Debunking 3 of the Republicans’ most pathetic insults about VP candidate Tim Walz

By Charlie Sawyer

Published Aug 9, 2024 at 01:07 PM

Reading time: 3 minutes

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Image courtesy of Tim Walz from Instagram

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.

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.

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:

First off, we have to address the honestly laughable attempt from Republicans to try and shame Walz with the nickname ‘Tampon Tim’.

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.

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. 

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.

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.”

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.

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.