Debunking 3 of the Republicans’ most pathetic insults about VP candidate Tim Walz
On Tuesday 6 August 2024, Kamala Harris announced that Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota and all-round babygirl, would be her running mate and prospective vice president. And within hours, the GOP began spewing out ridiculous insults and quips at the candidate. Welcome back to our weekly recaps where we cover everything you need to know about the upcoming 2024 US presidential election. This week, we’re debunking three of the Republicans’ dumbest digs towards Walz. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t exactly a difficult task.
@couriernewsroom The call where it happened.
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Who is Tim Walz?
Tim Walz has been in politics for almost 20 years and has become a voice for both veterans and small-town rural communities in his state. Practically the Steve Carell of politics, Walz also quickly became a firm favourite on social media, and thereby among Gen Z, due to his adorable and highly enviable relationship with his daughter.
If you haven’t seen Tim Walz and his daughter Hope’s interactions on some of their viral dad-daughter vids (including an incredible PSA for hands-free driving in Minnesota!) then you don’t yet know just how good a pick he is. I’m here to fix that.
— Jeff Yang 🫶 FOLLOW ME @ORIGINALSPIN ON THREADS/IG (@originalspin) August 6, 2024
HARRIS WALZ 2024. Nice wins! pic.twitter.com/EctiLPhCF5
Meet @Tim_Walz. The biggest dad turned politician in history. It’s so nice to see happiness, laughter, and actual policy back on a ticket. pic.twitter.com/47IumezO1M
— Political Compass w JB (@policompassjb) August 6, 2024
Walz is a progressive Democrat who has a history of success in politics. Therefore, he naturally spends a lot of his time royally pissing off Republicans. From endorsing free period products in schools across his state to protecting and prioritising trans rights, let’s learn more about why Walz has conservatives so stressed.
Personally, I think it has to do with the fact that far-right extremists are still mad that Walz’s “weird” comment about JD Vance and Donald Trump went so viral:
@nowthisimpact As far as reasons to vote blue go, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has a great one: no more fights with your ‘weird’ MAGA uncle at Thanksgiving #maga #election #trump
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Tampon Tim
First off, we have to address the honestly laughable attempt from Republicans to try and shame Walz with the nickname ‘Tampon Tim’.
Biden was Obama’s dead weight.
— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) August 7, 2024
Kamala is Biden’s dead weight.
Tampon Tim is Kamala’s dead weight.
Now, the context behind this is all to do with Walz’s incredibly impressive and progressive stance on protecting and providing healthcare for all. In 2023, the governor signed an education law which mandated schools to provide free menstrual supplies to students in grades 4 through 12. The real kicker for Donald Trump and his cronies is that Walz insisted that period products should be available to all students who menstruate. This meant that products would be dispersed across all bathrooms to cater to any non-binary, gender non-conforming, or trans children who needed to access them.
Trump recently spoke with Fox News about how Harris’ VP pick showed how “dangerously liberal” the presidential candidate was. One of his arguments hinged on this specific issue: “As a woman, there is no greater threat to a woman’s health than leaders … who support putting tampons in men’s bathrooms in public schools.”
And so, Tampon Tim was born. The thing is though, all this has done is bring wider attention to the fact that Walz wholeheartedly understands and appreciates the severity of period poverty across the US and has taken measures to address it.
How nice of the Trump camp to help publicize Gov. Tim Walz's compassionate and common-sense policy of providing free menstrual products to students in Minnesota public schools! Let's do this everywhere. pic.twitter.com/hk6v8cs8p4
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 7, 2024
Socialist Tim
The next dig from the GOP, the one where they really thought to themselves ‘We just did something there’, was the socialist tag they planted on Walz. Now, a number of conservatives got extremely excited when Walz emphatically stated on a “White Dudes for Harris” call that “one person’s socialism is another person’s neighbourliness.”
As far as the Republican party was concerned, this was the governor practically admitting that he had communism on the brain. What Walz branded as folksy and approachable, far-right commentators saw as a terrifying liberal leftist agenda.
@cspanofficial Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) introduced himself to voters on Tuesday evening at his first campaign rally with Vice President Harris since being selected as her running mate. “The National Guard gave me purpose. It gave me the strength of a shared commitment to something greater than ourselves,” he said. “The GI bill gave me a shot at a college education.” After graduating, he followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a teacher before running for Congress in 2006. “It was my students. They encouraged me to run for office,” he said. “They saw in me what I was hoping to instill in them: a commitment of common good, a belief that one person can make a difference.” #timwalz #kamalaharris #cspan
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However, in reality, I’d argue that so much of this has to do with Walz’s history regarding protecting equality and not being afraid of standing up to the financial elite. In March 2023, Walz signed into law the universal free school lunch bill—one of his major budget priorities. The legislation meant that students could receive one free breakfast and one free lunch every day regardless of their family’s income.
According to the Minnesota Reformer, this act resulted in 1.1 million more breakfasts and 1.1 million more lunches being served to students compared to the previous year.
@therecount Minnesota Republicans are attempting to means-test the K-12 free meals program, which is provided to all students regardless of family income. #minnesota #democrat #republican #news #politicaltiktok #politics #politica #free #freelunch #lunch #school #minnesotan #minnesotacheck #timwalz #walz
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When questioned about his highly progressive political history, Walz replied: “What a monster! Kids are eating and having full bellies so they can go learn. Women are making their own healthcare decisions. And we’re a top five business state and we also rank in the top three of happiness.”
Evil Tim for promoting trans kids
Last but not least, Walz has naturally been labelled as ‘evil’ for his unwavering support of the trans and entire LGBTQIA+ community.
According to PinkNews, the governor—who last year banned conversion therapy in Minnesota—has an extensive record when it comes to protecting trans communities. Walz also signed a bill protecting trans youth and their families who travel to his state to seek out gender-affirming care.
Today, I took executive action to protect access to gender-affirming health care in Minnesota.
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) March 8, 2023
My message is clear: Here in Minnesota, our LGBTQ+ neighbors will not be denied or punished for seeking life-affirming and lifesaving medical care.
Moreover, Walz’s 2006 political campaign included supporting same-sex marriage, a controversial take at that time in what was predominantly a red-leaning district. Walz also spent a great deal of time blocking libraries from banning books that included LGBTQIA+ characters.
A number of people have stated that Walz turned Minnesota into a “trans refuge,” something that is becoming less and less possible across the US. And this kind of personal freedom and autonomy absolutely terrifies conservatives. So, keep up the good work Tim.
