Vice President Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump 2024

The two situations aren't exactly analagous, though. One required a bit more urgency.

"By the evening of May 27, largely peaceful protests grew more violent, with looting and arson around the city. Frey, the mayor, reportedly contacted Walz that evening and asked for help from the Minnesota National Guard. The city’s police chief then sent Walz’s office a written request for 600 troops, in addition to some other logistical notes.

Walz and his office did not sign an executive order authorizing National Guard deployments until the following afternoon, May 28, at which point much of the city had shut down, businesses were closed and boarded up to prevent looting, and buildings were smoldering after overnight arsons. That night saw some of the worst rioting, violence, and arson, as well as one of the indelible scenes of the protests: the breach and burning of the Minneapolis police’s Third Precinct police station. "

So it apparently took some 16 hours, most of a day, just to decide to mobilise the Guard to meet local requests, that doesn't include response time (Which turned out to be eight hours to get the first 60 troops). A four-hour delay in approval for the D.C. Guard was sufficient to cause much finger-pointing and blame trading after 6th January and, for all the drama, that didn't involve much by way of destruction. The idea that "the city had not specified where the troops should go" causing a delay fails twofold. Firstly, because in the several hours it would take to mobilise a unit, they can find the answer to that question, and secondly, because even if they don't find the answer to the question, the unit can simply "march to the sound of the guns", and directly ask the local police "where do you need us?"

Plus there are concepts like pre-emptive mobilisations. I spent five days at my armory once just sitting around waiting to be sent somewhere because Governor Schwarzenegger felt a situation (wildfire related) was obviously bad and would rather have additional assets but not need, than need and not have. Other units had already been sent to respond, we were, in effect, being held in reserve. After most of a week marking time in the exciting town of Madera, we were demobilised.

Now, how much of this is Walz's fault directly, I have no clue. Important information may have gotten filtered out before it got to his level. However, the statements which during the blame game which came afterwards don't look good when they are contradicted by the written record.

The Star Tribune examined timestamped email and text logs and found plenty of correspondence that backed up the city officials’ sequence of events: that they asked for help from the state government repeatedly, provided specifics, and did not get a prompt response. “He did not say yes,” Frey said of Walz. “He said he would consider it.”

The governor’s office, meanwhile, contested many of the mayor’s assertions. Contrary to the documents reviewed by the Star Tribune, Walz’s team argued Frey did not immediately provide an official request and had not specified where the focus of the National Guard should be. The governor’s office also contended Walz acted quickly once the request was received.