Former vice-presidential candidate and current Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, recently embarked on a self-proclaimed "listening tour" across the nation.
During a forum at Harvard Kennedy School, he dismissed the possibility of a 2028 presidential run and shed light on why he was chosen as Kamala Harris's running mate.
Walz revealed that Harris selected him partly because he could "code talk to White guys watching football, fixing their truck" and "put them at ease." He portrayed himself as the bridge that could persuade rural white men to vote for the Democrats.
"I think I'll give you pretty good stuff, but I'll also give you 10% problematic," Walz remarked when questioned by the moderator, Brittany Shepherd of ABC News, about why he didn't use cable news to disseminate his message to a broader audience. Walz, who had faced criticism for inconsistencies in his background during the 2024 campaign, brushed off these critiques, labeling himself a "knucklehead."
According to Fox News, Walz had previously told CNN's Jake Tapper that he was contemplating a third term as Minnesota's governor but had no plans to run for president in 2028. When Shepherd asked him to elaborate, Walz suggested that the Democratic Party should focus on a collective presidential campaign for 2028. "I think we need to collectively run a presidential campaign without a candidate right now that builds all the infrastructure by the time we get to 2028, we're ready," he stated.
Reflecting on the 2024 election, Walz expressed confidence that "We would have won." He acknowledged the Democrats' shortcomings in the November elections and suggested that the party should be more proactive in "every forum." This followed criticism that Democrats did not prioritize media appearances sufficiently in 2024, whether on long-form podcasts or traditional network news shows.
"There is room for Gavin Newsom's podcast, and there is room for Bernie Sanders' rallies," Walz said, highlighting these as opportunities for Democrats to regain control of their narrative. Governor Gavin Newsom of California, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, has invited conservative guests, including allies of President Donald Trump, onto his new podcast to demonstrate his openness to "criticism and debate without demeaning or dehumanizing one another." This strategy comes in response to criticism that Democrats did not prioritize new media appearances and unscripted conversations enough after the 2024 presidential election.
Simultaneously, Senator Bernie Sanders and potential 2028 presidential candidate, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have been touring the country on the "Fighting Oligarchy" tour. These self-proclaimed Democratic socialists have drawn tens of thousands of supporters to their record-setting rallies.
Walz, on his nationwide tour, has been hosting town halls in Republican-held congressional districts. However, he has stumbled into familiar pitfalls from the 2024 campaign trail, both on the road and back home. He faced heckling from veterans at the Minnesota Capitol over allegations of "stolen valor." At a Wisconsin town hall, a woman claimed to Fox News Digital that she was ejected for filming Trump supporters being expelled. Walz also faced Republican backlash for celebrating a drop in Tesla's stock during a vandalism spree.
Despite his assertion that he was chosen by the Harris campaign to connect with white men, Walz has been unable to shake off the nickname "Tampon Tim," a moniker given by conservatives in response to his bill providing free menstrual products to "all menstruating students" in school restrooms from grades 4 to 12, including boys' restrooms.
Conservatives have consistently criticized Walz, regardless of his comments or legislation, including when he claimed he could take on most Trump supporters earlier this year.
Reflecting on the Democrats' 2024 losses, Walz suggested that while the party wins on issues and "competency," it loses on messaging and power. "Why have we lost the self-identity that the Democratic Party is for personal freedoms, middle-class folks, for labor folks. How did we lose it, where people didn't self-identify with that? How did we get to a point where people didn't feel like this was an important enough election to get out and vote?" Walz asked during his Monday speech.
On the eve of Trump's first 100-day celebration, Walz issued a warning to his fellow Democrats: "If you leave a void, Donald Trump will fill it." He added, "If I ever had 100 days to live, I would spend it in the Trump administration because it's like a lifetime." He further commented on the Trump administration's first 100 days, describing it as a period of destruction and questioning whether the nation could survive 550 more days until the midterms. "Thats the challenge," Walz concluded.
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