a sentence of 22 1/2 years, with an anticipated release date of Dec. 10, 2035.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.