As Democrats try to overcome the turmoil caused by Joe Biden’s decision to end his re-election campaign and hand the reins to his running mate Kamala Harris, one party supporter has suggested they start calling Donald Trump “weird.”
The initiator of the attack, which was also used by Harris’s campaign, was Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who insisted to CNN that “it’s not an insult or a label. It’s an observation.”
“I didn’t come up with that,” he added, noting that he’d heard “relatives and Republicans” use the term to describe the former president.
According to the Guardian, Walz is now expected to spend the next three months telling the country all about the weirdness of Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, after Harris nominated the Minnesota governor as her running mate on Tuesday.
Although Walz is one of the least well-known national choices Harris has been considering, and does not come from a state seen as crucial to the election, Harris is expected to help defend her policies and persuade voters to reject the “radical” reshaping of US government that Trump says is needed.
Political bias, not votes
In his second term as governor, the former congressman and high school teacher brings to the ticket a record of progressive policymaking, a somewhat sympathetic view of pro-Palestine protesters, and a distinctive Minnesota communication style that the campaign can use in its efforts to win the nearby swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
“If Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are bothered by Kamala Harris’ smile and laughter, they’re going to be really bothered by Tim Walz,” Melissa Hortman, chair of the Minnesota Democratic House of Representatives, told the Guardian.
He’s a fun, positive, upbeat, charismatic person. He can move a crowd.”
Rebalancing
Walz emerged as Harris’s pick after a two-week search, in which the vice president also considered a group that included Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. Walz’s choice has drawn praise from across the Democratic ideological spectrum.
Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Harris made an “excellent decision,” while Joe Manchin, the West Virginia senator who recently left the party and has become known for his more aggressive obstruction of Biden’s proposals to combat child poverty and combat climate change, said: “I can’t think of anyone better than Governor Walz to help bring our country together and rebalance the Democratic Party.”
Walz attacks
Republicans responded to Walz’s choice by posting images on social media of the protests that rocked Minneapolis four years ago after the killing of George Floyd, and a reminder of the governor’s support for a law that would have allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, as well as the massive Covid relief scandal that occurred during his administration.
With Trump making concerns about crime and unrest central to his platform, Amy Koch, a Republican strategist in Minnesota and former state Senate majority leader, said the unrest following Floyd’s killing is likely to form the basis of the party’s counterattack on Walz’s candidacy.
“There’s a lot of video of the five days of chaos in Minneapolis,” Koch said. “There’s a lot of video of reporters literally covering it, saying, ‘Where’s Governor Walz?’”
Flexible reactions
Walz’s main rival for vice president was Shapiro, who has likely inflamed tensions among Democrats over his policy positions on issues like education, fracking and Israel and Gaza.
The backlash to his potential nomination, which included the formation of a group called No Genocide Josh, has drawn allegations of anti-Semitism, with many noting that Shapiro, who is Jewish, has condemned Netanyahu and that Walz has a similar record of support for Israel and campus protests.
Walz has taken a different rhetorical approach to other protests. When tens of thousands of Minnesotans voted “uncommitted” in the Democratic primary to protest the Biden administration’s policies toward Gaza, his response was warm, with the governor calling them “civilly engaged.” “They are demanding to be heard and that’s what they should be doing,” Walz said at the time. “Their message is clear that they believe this situation is intolerable and that we can do more. And I think the president hears that message.”
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