Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the man responsible for the Democrats’ bizarre political strategy of calling Sen. JD Vance “weird,” has made yet another odd attack on former President Donald Trump’s running mate.
During an interview on “Anderson Cooper 360” promoting more gun restrictions, Walz claimed he could outshoot Vance in a pheasant hunt.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) appeared to challenge Sen. JD Vance’s (R-Ohio) shooting skills, saying that the vice presidential hopeful cannot hunt pheasants like he can.
“That’s what JD Vance’s schtick is, talking about guns. I guarantee you he can’t shoot pheasants like I can,” Walz said Tuesday on “Anderson Cooper 360°.”
“And that’s a part of saying, but you know what, I guarantee I don’t want weapons of war in classrooms. And there’s no reason that you can’t have reasonable restrictions around that without infringing on your Second Amendment,” he added.
Vance has heavily leaned into his personal story of his Appalachian roots as he makes his case as former President Trump’s running mate. He shared an anecdote during his speech to the Republican National Convention earlier this month about finding 19 loaded guns stashed around his grandmother’s house, which was met with loud applause from the audience.
Walz also doubled down on the “weird” trope, which was widely mocked and repudiated on social media when asked whether it would appear he was insulting those who support Trump and Vance.
“I grew up in a town of 400 and graduated with 24 classmates, 12 cousins. I know these people. They’re — this isn’t what this is about. I’m talking about those people there that we need to make the case to them,” he said.
“These are people that Democrats, they felt like Democrats have spoken down to them, that we’ve not gotten enriched where they’re at, that they’re trying to be who they are,” he added.
Walz further defended his use of the word on CNN, saying that calling Harris’s opponents “weird” is an “observation” and “not name calling.”
Walz is reportedly being considered as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. Some on the left have supported this, pointing to his roots in the upper Midwest.
Although Harris outperforms President Joe Biden across key voting blocs, Democrats running in rural, competitive districts this fall fear the former California senator and attorney general is poised to do even worse there than the president — especially in battleground states in the upper Midwest. The 60-year-old Walz, who served 12 years in Congress representing a red, mostly rural southern Minnesota district, could bring the “guy you would meet at a backyard barbecue in the Midwest” vibes to the ticket, they argue, which could help hold off another Democratic free fall in rural regions.
Walz has “had to run in tough races, and I think that’s a great balance because Kamala Harris has a very impressive background, but she’s also been in California, which is pretty blue, so it helps to have someone who has had to fight in close races,” said Iowa state Rep. J.D. Scholten, who narrowly lost a conservative, rural western Iowa congressional seat in 2018 and has argued that Democrats need to re-focus on rural voters.
For starters, Walz engaged in the usual fearmongering about law-abiding citizens owning and carrying firearms with the use of the hackneyed “weapons of war” talking point. His desire is to make it appear as if teachers and school staff who are allowed to be armed will be marching through schools with bazookas slung over their backs waiting to blow anyone up who looks suspicious.
The reality is that, in states passing legislation allowing teachers to be armed, educators will be able to do so if they wish as long as they adhere to guidelines and undergo training. The objective is to make it easier to stop would-be school shooters instead of simply trying to disarm lawful gun owners while pretending this will somehow stop school shooters.
Moreover, the “weird” talking point has already backfired. As conservatives have pointed out, calling someone “weird” when you believe men can get pregnant probably wasn’t the best move. Perhaps Democrats should just stick with calling everyone racist and sexist if they don’t vote for Harris in November.
