Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appears to be on a damage control tour following his and former Vice President Kamala Harris’ blowout loss to Donald Trump and JD Vance last October, and it now appears to include the thinking (according to him) behind why he was chosen to be her running mate. Walz revealed this nugget during a speech at the Harvard Kennedy School this week, and to be honest with readers, this is one of the most hilarious things I’ve ever heard during my time working in political media.
Walz told the crowd he was chosen as Harris’ No. 2 because — a-hem — he was to serve as a gateway to ‘manly white guys’ needed by the then-VP to win. Yes, you read that correctly: The guy who is derisively referred to as “Tampon Tim” by critics for requiring tampons in boys’ high school bathrooms was tapped to be ‘the connection’ to manly white men who love football, work on their own vehicles, hunt, go to the gym and do other manly white guy things.
Walz said he would argue that his inclusion on the failed ticket was “because we did a lot of amazing progressive things in Minnesota that improved people’s lives.” Noting further, he said: “But I also was on the ticket, quite honestly, you know, because I could code talk to white guys watching football, fixing their truck … that I could put them at ease.” Walz said he was seen as “the permission structure” for white guys who watch football and fix trucks, making it seem acceptable to back the party of men in women’s sports, endless pride parades, and they/them pronouns.
It’s striking—if Harris and her team counted on Walz to bridge traditional masculinity and their so-called “White Dudes for Harris” estrogen club, maybe it’s no wonder they were so badly beaten last fall. But here’s the really striking part: I can’t really tell if Walz is just preening for an audience, building up his own male chromosome bona fides, or if he actually believes what he told the Harvard Kennedy audience. Because if it’s the latter, then it’s probably time for a mental health intervention for the governor of Minnesota.